The Major Principles of The U.S. Constitution - Essay Example

Topic:  The Major Principles of The U.S. Constitution The U.S. constitution is the supreme law of the country and is composed of seven major principles .This constitutional framework is the foundation for the working process of the federal government and all the citizens of the country. The seven major principles comprised in the U.S.Constitution are republicanism, popular sovereignty, federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, limited government and individual rights. In the below section these principles are explained in a brief manner.1) Republicanism: This principle of the U.S. constitution is often neglected or ignored due to its overlapping nature.

Republicanism means that the country of American does not have a direct democratic government and the country gives the right to the citizens to select a representative to govern their country.2) Popular Sovereignty: In the U.S, the power of the government is directly related to people and hence, the legislative branch of the government is consisted of representatives selected by the people. Moreover, the legislative branch is the one which formulates law that governs the country. Simmons (2010) explains that “We the people…” the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution describes the essence of popular sovereignty”.3) Federalism: Federalism is the major principle that divides the power between federal government and central government.

This principle has a strong stand in US constitution as it gives a strong foundation to the central government. A country without a powerful central government often turns out to be delicate and weak. However, Federalism maintains the power of the central government and the state government which is essential for the country.4) Separation of powers: This principle refers to the splitting up of the power within the limits of government. This is done to avoid the centralization of power in any one branch or government body.

According to Simmons (2010)“The United States has three branches of government; legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch is responsible for making laws while the executive branch carries out the law, and the judicial branch interprets the law”.5) Checks and Balances: This is one principle which is highly connected to the separation of powers. As per this principle the three different branches of the U.S.government possess the right to check each other’s powers as and when needed.

As per Mount (2010)“ In this system, several branches of government are created and power is shared between them. At the same time, the powers of one branch can be challenged by another branch. This is what the system of checks and balances is all about”.6) Individual Rights: This principle of the U.S. constitution which primarily deal with the bill of rights. The provision of bill of right was included in the government during the initial stage of government formulation to protect the right of the citizens.

Simmons (2010)writes that “Most of these amendments deal with basic human rights such as freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and no cruel and unusual punishment”.7) Limited Government: This principle of limited government makes the U.S. government limited in nature as it is bound to the prescribed laws of the constitution. This limited aspect of the government can be noticed in the real working pattern of the US government. According to this principle the government is bound to work only according to the set standards of the legislative body.

ReferencesMount, S.2010. Constitutional Topic: Checks and Balances. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_cnb.html. [Accessed 21 February 11]. Simmons, C. 2010. What are the Principles of the US Constitution?. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.suite101.com/content/what-are-the-principles-of-the-constitution-a286677. [Accessed 20 February 11].