Fundamentals of Constitutional History

Fundamentals of Constitutional History

America’s three core political ideals are liberty, equality and self government:

Liberty is described as the freedom of the people to do what they choose. Citizen’s must not infringe on the rights and freedoms of others. Equality means that all Americans are considered equal under the law and politically. Self-government is the ideal that people are the prime source of governing authority. They must have a voice on how they are governed.

The three rules of American politics are democracy, constitutionalism, and capitalism:

In a democracy, the people either govern themselves directly or through elected representatives. Constitutionalism sets limits on the power of government over the people. The citizens have basic rights that their government cannot deny. Capitalism means that the government interferes with the economy as little as possible.

The Articles of Confederation were adopted during the Revolutionary War. It’s strengths were that each state maintained its own independence and it alleviated the citizen’s fears of a powerful national authority. It’s weakness was that the states could negotiate their own trade agreements, which lead to trade wars. It also denied Congress the power to tax, so it could not provide for national defense or establish a general economy. The spread of anarchy and rebellion convinced political leaders that a more powerful national government was required.

Enumerated Powers:

Power to regulate commerce among the states, to create a national currency, to borrow money, to tax, to establish an army, declare war, prohibits states from actions that would undermine the national government’s lawful powers, prohibits the states from making treaties with other nations, raising armies, waging war, printing money, or entering into commercial agreements with other states without the approval of Congress.

Implied Powers:

The authority to take action that is not expressly authorized by the...