Though the United States Constitution is the oldest active constitution in the world, it was never meant to be perfect nor was it predicted to last this long. It’s been well over two hundred years since it came into action and it has only been amended seventeen times for a total of twenty seven amendments. The US Constitution is what many Americans see as the pillars that keep the country strong while others see those same pillars but cracked and crumbling. When we talk about key features of the constitution, we are really talking about the features of the government that sets it up. One of the most important features is the separation of powers where three branches were created to balance each other so no one has more power than the other, …show more content…
Over two hundred years and all these purposes have not changed and have been enforced to the fullest extent. These men literally thought of everything to make sure this document was protected from any sort of corruption. The Articles of Confederation obviously were not to the expectations of the union at the time since certain states did whatever they wanted without punishment. The Articles gave the powers to the states so people to whom it would matter would take advantage over it, so it was replaced with the constitution. The Bill of Rights was lacking when it was time to ratify the constitution, so that lead to Edmund Randolph. George Mason of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts refusing to …show more content…
Bill of Rights. People are allowed to speak their minds, worship their entities, and have the ultimate decision on what is right and wrong, the bill of rights is technically a way of living. This ensures our safety from many actions such as quartering of troops to right to bear arms and rights to a speedy trial, but due to changes in the world, people have misinterpreted terms in the bill and tried changing the meaning of some amendments. Did you know the word god, democracy, and privacy were never mentioned the
The first feature, checks and balances, came to be out of fear on the part of the founders. During the Revolutionary War, America fought against a tyrannical monarchy, under which they had little freedoms or choice. This was still quite fresh in the minds of the founders, as they did not want to establish a government that was all-powerful and at the same time still effective in its role in
Most of the American people know about the Bill of Rights, but don 't know much else about our constitution. One of the most important parts of the constitution are the rules and principles that give government its power, if these were not already embedded in there would be mass confusion on who could do what and how much power a single branch held. Luckily the United States constitution, which is 228 years old, still provides a framework for legitimate government in the U.S.. The constitution can change with the times because of the six broad principles it is based on.
In the USA and in each of the fifty states, the most basic fundamental is a constitution, which is a relatively simple document and is the self-designated supreme law of the land. As the supreme law of the land, Constitutional Law texts are generally divided into two parts. The first part is about the allocation of powers. This entails two basic principles of American Constitution:separation of powers and division of powers. The former one discusses the interaction among the three constituent elements of national goverment, while the latter one refers to the extent of power possessing by the federal goverment and specification of states' power. Both of the two principles function under one principle----checks and balances. The second part of the Constitution is on the specification of rights and liberties for the individuals. To realize the rights and liberties, the Framers were not only dependent on the allocation of powers, but also on another principle of the Constitution----limited goverment. All above are my thesis' four principles of the Amercian Constitution, of which I will introduce one by one as follows.
The Constitution which was written 229 years ago, comes with many strengths and weaknesses. One such strength is that the Constitution is a living document. A living document is a document that has the ability to be updated and or drafted upon. The original document had twelve amendments. These amendments were sent to the states for ratification in 1789 and out of the twelve, ten of them were passed by the vote of eleven states in the union. Since that time of the first change in our constitution, it has been added to twenty-seven times. The Constitution is America’s founding document that has lasted for 229 years; it has changed as the country has changed. (THE CHARTERS OF FREEDOM A NEW WORLD AT HAND) The Constitution being a living document was intended to be adapted by future generations and because of its adaptability, it could have new amendments ratified and add to
Since its creation and its adoption as the supreme law of the United States, the Constitution suffered many changes. New amendments were necessary over time to stimulate the growth of the country
"A noble five-point buck, he occupies a third of the width and height of the pictorial design, in the geographical centre of the forefront. Standing erect, head thrown far back, facing east, but with one eye on the audience, his forefeet stand firmly on the motto (Bennett, 2011)." This is what the state seal featured 1863. The final state seal is a testament of the ever changing face of Arizona as a prospector with fields adorns the back. The strong and proud heritage is seen in the constitution itself. It is the people that shaped the document. In this essay we will discuss the impact of the constitution on the counties, municipalities, corporations, and schools.
