US Constitution: history and principles

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The US Constitution is over two hundred years old. This strong old woman helped her country survive many times of crisis. And now there is a storm in the political expanses, it happened before, and more than once, sometimes it even came to scandals. But on guard is the phenomenal and amazing US Constitution of 1787. So everything has always been and, hopefully, will continue to be in order. Both with the country and with its branches of government.

We the people

What were the people of America in whose name the US Constitution was written? In articles with a legal theme, hardly anyone referred to a television series. But you have to start somewhere: watch the magnificent "Deadwood", you will see the same "we the people". The series is not about the constitution, but about a lousy town of gold miners, where only bandits and crooks lived, and where murder was the main way of doing business.

The need for common "rules of the game" was born precisely then, precisely in such places. "Negotiate or not survive" - the slogan became the main driving forcecreating a common law. The US Constitution was born and raised on the ground, it was not lowered from above at the initiative of highbrow intellectuals. This explains the phenomenal nature of the document - it is popular, it is from "we, the people." This does not mean that the former bandits spent long winter evenings writing their proposals into the Basic Law. The constitution was not created from scratch - at first each of the states of the Confederation had it and went through a tough run-in among its bandits. This is the second factor in the phenomenality of the 1787 US Constitution.

Ten-year training

Even in the midst of the Civil War (the fact speaks for itself: the unifying law was needed like air) in 1777 (exactly ten years before the US Constitution) the distant ancestor of the modern code of laws called "Articles of Confederation" was passed, which described the rights of states and central bodies. Everything was very weak: starting with the powers of the central body of the Congress of the Confederation. Congress was unable to pass any general law: one state could block any initiative. But in the states of the Confederation, life was in full swing: each of them had its own constitution and the right to change it - that's where the articles and sections were tested, these were the first US constitutions. Members of the confederation could set their own taxes, customs fees, which ultimately led to serious economic problems and losses. The first sign in the creation of a full-fledged common law was an economic problem - it was necessary to abolish customs barriers between states as quickly as possible.

Create is just flowers

The signing took place inPhiladelphia in 1787 is a well-known fact. And the fact that before the signing, the delegates hit a seemingly complete dead end, but the Great (Connecticut) compromise was found, and it was invented by a delegate from Connecticut, lawyer Roger Sherman, few people know.

Roger Sherman truly saved the adoption of the US Constitution by delegates to the Philadelphia Convention. He found a solution to the problem, which became a stumbling block in the discussion of the next steps. The main dispute was between the delegates of large and small states. Large states insisted on proportional representation in Congress (if the population is large, then there are more representatives). The smaller states fought for equal representation regardless of population.

Roger Sherman found a compromise: one House of Representatives was elected on a territorial basis, the other (the Senate) was formed from delegates on an equal basis.

Ratify - berries

The ratification lasted more than two years, the participants involved were divided into "federalists" and "anti-federalists". The latter feared the emergence of a central tyrannical power, I recall the power of the British king. The constitution came into force only in 1790. Voting was very difficult in every state. In the latter, Rhode Island, the majority of votes was minimal - 34 to 32. New York also hardly passed the new law: 30 votes to 27.

Who invested in the Constitution

For all the nationality of the basic law (it was more expressed in the stage of "running in" regionalpreparations and the readiness of the population to accept and support it) were written by outstanding intellectuals who used not only their developments, but also the works of world classics. The French thinker Montesquieu, for example, “invested” in the Constitution with ideas about the separation of powers. The famous social contract theory of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau formed the basis of the preamble to the Constitution.

The Basic Laws of Connecticut became the skeleton of the future Constitution. Something was taken from the British Magna Carta.

The name of the main author cannot be found - it is not there, and this is also symptomatic. The coordinator of a group of thirty developers was James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, who, in addition to the Constitution, led the work on the famous Bill of Rights.

