The United States government was founded on a written set of principles known as the Constitution. There have only been 17 amendments, or changes, since ratification. While the United States has evolved with time the role and function of the government, and the way the government guarantees civil rights and liberties, has also evolved. These changes have resulted from changing or broadening of the interpretation of the constitution. Although the core of the constitution has not changed, it has expanded and its interpretation has changed to keep up with societal demands. Whereas the six functions of government, as articulated in the Preamble remain the same, the functions have extended to govern issues not a factor during the 18th century. However, the primary function of the government to maintain order has remained unchanged. Demonstrated through various avenues, these functions are open to interpretation. Throughout time, the government continuously adapted itself to provide various services and regulations to the public that it views as beneficial for the public good. Such services have grown to include food standards, consumer protection, health, and education among others. Examples of governmental function expansion since ratification of the constitution can be seen in the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, FEMA, and much more. Through FEMA, the federal government provides disaster relief funding to help communities struck by floods and tornadoes and other natural disasters. The Department of Agriculture put out the food pyramid, which helped people develop a healthy diet. The Department of Energy provides funding for research on wind energy. Clearly, food pyramids and wind energies were ... ... middle of paper ... ... document and not the will of those in powers is tremendous. Except for the 17 of the 27 amendments that make part of the United States of America constitution, the constitution has remained largely the same. What has changed, and continues to change, is the interpretation of some parts that have expanded to include contexts that were not envisioned by our founding fathers. It is truly remarkable that the Constitution has sustained many powerful historical events over time and today remains pretty much intact. Works Cited: "0765622327 Management." http://www.scribd.com/doc/30508667/0765622327-Management. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2011 . "Changes in the Executive Branch: Checks and Balances: Three ..." http://www.enotes.com/government-checks-balances/changes-executive-branch. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2011
The United States' Constitution is one the most heralded documents in our nation's history. It is also the most copied Constitution in the world. Many nations have taken the ideals and values from our Constitution and instilled them in their own. It is amazing to think that after 200 years, it still holds relevance to our nation's politics and procedures. However, regardless of how important this document is to our government, the operation remains time consuming and ineffective. The U.S. Constitution established an inefficient system that encourages careful deliberation between government factions representing different and sometimes competing interests.
The Constitution provides the basic framework of our American Government. The Constitution established the structure of the Government and a written set of rules to stabilizes the conduct of the government . The Constitution was ratified in 1788 in Philadelphia. After long diatribe and political battle between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, they finally came to and Agreement. The Constitution divided the national government into three branches; Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. The government is based upon the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances even though in practice many powers and functions interchanged and are shared. In 1791 the states ratified the Bill of Rights in order to protect individuals from the power of the federal government. The 1st Ten Amendments to the Constitution involve provisions for freedom is religion, speech,, press, assembly, and petition. Through the year 2000 the Constitution has been amended twenty seven times due to interminable needs by the people.
The document I chose to write about is the United States Constitution. When the thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence in 1776, they laid down that “governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The “colonies” had to establish a government, which would be the framework for the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to define and therefore more specifically limit government powers. After the Articles of Confederation failed to work in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
The constitution is just like the backbone of our country. Because it was written in a way that allows us to change it as the country changes; that is the reason it has survived for 225 years and most likely there will be many more years for it. There are four ways the Constitution changes, The Elastic Clause, Amendment Procedure as a Mechanism for Change, The Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court Decision.
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
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.
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
When the United States of America’s government was first created there were many arguments about the jobs it would have and how much power it would possess. The first document that set the foundation for the national government was the Articles of Confederation. However, it had many weaknesses and denied the government the power to levy taxes and regulate commerce. In addition to denying the national government essential powers, it did not provide for a judiciary branch. Many of the political leaders realized that the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation were issues that needed to be addressed and resolved. As the leaders began to revise the Articles of Confederation, a better solution began to take shape: the Constitution. However,
The United States of America is one of the most powerful nation-states in the world today. The framers of the American Constitution spent a great deal of time and effort into making sure this power wasn’t too centralized in one aspect of the government. They created three branches of government to help maintain a checks and balance system. In this paper I will discuss these three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, for both the state and federal level.
The U.S. constitution is the foundation of our national government. On September 17, 1787 it was signed by the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. ("The U.S. Constitution") By signing this, the Constitution replaced the first national governing document called the Articles of Confederation. Before it could be passed, it had to be ratified by nine of the thirteen states. Soon after the constitution was finally ratified, in 1791 the government decided to add the Bill of Rights to the Constitution. (Bill of Rights of the United States of America (1791)) After the Constitution was written, many of the great delegates or "framers" called it a miracle.
In 1918, while the rest of Europe was still engaged in World War I, a newly formed communist government was developing in Russia. Much like 18th century Americans, they had just managed to overthrow what was viewed as a tyrannical government and hoped to form a new nation free of the injustices of the previous rule. Both countries wrote a new constitution as well as a declaration of rights to facilitate this, but their respective documents had vast differences. These disparities stemmed from differences in the ideologies of the new governments. The primary objectives of the Russian Declaration of Rights of the Working and Exploited People and the later constitution were the “abolition of all exploitation of man by man, complete elimination of the division of society into classes, merciless suppression of the exploiters, socialist organization of society, and victory of socialism in all countries.” Americans wanted equality of opportunity and personal freedom instead of the social equality desired by the Russians. The American constitution and Bill of Rights were created to protect personal liberties and individual freedom while the Russians were more concerned with the welfare and equality of the population as a whole. This difference is partially due to the differences in the conditions leading to revolution in each country. The American Revolution was initiated by the wealthy in response to what they considered unfair treatment by a foreign ruler while the Russian revolution was instigated by the poor in reaction to centuries of oppression and exploitation by the wealthy within their own country.
The United States Constitution, and the later added Bill of Rights, drastically changed the laws, privileges, and rights that were originally outlined in the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution is a set of articles that address things from laws for the people to the power and privileges of different branches of government. The Constitution was not fully accepted when it was first written because it was such a large change from the Article of Confederation. The Constitution was written without thinking of protecting citizens natural rights, with this in mind the Bill of Rights was created to outline what the government couldn’t do against natural rights.
“While the authors of the United States Constitution are frequently portrayed as noble and idealistic statesmen who drafted a document based upon their conception of good government, reality is that the constitution reflects the politics of the drafting and ratification process. Unfortunately, the result is a document that is designed to produce an ineffective government, rather than a government that can respond to issues in a timely fashion.” In support of this conclusion, the issues of slavery, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and the civil rights struggle keenly demonstrate the ways in which our constitution hinders the expediency and effectiveness of America’s government. The constitution’s provisions towards voting eligibility and separation of powers proved to be the most significant obstacle in the path to emancipation for slaves in the 19th century. The way in which federalism is laid out within the constitution played a monumental role in the communication barriers that arose during the 1906 earthquake, delaying assistance to thousands of Californians.
The United States constitution have modificated the government and our society through amendments.Constitutional change is when an amendment is added or removed from the constitution. Two example of constitutional change is The 13th Amendment and The 14th Amendment.
The constitution of the United States is more than 200 years old, it dates back to the 18th century. The constitution is ‘“ The supreme law of the land” which means the highest form of law in the U.S. the name of the american government is the “constitution” after the delegates who signed the bill of rights it in the constitutional convention in philadelphia.There are 6 basic principles which the government operates under today that are set up by the constitution. The 6 basic principles are the popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers,judicial review, checks and balances and federalism.