Intergenerational Justice in the United States Constitution,
The Stewardship Doctrine:
III. Constitutional Text

The Stewardship (or Posterity) Doctrine finds its textual basis in a number of different constitutional provisions and policies, ten of which are listed below in the order of their appearance in the constitution:

1) the posterity clause of the Preamble;
2) the prohibitions of nobility in Article I, sections 9 and 10;
3) the equitable jurisdiction clause of Article III, section 2;
4) the prohibition against corruption of blood in Article III, section 3;
5) the amendment provisions of Article V;
6) the ratification provisions of Article VII;
7) the due process and takings provisions of the Fifth Amendment;
8) the recognition of unenumerated rights in the Ninth Amendment;
9) the prohibition of slavery in the Thirteenth Amendment; and
10) the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Taken collectively, these provisions demonstrate the framers' clear intentions to further the interests of the entire intergenerational community and to prohibit earlier generations from unjustly infringing upon the legitimate rights and expectations of later generations. This section of the paper will explain the significance of the several constitutional provisions listed above - considered now in thematic order rather than in their order of appearance.

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Source documents:
Library of Congress, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Historical Documents
U.S. Constitution, from Cornell Law School
U.S. Constitution - Emory University
U.S. Constitution, National Archives and Records Administration
Federalist Papers, from Yale Law School.



 

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