The U.S Constitution and the Colonies

Introduction

Constitution is both a philosophical and legal concept as well as a practical manifestation in different political contexts. In both respects it represents one of the main features in the development of the modern state. Constitutionalism presupposes the existence of a constitution, which is typically, but not necessarily, contained in a constitutional document. The essence of Constitution contains three structural and substantive limitations on legislative and executive power. First, constitutions not only constitute but also limit government power, for instance, by separating the organs of state. Second, constitutions expressly protect individual rights against the state. Third, constitutions claim to be higher-order law in the sense that the constitutional norms enshrined in the written document take precedence over ordinary laws in the case of conflict.

The Constitution

The Constitution of the United States was formed on 17 September 1787, which lays down their political and legal regulations. It provides an integrated republic model of presidential system in which the President of both state and head of government takes decisions. The political system is characterized by many as “checks and balances "called separation of powers from, legislation, control and authority to act separately, but through extensive entanglement against each other (O'Reilly, 67).

The term Constitution was of no consequence in the political thought of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Medieval scholars like Thomas Aquinas and John of Salisbury regarded the origin of natural law as divine and the power of the king as limited by natural law and the church. But they did not provide a way to respond to violations of the law except through the threat or execution of revolutionary violence. Although the study of the classic texts influenced constitutional culture in England, the distinctions between politics and norms, state and society, and law and policy were not appreciated by those who viewed the business of governing as a form of practical knowledge. In the political discourses of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, usage of the term constitution was still rare (Johansen & Grinde, 1991).

The use of the term constitution increased during the course of the seventeenth century, meaning both “form of government” and “fundamental law.” Most commonly constitution was understood in a descriptive sense. In 1642, the publication of His Majesties Answer to the XIX Propositions of … Parliament understood the term constitution as a form of government and addressed the description of state power (monarchic, aristocratic, democratic). The descriptive constitution was not particular to the United Kingdom, but reflected the contemporary understanding of constitution in Europe. In his 1758 treatise The Law of Nations or the Principles of Natural Law, Emmerich de Vattel tried to capture the Constitution de l'Etat, namely, the organization and the exercise of state power, which was understood as “government” in the English context (Franklin, 35). Government was a broader term than the concept of the executive, to which it was reduced once the powers of the state were separated.

U.S. Constitution and the Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies is the ...