LESSON ONE
- Read the Constitution and identify one clause or section relevant to business. Write a brief summary of that about that clause/section.
Section 8 of Article 1 is related to business. According to the section the congress is responsible for the development of taxes, imposts and duties that are aimed at paying debts to the provision of strong defense and improving the welfare of the country (National Archives, N.D). However, all the taxes should be uniform throughout the country. The section is related to business since if the taxes are high the revenue of business is affected as well as investments. This relates also to the duties that are imposed on borrowed money to run business. It is the same trends that play part in the regulation of bankruptcies and facilitating the development of the economy.
- What impact did this decision have on American business? Write a brief summary.
The Heart of Atlanta Motel VS United States is the seminal case on the expansion of the Commerce Clause to include the regulation of in state economic activities that discriminate against groups protected from discrimination under the Constitution.
The heart of Atlanta Motel was charged with discrimination as it failed to offer accommodation to black persons on the ground of race. Based on Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 racial based prejudice is illegal as the act not only affect business but social integration (Oyez, 2018). With the motel refusing to accept black people it was thus, infringing Title II (Justia, 2018). The court ruled that the application of Title II is particularly restrained to commercials that have rather direct and adequate association with the movement of both people and commodities, the conclusion was that the accommodation facilities had no authority to selecting guests that they believed to be suitable as that works against the regulation of the government. In my opinion, I believe that the decision had positive effects on businesses in the U.S because it not only discouraged discrimination but also expanded business target markets to include the whole population. With this, the revenue gained by the businesses is bound to increase.
- Read the Citizens United Supreme Court decision and two other articles related to that decision. Answer the following question:
- What clauses in the Constitution are the bases for the decision?
Title II is the constitutional clause that was used as the base of the case’s decision. In that based on the clause discrimination by commercial facilities is forbidden given that it affects business and welfare of the country.
- What does the decision mean for this most recent election cycle?
The decision implies that for the recent election cycle the government should strive to protect human rights and corporations privileges being a major priority in developing the economy.
- Should corporations be classified as persons under the law? Why or why not?
Corporations should be classified as persons constitutionally in order to guard their rights. This is because similar to human beings they are entitled to their freedoms and privileges which should be guarded for their wellness and all those that are involved (Liptak, 2012).
References
Oyez. (2018). Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States. Retrieved from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1964/515
Justia. (2018). Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/379/241/case.html
Liptak, A. (2012). Court Declines to Revisit Its Citizens United Decision. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/us/supreme-court-declines-to-revisit-citizens-united.html
National Archives. (N.D). the Constitution of the United States: A Transcription. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript
