The United States has been a country whose slogan is the “Land of the Free”. “O, beautiful the patriot dream” - a dream of those who wanted freedom and rights established in 1789. The United States has since outlined its government, policy, and laws using the Constitution. This Constitution was first signed by 39 delegates and created a foundation for which the country to abide by. Surely with 39 men, there were bound to be differing ideas on how to interpret this document. The way one interprets it to make rulings can be classified into Judicial Philosophy and ideology. With this and the Judiciary Branch, the United States can make well informed decisions on laws and statutes. Judicial Philosophy is simply how one “ a judge understands …show more content…
Now, when decisions boil down, there are nine justices that vote using their own Judicial Philosophy and ideology. These are the supreme court justices. Each usually has either a conservative or liberal ideology and base their theories accordingly. Ideally, all would have a conservative original intent approach. This would allow restriction of federal overreach and eliminate the need of a mass of new policies. The combined approach would keep the government similar to what the Founding Father’s had created. “Undoubtedly, justices over the years have frequently looked to the intent of the framers” (E&W 23). This creates more opportunities for individual states to create laws instead of a nationwide policy. By participating in this approach, individual people would have more of an impact on the law instead of few representatives. An example of a court that had this approach was the Rehnquist Court that was in place 1986-2005 (SN). Rehnquist Court made decisions on protecting the framer’s intention based on text like the case Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) which ended in protecting the cartoonist as it was freedom of speech (E&W 23-24). There are times when compromise needs to be made. Admittingly, a larger central government is sometimes needed in order to aid its citizens. Notably, during times such as the Great Depression and in the 1930’s. A consequence of having a more
The U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1788 and that was the beginning of the political system in America that is still active nowadays. More and more there are debates on how democratic the constitution is, and that is not surprising since Americans still look back at a document that was created 226 years ago. Americans are fighting the constitution regarding all kinds of problems and they are fighting laws that are based on the constitution and the constitutionality of a law. The U.S. Constitution is open for interpretations which makes it a problem in American society because people can interpret it the way it fits them best and makes people become divided on certain issues.
The United States Constitution is set up for democracy like the colonist wanted. The constitution prevents anarchy and protects your rights. As a citizen you are protected by the Bill of Rights. We are entitled to freedom of speech, religion, and have dual process. We have guaranteed rights, separated powers of government to prevent tyranny, and we elect our representatives under The United States Constitution. The United States Constitution is set up to keep up with changing times.
The US Constitution, written in Philadephia in 1787 by the Founding Fathers was the product of the revolutionary war of independence, with it’s foundations strongly influenced by the works of political theorists such as Montesquieu and Locke. The Founding Fathers favoured a government that prevented any individual or particular group becoming tyrannical. Furthermore, they strongly opposed the notion of excessive government power, seen as the potential threat to individual freedom, wanting to protect minorities as well as the population as a whole, from arbitrary or unjust rule. Consequently, the Founding Fathers outlined main provisions within the US constitution in order to avoid tyranny: the separation of powers, a federal structure of
The United States of America was founded on a Constitution that was supposed to preserve our freedoms and certain liberties. All Americans at that time wanted to keep America a free an independent nation with rights for its people. However there was two different groups, the Federalists lead by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic-Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson, which thought this could be achieved in very different ways.
America was founded on the principle of freedom and democracy. Throughout history, America has established laws, instituted policies and crafted a world class military to govern the way we live. With advancements in technology and world affairs, the way the military is governed has transformed from the principle ideas of the constitution to what is it today. The constitution, the sole document that is largely responsible for the make-up of our nation, continues to be molded and altered to address present day threats and customs. Despite the institutions embedded in the constitution, such as the Bill of Rights, to limit government power, change continues to shape legislation. Congress has adapted the constitution to the modern day issues of
There is no doubt that the U.S. Constitution is one of the most politically intricate pieces of work in the world. It is astounding that a country has been able to continue to follow the guidelines that were provided in this document centuries later. The American Constitution and Bill of Rights was written with 18th century values and beliefs that are very different than the ones we hold today. However, it is the vague language that leaves room for interpretation and our government that has been essential for the original Constitution to continue to be successful.
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote The Declaration of Independence; declaring our independence from Britain and stating the unalienable rights of men to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The ideals of The Declaration of Independence are the same ideals that we rooted our nation in. Nearly every political struggle since the composition of this document (ie. women's suffrage) has been in an attempt to reach these ideals for all individuals. Eleven years after the signing of The Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers assembled at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to draft a document that would shape the modern government. The United States Constitution is a document that established the duties and limitations of the federal government. It clearly laid out what the federal government can and cannot do, and how it is to go about doing its duties; this includes the idea of three branches of government and the checks and balances to maintain an even distribution of power. Our federal government has changed very little since then and still directs itself on the guidelines stated within the Constitution. These founding political documents and governmental plans obviously directly influence our modern politics and, in turn, modern society
The Constitution was founded in order to limit the power of the government and protect the rights American citizens. This proved true in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803), when the Supreme Court of the United States established its power of judicial review when it declared that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional according to Article III of the Constitution. Considering this, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold an interpretation of the Constitution that aligns with the beliefs of the Constitution’s ratifiers, demonstrates the primarily fundamentalist ideologies and underlying perfectionist ideologies of the Marbury Court. The Supreme Court’s authority to use a mainly fundamentalist approach to assess the constitutionality of laws, illustrates the Judicial Branch’s immeasurable power and influence over the legislations that give structure to American society.
