Constitutional Government Controls The Exercise Of Political Power

455 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Marbury v madison summary

Constitutional government is defined by the existence of a constitution. Which may be a legal instrument or merely a set of fixed norms or principles generally accepted as the fundamental law of the polity that effectively controls the exercise of political power. The Constitution of the United States is the central instrument of American government and the supreme law of the land. For 200 years it has guided the evolution of governmental institutions and has provided the basis for political stability, individual freedom, economic growth, and social progress. The upper house or senate would reflect the importance of state sovereignty by including two people from each state regardless of size.

Meanwhile, the lower house the house of representatives would have different numbers of representatives from each state determined by population. …show more content…

Alternatively, the legislatures of two-thirds of the states may ask Congress to call a national convention to discuss and draft amendments. In either case, amendments must have the approval of three-fourths of the states before they enter into force.

Aside from the direct process of changing the Constitution, the effect of its provisions may be changed by judicial interpretation. Early in the history of the republic, in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established the doctrine of judicial review, which is the power of the Court to interpret acts of Congress and decide their constitutionality. The doctrine also embraces the power of the Court to explain the meaning of various sections of the Constitution as they apply to changing legal, political, economic, and social conditions. Over the years, a series of Court decisions, on issues ranging from governmental regulation of radio and television to the rights of the accused in criminal cases, has had the effect of bringing up to date the thrust of constitutional law,

Show More
Related

  • Dbq How Did The Constitution Guard Against Tyranny

    449 Words  | 1 Pages

    The fourth guard against tyranny was Small states vs. Large states which means that it separates the representatives equally for all states so they have the same chances to have votes.It says in Document D that the votes for the house are represented one for every thirty thousand but each state must have one representative.Small states vs. Large states compromise protects against tyranny because it made the number of votes fair by representing them

    Read More

  • Three Branches: The Impact on Law Enforcement

    1151 Words  | 3 Pages

    September 17, 1787, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; during the heat of summer, in a stuffy assembly room of Independence Hall, a group of delegates gathered. After four months of closed-door quorums, a four page, hand written document was signed by thirty-nine attendees of the Constitutional Convention. This document, has come to be considered, by many, the framework to the greatest form of government every known; the Constitution of the United States. One of the first of its kind, the Constitution laid out the frame work for the government we know today. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people; constructed of three branches; each branch charged with their own responsibilities. Article one established the Congress or Legislative branch, which would be charged with legislative powers. Article two created the Executive branch, providing chief executive powers to a president, who would act in the capacity of Commander in Chief of the Country’s military forces. The President of the United States also acts as head of state to foreign nations and may establish treaties and foreign policies. Additionally, the President and the departments within the Executive branch were established as the arm of government that is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress. Thirdly, under Article three of the Constitution, the Judicial branch was established, and consequently afforded the duty of interpreting the laws, determining the constitutionality of the laws, and apply it to individual cases. The separation of powers is paramount to the system of checks and balances among the three branches; however, although separate they must support the functions of the others. Because of this, the Legislative an...

    Read More

  • Preventing Tyranny: The Power of the Constitution

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    The worries of yesterday Eventually, we will have a tyranny without a strong, trustworthy constitution. We do not want to recreate exactly what the colonists were trying to avoid and escape from, which was tyranny. Tyranny refers to when a person has a lot of power, and has a lot on their hands, having complete control, and total control. In 1787 a group of delegates from 12 of the 13 states goes together to try to better the country.

    Read More

  • The Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution: An In-Depth Analysis

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I stated earlier each state wanted to be represented according to different factors. The states with bigger populations wanted representation to be based solely off of population. The states with smaller populations wanted there to be a fixed number of representatives per state, regardless of size or population. The Connecticut Compromise resolved this issue by forming the two houses that we have today.

    Read More

  • Has the U.S. Lived up to its Founding Principles?

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    The. A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to set specific standards for our country. We must ask ourselves why our founding fathers created the Constitution in the first place. America revolted against the British due to their monarchy form of government.

    Read More

  • The Case of Marbury v. Madison

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    These early Supreme Court decisions have made a lasting impression on the United States. Marbury v. Madison established the concept of judicial review that strengthened the ability of the judcicary to act as a check against the legislative and executive branches by providing for the review of Congressional acts by the judiciary to determine the constitutionality of such acts. McCulloch v. Maryland allowed for the expansion of Congress’ implied powers needed to execute its delegated powers as well as defined the supremacy of constitutionally enacted federal entities over state statutes.

    Read More

  • Constitutionalism: The Tyranny Of The Majority

    371 Words  | 1 Pages

    In this excerpt from Democracy in America Alexis Tocqueville expresses his sentiments about the United States democratic government. Tocqueville believes the government's nature exists in the absolute supremacy of the majority, meaning that those citizens of the United States who are of legal age control legislation passed by the government. However, the power of the majority can exceed its limits. Tocqueville believed that the United States was a land of equality, liberty, and political wisdom. He considered it be a land where the government only served as the voice of the its citizens. He compares the government of the US to that of European systems. To him, European governments were still constricted by aristocratic privilege, the people had no hand in the formation of their government, let alone, there every day lives. He held up the American system as a successful model of what aristocratic European systems would inevitably become, systems of democracy and social equality. Although he held the American democratic system in high regards, he did have his concerns about the systems shortcomings. Tocqueville feared that the virtues he honored, such as creativity, freedom, civic participation, and taste, would be endangered by "the tyranny of the majority." In the United States the majority rules, but whose their to rule the majority. Tocqueville believed that the majority, with its unlimited power, would unavoidably turn into a tyranny. He felt that the moral beliefs of the majority would interfere with the quality of the elected legislators. The idea was that in a great number of men there was more intelligence, than in one individual, thus lacking quality in legislation. Another disadvantage of the majority was that the interests of the majority always were preferred to that of the minority. Therefore, giving the minority no chance to voice concerns.