The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781 represented the former colonist’s first attempt to establish a new government after the Revolutionary War. These Articles provided a weak political document that was meant to keep the states united temporarily. The states had all the power, so any changes made to the Article of Confederation would take every state to approve it or amend it. In February 1787, Congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the Article of Confederation (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2009). Congress felt the Article of Confederation was not enough to effectively deal with the young nations issues. Congress knew it was time for the country to move forward, and to do that, there would be some big changes ahead, and that was the end of the Articles of Confederation, and the beginning of the created US Constitution.
The Bill of Rights refers to the original ten rights that were granted to all American citizens by the framers of the constitution. The bill of rights has given American citizens protection against the government, and stopped the government from infringing their individual rights since the inception of the constitution. The bill of rights has given Americans the freedom of worship, speech, protected the right to fair trial, free press, unusual as well as the right to bear arms. The amendment of the bill of rights has allowed the people’s rights to be expanded, and brought changes in the society, which have shaped the American society throughout the years.
When 55 men met in a crowded, hot building in Philadelphia to write the Constitution two hundred years ago, they wrote a code of law that fit their specific needs. In that time, Mozart was still composing sonatas, moons of Uranus were still being discovered, and the Columbia completed the first United States voyage around the world. Today, we still have the Constitution, a beautiful document that creates a wonderful government for this great country. The legal system set forth by the Constitution was revolutionary, and managed to survive despite the doubts of the rest of the world. Perhaps one of the most beautiful parts of the Constitution is the fact that it is still in use today, and not in the same way that it was used back in 1787. The
The Founding Fathers created the Constitution “in Order to form a more perfect Union”. As we are well aware, this concept of a more perfect Union can be challenged for a number of different reasons. While following some sort of guideline is necessary to run a country, we have to be aware of whether or not these regulations properly fit within the structure of society that is active during the present time. We should then begin to question the very structure of what we are being governed by, and realize that maybe it’s time for changes to be made. I believe that there are ways in which the Founding Fathers did what they were supposed to do while making the Constitution, however I also believe that there are huge flaws within the system.
The Constitution is the greatest document in American history. It has pushed for progressiveness and equality. The Constitution is basically the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before the Constitution, the nation's leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave independence to each state; the states lacked authority, the ability to work together, and to solve national problems. The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens using five big ideas and this shaped today's America.
In 1787, The United States of America formally replaced the Articles of Confederation with a wholly new governing document, written by the delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. This document, known as the Constitution, has served as the supreme law of our land for the past 228 years. It has stood the test of time and a majority of Americans still support it today (Dougherty). The Constitution was designed in a way that allows for it to be amended, in order to address changing societal needs. Article V discusses the process by which the Constitution can be altered. This feature has enabled it to stay in effect and keep up with current times. The Constitution should not be rewritten every 19 years because it would not only weaken its importance, but it would also hurt foreign relations and continuously rewriting it would give political parties too much power.
Unlike many other foundational documents written by other counties, the US Constitution has held strong from the start. The Constitution is at the center of our everyday lives and is the reason we are able to live with the freedom and security that we do. As the Constitutions author, contents, and effect on the US are evaluated it is very clear why America holds so strongly to the foundation the Constitution set in place.
The first time a unified government structure went into effect was on March 1, 1781, when the Article of Confederation went into effect to unify the 13 colonies that fought in the Revolutionary War into one country. The Articles of Confederation was an extremely flawed document that gave way to many rights and liberties to the individual states, and not enough power to a centralized government. The main problem with the Articles of Confederation was that they left the national government powerless to enforce any laws that they might have passed. Under the Articles of Confederation, each state printed its own money and there was no nationwide economy. Eventually the Articles of Confederation was replaced by the United States Constitution, which is still the governing document of the United States today.
There are several key constitutional principles, such as popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, individual rights, and so on. The United States is a democracy and residences are considered the source of the government powers. Since America is well known for freedom, it is obvious that the government does not have powers to control everything. Limited government is another type of the constitutional principles as well.