The Permeable to the Constitution - Essay Example

?Introduction The Permeable to the Constitution not only introduces the constitution as a document but also puts forward some of the important foundations of the Constitution of the country. The permeable to the constitution has been influenced by the Federalists who borrowed their philosophical underpinnings from the Scottish Enlightenment. However, prior to that, country was governed through Charter from the English Crown and finally the Articles of Confederation were also enacted. The Permeable to the Constitution provides basic and important liberties besides outlining the role government. It also attempted to address the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was an agreement between the 13 founding States and the established United States of America as a confederation of these States. It also served as the first constitution of the country before it was replaced by the constitution to which this permeable was made part of. It is important to note, however, that the Articles were insufficient to put a strong government in place and failed to provide solid constitutional foundations for the country. It was also because of this reason that it was subsequently replaced with the US Constitution in which this Permeable set out important constitutional direction for the formation and role of government. The Permeable to the Constitution formulated were based upon some ideals and also attempted to remove the shortcomings of the articles. It specifically mentioned some of the ideals and also outlined the intent of the framers of the Constitution. This paper will discuss the various ideals mentioned in the Permeable and will also outline how it attempted to overcome shortcomings of the articles. The Permeable to Constitution It is important to note that the overall nature of the permeable to the constitution is that of the introductory nature, therefore, it does not does not assign any power to the government nor it provides specific limitations on the government. However, it provides some guiding ideals which Constitution must provide to the citizens of the country (Bardes, Shelley and Schmidt, 65). These ideals are: 1. To form a more perfect Union  2. Establish Justice  3. Insure domestic Tranquility  4. Provide for the common defense 5. Promote the general Welfare  6. Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity  The permeable referred the name of the country as “United States of America” which is long considered as the essential reference regarding the nature of the government in the country. It also provides a reference to the federal government as an entity which has been created under the constitution and, therefore, overrules the inherent assumption that the States may be independent from each other and can also carryout foreign relations with other States. This idea, therefore, has also given rise to the concept of formation of a more perfect union wherein Federal Government tend to have relatively higher power as compared to the powers adapted by the States according to Federal, as well as individual States constitutions. Still, Constitution allows the individual States to function as sovereign states. Article 1 of the constitution defines the powers of government and how it is actually going to be formulated as a more perfect union. The use of the world to form a more perfect union is also considered as a shift from the Articles of Confederation wherein Nationalists specifically made the case that the Articles failed to provide a mechanism for more cohesive union and governance mechanism (Rakove, 230). The Federal Government was given enough powers to act on the citizens and, therefore, Federal government was given specific mandate to charge taxes directly and also subject the citizens to other issues. This has particularly help overcome constitutional difficulty which articles failed to overcome. It is also important to note that the use of the phrase “We the People” also provides an inherent sense that the Federal government derives its powers from the people and therefore, offers a fair and just society where each citizen is equal to each other and not even government is allowed to take the rights of the citizens. The permeable also talks about the creation of a common defense and constitution of the country gives powers to the Federal Government to declare war and also bind States on this. The article actually failed to secure the independence, freedom and sovereignty of the United States of America. Permeable, however, specifically set out the intent of the authors of the Constitution to actually set up a common defense wherein Federal Government was actually made responsible for ensuring security of the country and also declare war. Section IV of Article VI actually sets out the responsibility of the Federal Government to protect the States from any invasion or even any internal trouble faced by the States. This has also allowed the inner domestic tranquility as States were relieved from the duty of protecting themselves and Federal Government was constitutionally responsible to actually protect each State admitted to the confederation. The establishment of justice required the development of legal framework in a manner which can ensure equal rights and obligations for all the citizens. Constitution of the country does not allow even Government to actually enact any laws which can create such discrimination. Through the formation of an effective legal infrastructure in the country and giving the responsibility to the federal government, Constitution has actually attempt to create a just society with every one having the equal rights and can access law without any prejudice. General welfare and prosperity have also been taken care of by the constitution in various clauses. In Article VI, the Constitution specifically speaks about acquiring the debts of all the States and also ensures that the national supremacy will be of paramount importance. The power to collect taxes on the behalf of the government also provides government a mechanism to actually redistribute wealth in the society and create a just welfare system which takes into consideration all the needs of the citizens. Conclusion The Permeable to the Constitution provides some ideals and the constitution of the country ensures that they are provided. Works Cited Bardes, Barbara A., Mack C. Shelley and Steffen W. Schmidt. American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Rakove, Jack N. "The Collapse of the Articles of Confederation." In Barlow, J. Jackson, Leonard W Levy and Ken Masugi. The American Founding: Essays on the Formation of the Constitution. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. 225-245. Print. Read More