    Read More

  • Constitutional Democracy In The United States

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    The scenes in creation being intellectual, the put together of constitutional democracy was very empirical. The Constitutional Convention was convened to formulate the constitution. What had to be clear was that the only way to assure a functioning constitutional democracy was the public's discussion. In philadelphia the delegates compromised. The outcome was to integrate states with large populations and states with small populations with a bicameral legislative branch. Also compromises that guaranteed say from both slave owning states and non-slave states could be listened to. The Bill of Rights

    Read More

  • Structure of the Federal Court System

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before the adoption of the United States Constitution, the U.S. was governed by the Articles of Confederation. These articles stated that almost every function of the government was chartered by the legislature known as Congress. There was no distinction between legislative or executive powers. This was a major shortcoming in how the United States was governed as many leaders became dissatisfied with how the government was structured by the Articles of Confederation. They felt that the government was too weak to effectively deal with the upcoming challenges. In 1787, an agreement was made by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a national judiciary needed to be established. This agreement became known as The Constitution of the United States, which explicitly granted certain powers to each of the three branches of the federal government, while reserving other powers exclusively to the states or to the people as individuals. It is, in its own words, “the supreme Law of the Land” (Shmoop Editorial Team).

    Read More

  • The Failure Of The Constitution In The United States Constitution

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Constitution was the first constitution constructed during the Constitutional Convention and ratified in 1787. This document improved the national government structure through the fundamental laws. The Bill of Rights were implemented to protect basic individual rights, as well as the civil liberties that are implied even though not stated in the Constitution. The Constitution provided separation of powers within the three branches so no branch would have more jurisdiction over the other. These three branches consisted of the legislative which emerged to a bicameral congress, the executive which now be vested in the President, and the judicial which is the Supreme Court where the judges are appointed by the President and approved through Congress. In order to avoid one branch overpowering others, the constitution proposed checks and balances. The Congress is compromised of the Senate and the House of Representatives. After a two year term a member of the representative house must uphold popular vote during elections to take position, and the amount of members is based on the states’ population; whereas after a six year term two new senators appointed by state council to each state take position. During the voting process the senate is granted one vote per representative and senator. In addition, Congress gained the right to levy taxes on individuals which boots the economy to allow Congress access to gather an army and handle issues regarding the

    Read More

  • Comparative Constitutional Approach Essay

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Constitution of the United States of America (US) is the bedrock of the political and judicial system of a country which at the time founded represented a new direction of governance not practiced for nearly two millenniums. The US became the first democratic republic in modern history with a Constitution that came into force in 1789, deriving more ideals from the Romans or the Greek Mini-States that from any political system in place around the world at the time. It is undeniable, even by the strictest constructionist or originalists that the U.S. Constitution borrowed concepts not only from famous ancient philosophers like Aristotle or Cicero but also from modern political thinkers like Locke, Montesquieu

    Read More

  • The Importance Of The US Constitution

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Constitution is responsible for establishing and distinguishing the powers of the presidency, Congress, and the court system. It says that each state must acknowledge the laws of other states and that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The Constitution is made of seven articles and twenty-seven amendments

    Read More

  • First Great Awakening Themes

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    A court with judicial review power may invalidate laws and decisions that are incompatible with a higher authority, such as the terms of a written constitution. Judicial review is one of the checks and balances in the separation of powers: the power of the judiciary to supervise the legislative and executive branches when the latter exceed their authority. Judicial review was established in the classic case of Marbury v. Madison. under Judicial Review the Court also established its authority to strike down state laws found to be in violation of the Constitution. It plays an essential role in ensuring that each branch of government recognizes the limits of its own power. Judicial Review protects civil rights and liberties by striking down laws that violate the Constitution and it sets appropriate limits on democratic government by ensuring that popular majorities cannot pass laws that harm and/or take undue advantage of unpopular minorities. The establishment of the 14th and 15th Amendments also referred to as the “Reconstruction Amendments” extended new constitutional protections to African Americans, though the struggle to fully achieve equality would continue into the twentieth century.The Fourteenth Amendment created the privileges and immunities clause, applicable to all citizens; and made the due process and equal protection clauses applicable to all persons.The Fifteenth Amendment, prohibits discrimination in voting rights of citizens on the basis of "race,

    Read More

  • Advantages Of Codified Constitution In The United States

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    A constitution is defined as a ‘body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed’. There are numerous types of different constitutions; unitary, federal, codified or uncodified, rigid or flexible. A codified constitution is one in which key constitutional provisions are provided within a single written document. To evaluate whether or not a codified constitution is indeed the best way to organise a system it is important to look at the system of government in countries who have codified constitutions such as the United States of America and compare them to countries who do not, such as New Zealand or the United Kingdom.

    Read More

  • Essay On Constitutional Interpretation

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Constitution or “the supreme law of the land”, as stated in article six in the constitution is very complex. It is complex not only in its actual text full of ambiguities and vagueness, but it becomes more complex when used in practice and interpreted. Constitutional interpretation is significant because it is what decides what the constitution actually means. Constitutional interpretation is a guide judges use to find the legal meaning of the constitution. The interpretation of the constitution and amendments can make a big impact on outcomes. In our government and Judiciary, we see commonly see originalism being used to interpret the constitution and amendments, but there

    Read More

More about Constitutional Government Controls The Exercise Of Political Power

Open Document