Grant J. Smith, a senior at MAST, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology at Sandy Hook, took the third-place award across the nation in a recent essay contest on the Constitution.
The award for the essay is from the National Sojourners and included both a $1,000 check and a plaque. From the Sojourners. It was presented at the annual Pass in Review Ceremony at MAST.
To enter the national essay competition, Smith, of Brielle, had to describe a document, law, Supreme Court decision or amendment to the Constitution that had a powerful impact both on the United States and on the community of nations. It was open to students from 9 to 12th grades and the essay had to be submitted to the National Sojourners Headquarters by January.
The National Sojourners is an organization of current and former members of the uniformed services of the United States and Honorary Members, who are Master Masons, in Chapters across the country , for the promotion of fellowship and among other ideals, supporting all patriotic aims and activities in Masonry, developing true patriotism and Americanism throughout the nation, bringing together representatives of the uniformed services of the United States (past and present) in a united effort to further the military needs of national defense, and opposing any influence calculated to weaken the national security.
As his essay, Smith chose the 13th amendment to the Constitution, which banned slavery, and referenced six sources of information for his essay, from the Constitution to news sources. as well as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Here is Smith’s essay.
The Thirteenth Amendment serves as a role model among the greater community of nations by protecting the basic human rights that were previously disregarded by lawmakers and citizens. Ratified on December 6, 1865, this amendment abolished the use of slavery in the United States of America.
The Thirteenth Amendment was written after the Emancipation Proclamation failed to abolish slavery in Union territory and Abraham Lincoln recognized its shortcomings. He responded to this by drafting the Thirteenth Amendment, legislation that would apply to the entire nation. It took nearly nine months for the amendment to pass through Congress because the House of Representatives initially did not pass it, but on January 31 of 1865, the House passed the bill with a vote of 119 to 56.
The Thirteenth Amendment, reading as follows, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” would later influence legislation that created footholds worldwide.
On September 25, 1926, the League of Nations signed the 1926 Slavery Convention. The goal of the convention was to suppress slavery and the slave trade, which was further extended in 1956 under the United Nations with the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery. In summation, these two conventions include 24 articles of terms related to the suppression of slavery, in which over 233 parties participated.
In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (UDHR). The UDHR is a document representing various legal and cultural backgrounds that outlines fundamental human rights and how they should be protected worldwide. The UDHR is well renowned for inspiring more than seventy human rights treaties that are still in effect today.
The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States constitution has helped pave the way for human rights around the world, setting the minimum standard for quality of life. The abolition of slavery in the United States created an even bigger push for equal rights for all human beings regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation at the international level. Eventually, the international conventions discussed these matters and adopted documents that outline basic rights for all humans.
