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Constitutional government. 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 essence of constitutionalism is the control of ...
A constitutional government is one whose powers have been adapted to the interests of its people and to the maintenance of individual liberty. Learn how this idea emerged from Magna Carta and the American Revolution, and how it shaped the government of the United States.
Apr 18, 2024 · A constitution is the fundamental organizing principle of a political state, which may be written or unwritten, and may include various features and practices. Learn about the origins, theories, and types of constitutions from ancient Greece to modern times.
- Article I assigns the responsibility for making laws to the Legislative Branch (Congress). Congress is divided into two parts, or “Houses,” the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- Article II details the Executive Branch and the offices of the President and Vice President. It lays down rules for electing the President (through the Electoral College), eligibility (must be a natural-born citizen at least 35 years old), and term length.
- Article III establishes the Judicial Branch with the U.S. Supreme Court as the federal court system’s highest court. It specifies that Federal judges be appointed for life unless they commit a serious crime.
- Article IV outlines states’ powers in relationship to each other. States have the authority to create and enforce their own laws but must respect and help enforce the laws of other states.
May 16, 2024 · The authors of the Constitution were heavily influenced by the country’s experience under the Articles of Confederation, which had attempted to retain as much independence and sovereignty for the states as possible and to assign to the central government only those nationally important functions that the states could not handle individually.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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At the Constitutional Convention, the Framers debated these issues. Their ultimate solution was to separate the powers of government among three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—so that each branch had to cooperate with the others in order to accomplish policymaking goals. For example, although the executive branch commands the ...
See Jack M. Balkin, Constitutional Redemption 239 (2011) (noting that the Constitution serves a function as a basic law or framework for governance that allocates powers and responsibilities). a central, and perhaps counterintuitive, purpose of the Constitution is to restrain the government, by, among other things, immunizing certain values and ...