America is a nation founded on freedom, and at times that freedom will get tested, however the people of this great country always make tough decisions that will influence and shape the future of our society. That is why the U.S. Constitution was put in place it is a stable of change, because the founders knew nothing in the world is completely perfect, yet with time things will change and the people must adapt to the times. The preamble introduces the constitution, and states that the government comes from the people. Its general purposes are in order to form a more perfect union we have to “Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Its purpose is to make a good government and good laws, have peace in our homes, national security, healthy communities, and freedom to ourselves, families and friends. The people are the ones who must choose the elected officials and leaders who enforce this constitution, they have all the power in the world, because the Constitution allows them to pursue their happiness. As Benjamin Franklin once said “The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” The Constitution does not give you rights, because the founders considered your rights to be "God-given" or "natural rights" you are born with all your rights. What the Constitution does, however, is protect your
With this in mind, there are four main principles that became the base of the American government. In the Declaration of Independence, it is agreed that “all men are created equal.” This notion of equality does not mean the equality among ability nor the traits of the people and the way they live. In this case, equality among men means that no one is born more powerful than the other. Indeed, all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (“Declaration”) These unalienable rights cannot be justly taken away from the people because they are innate and given by the Creator, which also means that no king– or anyone in a higher position– can take away these natural rights. Additionally, popular sovereignty is also one of the important principles. According to the Declaration of Independence, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” This means that the people are the source of the authority of the government. In other words, popular sovereignty is the power of the people. Finally, people have the power to abolish the government if “any Form of Government becomes destructive [of the unalienable rights of the people].” (“Declaration”) This principle gives citizens the consent to have the right to
I think the most significant about the U.S Constitution is the separation of power which consist of the three branches Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branch. The idea came from Baron De Montesquieu he was a political philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment, the purpose of this is to help the individual states from becoming more powerful. A good example for this is the Legislative branch, congress has the power to create laws then they will pass it to Executive Branch where the President make a decision if it’s gonna make our country better. And if the president approves it, then it will become a law. After that, people can test it through the court system and Judicial Branch would be responsible for that. If people think it shouldn’t
Ratified in 1788 and 1791 respectively, the Constitution of the United States and the Accompanying Bill of Rights have set the stage for the political culture and society which has, and continues to exist in the United States of America. The system of laws, regulations, liberties, and rights created by these documents has set the stage for many of the dynamic qualities inherent in the American culture. Because of the dynamic and intentionally vague nature of the documents, championed by the Non-Originalist view interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights the American legal system possesses the ability to adapt and evolve along with the continuously evolving American society and culture.
America was founded by people who possessed a deeply held belief in the idea of a fundamental right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech. These fundamental beliefs were traced back to the traditions of the English Common Law and the English Constitution. After the American Revolution the first amendment took the form of a collection of fundamental rights contained within State Constitutions. In response to a lack of national power and unity the form of U.S. Government was altered. The newly ratified U.S. Constitution created a form of government of with three branches with stronger enumerated powers. While the new structure a Supreme Court it but did not expressly protect personal liberties like freedom of religion or freedom of speech. In order to ease antifederalist fears of federal encroachments on person freedom, the first ten amendments were added to the Constitution know as the the Bill of Rights. This altered the new form of government by providing federal restrictions. However during Reconstruction the addition of the14th amendment altered the form of government by requiring due process and equal protection for all citizens. Consequently the Supreme Court in the 1920’s changed the form of U.S. government through Judicial activism by applying the protections of the Bill of Rights like the first amendment to include prohibition of infringements States laws. This opened the gateway for further Judicial activism to define the scope and limitations of these
The United States’ governmental system gradually moved from a confederal system of government to a federal system of government, as our country was being formed. Although the original outline of the federal system considered only two levels of government, our Founding Fathers had the foresight to extend our government to include multiple levels. This system of government provides for a check-and-balance type system. Included in this governmental organization is Judicial Review, a power of the United States Supreme Court. This so-called power simply allows the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether or not a law is constitutional. A closer look at Alexander Hamilton’s “The Federalist No. 78” will provide examples of the intended responsibility
The United States gained its independence from its colonial power, Great Britain, with the promise of creating a utopian democratic country. Abraham Lincoln noted that this new government would be a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth”. However, as history has demonstrated, the United States simply established an illusion of democracy with an agenda to address fake ideal in which everybody will be equal, but in reality, is was never accomplished. The United States government had never follow the premise set by the founding father in the Constitution or in the Declaration of Independence. Actions as slavery, National laws applied by the government, and even actions done by the presidents,