The United States Constitution
The United States Constitution continues to be the primary reference on how the nation conducts its operations. The paper that was drafted on September 17, 1787, by a party of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (Robertson 8), is still valid today.The Novel: Jonathan Hennessy and Aaron McConnell's
A clear example of a publication that provides insight into the history of the Constitution is Jonathan Hennessy and Aaron McConnell's novel. The writers use schematic illustrations to show their material in a specific manner that helps readers to easily grasp the content of Article I of the United States Constitution.Article One: Functions and Composition of the Congress
The U.S Constitution contains seven articles that describe the different components of the government, but this review focuses on Article One which is a crucial section of the document. Hennessy and McConnell inform that Article One explain the functions and composition of the Congress which is a legislative part of the federal government. The article, according to the descriptions of the authors, outlines the qualifications each member of the Congress (the House and the Senate) ought to have to be part of the legislature. Any person who aspires to be part of the Congress based on the provisions of article one should be at least 25 years old, should be American citizens, and should have lived in their state for several years (Hennessy and McConnell 28). The audience further learns that the Congress has the mandate to borrow and pay debts, and also has the power to regulate the taxes citizens pay. Further reading of the first part of the book (Article I) indicates that the legislature can define the punishment offenders against the nation should get and can declare war against enemy states. Finally, Article one of the Constitution, based on the graphical presentation by the scholars, grants the Congress the power to describe how the military performs its actions and makes the final decision on the amount of money the defense team should get.Importance of Article I
The analysis by Hennessy and McConnell indicates that the Article I serves an important function in describing the roles and composition of the Congress and that it would be difficult to perform important governmental and national operations without the provision. The section shows that if it were not for Article I, political aspirants would scramble for the positions without any criteria, and experience which would create endless confrontations. The inclusion makes it easy to know the right age to vie as a politician, and further makes it clear for aspirants to understand the conditions they must fulfill to contest in American elections. The writing by the two authors further reveals how the government would be unable to acquire financial assistance from other nations or institutions if it were not for the oversight by the Congress which plays a crucial role in determining the appropriate partners. Similarly, the country would lack a proper system through which citizens generate revenue if the Constitution did not describe how every citizen or institution should pay taxes to the tax authorities. Lastly, the reading by Hennessy and McConnell points out that the nation would not enjoy the benefits it gets from its defense system if it were not for Article I which describes how the military should go about its functions.Graphical Presentations and their Role
The graphical presentations by the two creators serve a significant role in making the readers gain a vivid performance of the section. First, the images which are in black and white represent the authors' intention which becomes evident through the accompanying words. The authors, for example, include an image of what looks like the Congress in session while describing the qualifications aspirants must fulfill to have the ability to contest. Hennessy and McConnell (29) also use the images of military personnel and the artilleries they use for their operations when describing how the Article gives the Congress the mandate to outline the functions of the military. The outstanding features about the visual presentations are that the developers distinguish the written words with the dark images using white squares thus making it simpler for the audience to identify the descriptions that play a significant purpose in understanding the book's contents. Even though the graphical presentations are fictional in nature, they serve a crucial purpose in depicting the message at the time of presentation.Readers' Anticipation
The readers of this paper may not be in a position to understand some elements that are critical in helping one get a clearer view of the section's purpose. First, readers may want to whether Article one puts more emphasis on the House or the Senate, or whether both parts receive equal attention. The answer to this question, based on the writing by Robertson (43) that even though the two sections of the legislature have significant variations, Article I of the Constitution give equal attention to both areas to show that they serve equal measures in the legislation purposes. The Constitution in Article I, however, outlines some differences that exist between the House of Representatives. The Article, for instance, defines that Senate members should serve for six years, while members of the House should serve for two years. Apart from the duration each group should serve the Article defines that the two sections should have different numbers depending on the areas of representation and functions.Readers would also want to understand if Article I has any connection with the rest of the articles that form part of the Constitution. The first article has connections with Article II which describes the functions of the president in that it can dictate how the president engages in military activities being the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Secondly, Article I is connected with Article III which describes the judicial functions of the court system because the legislature is responsible for creating the laws that guide the activities by the courts. Article I still shares some relations with the rest of the pieces in some ways that readers need to take their time to understand.Conclusion
The description of Article One is one of the critical sections that users need to take note when reading the graphical book to understand how the legislature functions. Readers learn the Article guides the Congress in making serious decisions that have an impact on the country's operations including creating regulations on tax collection and military functions. The report shows that the government and the entire country would experience hardships in implementing its programs if it were not for Article I which provides directives to the Congress. Lastly, the report concludes by offering insight to some of the queries that readers may have when going through this report and these include whether Article One pays particular attention to one part of the Congress and whether the Article has any connections with the other parts.Work Cited
Hennessy, Jonathan and McConnell Aaron. The United States Constitution: a Graphic
Adaptation. New York: Hill and Wang, 2008.
Robertson, Brian. The Original Compromise: What the Constitutional Framers Were Really
Thinking. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
