What are some of the important principles behind the Constitution. Discuss how separation of powers & checks and balances are organized in the Constitution & how they are suppose to work. answer bold

Question

Textbook: ​We the People ​12th edition

Chapter 2 is an excellent overview of the manner by which America became an independent nation after being a colony of the British. Please pay special attention to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 (begins on page 45) as well as the actual principles of the Constitution (related to your weekly essay 2) or the seven Articles of this founding document. The material on the content of the Constitution and begins on page 51. Also be aware of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists and their positions regarding the ratification of the Constitution. Finally, understand how constitutional amendments are added to the Constitution and the significance of this process that helps ensure that this is a "living document" of self government and not just something out of history.​

There is much discussion about the Founding Fathers and their intentions and expectations as they wrote the American Constitution in 1787 which went into effect in 1789 when George Washington was sworn in as the first American president on April 30 of that year.

Write a reflective essay that describes some of the important principles behind the Constitution. Discuss how separation of powers and checks and balances are organized in the Constitution and how they are suppose to work.

What can we learn from the Founding Fathers (those who wrote the Constitution) that can be applied to the American Constitutional system more than two hundred years later in contemporary America? Is the American Constitution still "relevant" to Twenty-First Century America or is it time to discuss the need for a new Constitution?​

Answer 1

Some key constitutional principles include limitation of power, freedom from government oppression, individual rights, and, later, equal protection of the laws. These goals were achieved in two ways- separation of branches of government into executive, legislative, and judicial which allows each branch to be limited in its power, preventing tyrannical rule from any one of them. Federalism separates the larger national government from state governments for the same reason. The Constitution provides specific checks and balances, for example the president can veto a law that the legislature passes or the judicial system has the power of review (although judicial review is vague in the document). The national government has some powers and state governments have other powers although they're not all specified in the Constitution. Something really important to keep in mind, that really blew my mind when I understood it, is that the Constitution before the Civil War is an entirely different document than the Constitution after the Civil War. That is because the 14th Amendment completely changed the relationship between national and state governments, giving the national government more power than state governments, and the national government has continued to expand throughout the 20th century. Consider that the Bill of Rights, which outlined specific rights that the founders thought needed to be protected (although they're not exhaustive), never applied to state governments before the 14th amendment was passed. The 14th amendment allowed application of the Bill of Rights to state governments. So, before the 14th amendment, state governments' criminal laws and administrations could ignore legal protections outlined in the Constitution from illegal search and seizure or cruel and unusual punishment, etc States also tended to be the central institutions that allowed, enforced, and established racial discrimination.