The Essence of the US Constitution

There are seven articles in the document. It is still the shortest constitution in the world. If we talk about the main advantage of the US Constitution in principle, then this is the legendary system of checks and balances - the separation of powers into executive, legislative and judicial. The descriptions and powers of these branches are contained in the first three main articles of the Constitution.

The most important part - the principles of the US Constitution regarding the equality of the states and their relationship with the federal government - the basis of federalism. They are set out in the fourth article.

The last three articles describe the procedures for making changes in the form of amendments to the Constitution, the obligation to supportConstitution by all citizens of the country and the rules for the entry into force of the same Constitution.

As a result, the US Constitution approved:

1. Presidential republic as a form of government.
2. Principles of presidential elections.
3. The rights of the states in the form of a federal structure of the country.
4. Separation of powers.
5. A system of checks and balances.

Corrections: famous and not so famous

A total of 31 amendments were adopted, but "work", that is, only 27 of them were ratified. The first ten amendments were a single package - it was the famous "Bill of Rights", which was filed after the Constitution itself - even before it full ratification.

Amendment 13: Abolition of slavery. That says it all.

Amendment 15: Suffrage for Colored People and Former Slaves. Comments are not needed here either.

Amendment 16: Imposing a federal income tax. With her, the United States began to gain strength and power as a state.

Thanks to the 18th Amendment, we have the cult trilogy The Godfather with many other great films and books on the same subject - Prohibition, bootlegging, the mafia, crime through the roof. "Church instead of whiskey" - this idea has suffered a complete collapse. As a result, the prohibition of alcohol was lifted by the 21st Amendment after fourteen nightmarish years.

Amendment 19: Women's suffrage. No comment.

The famous 22nd Amendment also has a bright historical background. It was written and contributed immediately after his death in office as President of the United States. Franklin Roosevelt in 1947. He was the only one who was elected to the presidency four times. What is the amendment about? Of course, about the limit of presidential terms - no more than two terms of four years each, no comment.

Amendment 26: lowering the voting age to 18. The historical context for this crucial amendment was the Vietnam War and numerous anti-war protests (it is already possible to fight and die, but not yet to vote).

The last 27th Amendment is also unique and, perhaps, the most revealing from the point of view of the psychology of American parliamentarians. The amendment has gone the hardest way to its ratification, 203 years long, it is the same age as the Constitution itself. It is clear why it took so long to ratify it: now senators and congressmen cannot raise their own salaries. They can do this only for the next composition of parliamentarians.

Bill of Rights

A package of ten amendments was written and sent to the vote almost immediately after the Constitution itself. This is the main document on the personal and political rights and freedoms of the citizens of the country. Americans are as proud of the Bill as they are of the Constitution itself. Freedom of religion, press, assembly, speech… The same Bill allowed the carrying of weapons.

Thanks to the Fourth Amendment, neither cops nor FBI agents can enter a citizen's home without a warrant. The next few amendments give the right to trial by jury and describe important details of US trial proceedings. The judicial branch of government, headed by the Supreme Court, has hugepowers and takes an active part in both the political and economic spheres of life of citizens and governments.

Thus, the rights in the US Constitution are set out separately, in detail, concisely, and exhaustively. The Bill of Rights is as famous a document as the Constitution. It is the basis of human rights declarations in many countries and at the UN.

Burn the US national flag? It can

The most interesting episode is the numerous and unsuccessful attempts to amend the inviolability of the national symbol - the US flag. The last one took place in 1995. Student protests following Donald Trump's surprise presidential victory included burning the US flag.

Donald Trump called for the punishment of demonstrators. Despite the insulting nature of such actions, Congressmen, as well as most other citizens, are of the opinion that the rights written in the Constitution are inviolable.

Facts and Facts

• This is the most concise Constitution of all similar documents: it has only 4400 words.
• The Constitution was written in record time: 100 days. The group of authors was also the smallest in the world history of creating such documents - only 30 people.
• There are a huge number of amendments to the Constitution - there have been more than ten thousand of them throughout history. The main filter of the amendment stream is the Congress with its special commissions.