Simone Lawson
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the land and the oldest constitution in the world. It is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens. The preamble of the Constitution introduces its seven articles and twenty-seven amendments and outlines its intentions and purpose. The Constitution has three main functions: creating a national government consisting of a legislative, an executive, and a judicial branch with a system of checks and balances, dividing power between the federal government and the state governments, and protecting the individual liberties of American citizens.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To establish a government that meets the needs of the people |
| To create a government with enough power to act on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk | |
| To set up a fair and balanced government | |
| To form a more perfect union | |
| To establish justice | |
| To ensure domestic tranquility | |
| To provide for the common defence | |
| To promote the general welfare | |
| To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity | |
| To protect the personal liberty of citizens from government intrusion | |
| To protect the fundamental rights of citizens | |
| To provide a system of checks and balances among the three branches | |
| To divide power between the federal government and the states | |
| To divide power between the national government and state governments (federalism) | |
| To provide limitations on the government | |
| To enumerate the powers of each branch | |
| To provide a process for amending the Constitution |
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What You'll Learn
To establish a national government
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the land in the United States. Empowered by the sovereign authority of the people, it is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.
The need for the Constitution arose from the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, which established a “firm league of friendship” between the states. However, the Articles did not effectively address issues such as state claims to western lands and proportional state tax burdens. The national government under the Articles was unable to prevent states from pursuing independent policies and failed to enforce provisions of treaties. These challenges highlighted the need for a stronger central government.
The Constitution aimed to establish a national government with sufficient power to act on a national level while safeguarding individual liberties. This was achieved through the separation of powers into three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The Constitution provides checks and balances among these branches to ensure that no single branch dominates the others.
The powers of each branch are enumerated in the Constitution, with those not assigned to the federal government being reserved for the states. The legislative branch, or Congress, has the power to levy and collect taxes, coin money and regulate its value, establish post offices and roads, issue patents, create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court, combat piracy and felonies, declare war, raise and support armies, and more. The executive branch, led by the President, includes the Cabinet and other appointed officials. The President acts as commander-in-chief of the military, has the power to veto laws passed by Congress, and conducts foreign relations. The judicial branch, consisting of the Supreme Court and inferior federal courts, interprets the law and decides on matters of constitutionality.
The Constitution also outlines a process for amending the document, recognizing the need for it to evolve over time. Amendments can be proposed by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress or by two-thirds of the states through a convention. Ratification requires the approval of three-fourths of the state legislatures or ratification conventions. This amendment process ensures that the Constitution remains adaptable to the changing needs of the nation while preserving the fundamental framework of the national government.
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To protect the personal liberty of citizens
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land in the United States. It is the source of all government powers and provides limitations on the government to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The Constitution was created to establish a government with enough power to act on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk.
The Constitution's primary goal is to protect the personal liberty of citizens. This is achieved through the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances, ensuring no single branch of government dominates. The Constitution also outlines the rights of individuals and restricts government authority.
The Bill of Rights, comprising the first ten amendments, explicitly guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, religion, and press. It also ensures protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, double jeopardy, self-incrimination, and the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
The Ninth Amendment is a crucial component of the Constitution's defence of personal liberty. Its broad scope acknowledges the existence of rights beyond those specifically enumerated in the Constitution, leaving it to the people and their elected officials to determine and interpret these rights. This amendment ensures that the Constitution does not limit personal liberty by recognising the inherent rights retained by the people.
The right to privacy, for example, is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution but has been inferred by the Supreme Court as a right implied by the listed rights. This demonstrates how the Constitution's protection of personal liberty is dynamic and subject to interpretation to safeguard citizens' freedoms.
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To ensure a fair and balanced government
The United States Constitution is the oldest and shortest written national constitution in the world. It is the "Supreme Law of the Land", and no other law is above it. The Constitution is an experiment in democracy, and its primary purpose is to ensure a fair and balanced government.
The Founding Fathers wanted to set up a fair and balanced government after gaining independence from Great Britain. Many Americans feared having a strong ruler and did not trust the government due to their recent liberation. Thus, the Constitution was designed to create a government with enough power to act on a national level, but not so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk.
The Constitution divides power between the federal government and the states, with the federal government being very strong, but limited to the powers enumerated within the Constitution. The powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states are reserved for the states or the people. The Constitution also divides power between the three branches of the government: the executive, legislative, and judicial. This is to ensure that no one branch of the government gains dominance over the others.
The Constitution also provides a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from gaining supremacy. Most important actions require the participation of more than one branch of the government. For example, Congress passes laws, but the President can veto them. The President has many duties, including acting as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, appointing the Cabinet, federal judges, and other important government officials, and the power to veto laws passed by Congress.
The Constitution has been amended 27 times since its ratification to ensure it can change and grow with time. Amendments can be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of Congress, or by two-thirds of the states. The first ten amendments are called the "Bill of Rights", which list the fundamental rights enjoyed by Americans today, including freedom of speech, religion, and press, the right to a jury trial, and the right to keep and bear arms.
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To provide a system of checks and balances
The US Constitution is the "supreme law of the land" and the oldest national constitution in the world. It is the source of all government powers and also provides limitations on the government to protect the fundamental rights of US citizens.
The Constitution provides a system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch of government becomes too powerful. This is achieved by giving each branch some power over the other branches. The three branches of the US government are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The legislative branch makes the laws, but the executive branch, led by the President, has the power to veto those laws. The legislative branch can, in turn, override the President's veto with a two-thirds supermajority vote by both houses of Congress. The judicial branch interprets the laws put into effect by the legislative branch and can deem laws or executive orders unconstitutional, making them void.
The system of checks and balances helps to ensure that political powers are sufficiently dispersed and that the government remains limited in its power and scope. It is a key feature of the US Constitution and was included to address weaknesses in the country's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, which did not provide the national government with enough power to protect the country or create a unified national economy.
The framers of the Constitution were influenced by thinkers such as Montesquieu and William Blackstone, and saw checks and balances as essential for the security of liberty. The idea of checks and balances dates back to ancient Rome, and similar systems can be found in other countries, such as France and Germany, which have constitutional councils that review the constitutionality of legislation.
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To allow for amendments
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land in the United States, laying out the basic rules of the government and protecting the fundamental rights of its citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, making it the oldest written national constitution in the world.
The Founding Fathers understood that the Constitution should be able to change and grow over time, so they included a mechanism for amending it. This process is outlined in Article V of the Constitution. Amending the Constitution is intentionally difficult to prevent arbitrary changes. An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. However, none of the 27 amendments to date have been proposed by constitutional convention.
Once proposed, an amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the states. The Archivist of the United States is responsible for administering the ratification process, which is carried out by the Director of the Federal Register. The amendment process is considered complete when the Archivist certifies the amendment as valid, and this certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large.
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and include fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and press, as well as the right to a jury trial and the right to keep and bear arms. The most recent amendment, the 27th Amendment, was certified in 1992.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land in the United States. It lays out the basic rules of the government and is the source of all government powers. The Constitution acts as a check on the government's power to protect the fundamental rights of United States citizens.
The Constitution has three main functions. Firstly, it creates a national government consisting of a legislative, an executive, and a judicial branch, with a system of checks and balances among the three branches. Secondly, it divides power between the federal government and the state governments. Thirdly, it protects the individual liberties of American citizens.
The Preamble is an introduction to the Constitution and outlines the intentions of its framers and the purpose of the document. It declares that the document is the enactment of, and remains the property of, the people. The Preamble also describes the purposes for which the document was adopted, which has implications for interpreting specific provisions.
