The Six Basic Principles of our Constitution
Click on an image to view a current example of each of these principles
Popular Sovereignty
This means that our government is made by the people for the people. This essentially means that our President and other representing leaders are working for us, not the other way around. This ideal system puts the needs of the masses above the needs of those who are in public office. As Benjamin Franklin wrote "In free governments, the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns."
A real life example of this concept is Kansas Statehood. With free-soilers moving in to stop slavery, border ruffians moved in to expand slavery in the border state. This led to widespread bloodshed, and gave the state its temporary nickname "Bleeding Kansas." To end the bloodshed, Kansas was given a choice to let its people decide the issue of slavery. Due to popular sovereignty, Kansas was admitted a free state into the Union in early 1861. A common modern example of this is voting. Separation of Powers
The American Government is split up into multiple branches. The Constitution divided our government into three branches: legislative (which contains representatives in Congress), executive (with the President), and Judicial (with the Supreme Court). Some of the duties of our legislative branch is to tax to provide services, regulates money, approve treaties, and make laws. The President and his branch enforces these laws. The judicial branch has the task of explaining and interpreting these laws.
Judicial Review
Judicial Review means the Courts have power to determine if government actions follow the Constitution. The Supreme Court has decided more than 150 cases on this.
Judicial review can be seen in today's government. An example is that the Court just blocked a challenge to an anti-terrorism law. |
Limited Government
Limited government means that the government only has the power that the people give it. Limited government means that neither the government itself or any official is "above the law". The Classic example here is Thomas Jefferson, an early advocate of limited government. He thought that the Constitution did not give him as a president the necessary power to purchase the Louisiana territory.
Just what powers the government has is a party issue. Republicans support maintaining limited where Democrats push for greater government control. This is obvious in the gun control debate. A real life example is how the budget crisis was solved. Checks and Balances
The Constitution divided government power for good reason: to keep one branch from becoming too powerful. The elaborate system of checks and balances makes government less efficient but is necessary to protect the people from tyranny. Each branch has the responsibility to restrain the power of the other branches. The president must sign laws designed by Congress and can veto (prevent it from becoming law). This is how the executive branch restrains the legislative. The president doesn't hold all the power though, because Congress can override a veto with an additional vote. The judicial branch can decide if passed laws are Constitutional or if the government act oversteps the limits placed by the Constitution.
One way that the executive branch limits the judicial branch is that it appoints judges. If a judge does something illegal, Congress can impeach that judge. A real example of this is Plessy v Ferguson "seperate but equal". This decision was later brought down. A current example of checks and balances is the Drone strikes: Federalism
This is the division of power between central and regional governments. This is a good system because without it, too much power would be at the national level. Rather than flooding the national government with local responsibilites it would likely be unfamiliar with, government is broken down into state and county. These more localized government are better able to serve their region. Even with thousands of local governments, we are not the Divided States of America. The federal government unites these state and local governments together.
Example: When the Republicans retook Congress in 1994, they changed many federal grants into block grants. Instead of giving money to states to buy textbooks or repair schools, for example, Congress gave states blocks of money to spend on education in any way the states saw fit. Example: Each state has their own driving laws. |