People are the only source of governmental power. Government is not all-powerful, it may only do those things that the people have given it the power to do. Power of national government distributed between Congress, the President, and the Courts. Each branch is subject to a number of constitiutional checks (or restraints) by the other branches. The power to decide whether what governemnt does is in accord with what the Constitution provides.
Division of power among a central government and several regional governments. The basic principles of government can be for the most part clearly seen in the Constitution, and some of the principles can be found in the Articles of Confederation. The principles are met in fairly straitforward ways usualy, but occasionaly a more round-about method was taken (for instance for the election of President). The principle which states that people are the only source of governmental power is called popular sovereignty. The 15th amendment of the Constitution states that all citizens of the United States have the right to vote without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude. In Article II, section 1, clause 2 the electorial college is set up, in which the people indirectly vote for the president by voting on people to represent them in the vote. In the preamble of the Constitution, the first three words are "We the people". This implies that the document was written from the perspective of the people of the United States, and that all information contained therein is authorized by them, and therefore the source of the government's power. Also, at the very end of the Constitution (Article VII), the document is ratified by representatives of nine states. Government is not all-powerful, it may only do those things that the people have given it the power to do, and is thus "Limited Government". 10th amendment says that any power not given to the national government, and not explicitly denied, belong to the states and the people. This leaves a lot of power to these two groups, meaning that the Government doesn't always have the last say. In the Articles of Confederation, the limitation of government is stated a little more explicitly in Article II, "Each state retains its sovereignity, freedom and independance, and every Power, Jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. The national Government's power is divided between Congress, the President, and the Court system. This division is called Seperation of Powers. In Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 the Constitution states that Congress gets the power (among other things) to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States. The President is given other powers, for instance Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 gives the President the posision of Commander in Chief of the army and navy of the United States. The Judicial branch, according to Article III, Section 2, Clause 1, has the power to extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under the Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made under their authority. Each branch is subject to a number of restraints by the other branches. Article I, Section 7, Clause 2 says that all laws must be checked over by the President before they go into effect. The President can veto a lay, and then both the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass it with a two thirds vote for it to pass anyway (note that this is a rough approximation of what really happens). The president only has 10 days to veto the law, before it goes into effect by default. The power to decide whether what the government does is in accordance to the Constitution is given to the Judicial branch under the title Judicial Review. I have yet to find any reference in the constitution that indicates that it is legal for the Judiciary branch to do a Judiciary review of a law. If I may be so bold as to quote my book, "The Constitution does not provide for judicial review in so many words. Yet the Framers clearly meant that the federal courts, especially the Supreme Court, should have that power." (P.59). Nowhere in the context of this quote is there any reference given to any part of the Constitution that even gets close to implying this. Yet at the same time it clearly defines the veto. The closest thing to these is III.2.1 and VI.2, which when interpreted strangely can reach the Judicial Review conclusion it seems our national government has reached. Federalism is the division of power among a central government and several rgional governments. The 10th amendment to the Constitution says that any power left over after the National Government goes to the State and or local governments. The Articles of Confederation deal with the division of power in much more detail. Starting right out with Article II the differences between abilities given to the State are seperated from the abilities given to the national government. Article VI talks about some of the things states are not allowed to do, like sending ambassadores to other countries without the national government's permission. In conclusion, all of the basic principles of government can be found in the Constitution of the United States, and several of them can be easily found in the Articles of Confederation. The general structure of the constitution leads to a lot of interpretation and implementation, which is why it is often called a mere framework. This loose configuration has lead to a more adaptable form of government than was possible through the articles of confederation. |