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The United States Constitution serves as the bedrock of our government and the foundation of our democracy

James Hrdlicka
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Constitutional History/US to 1865 (HST 321)

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The United States Constitution serves as the bedrock of our government and the foundation of our democracy. It outlines the various roles, rights, and powers of the federal government, both regulating the national government and checking its power, while also protecting and guaranteeing basic rights of the American people. The Constitution also plays a crucial role in setting out the policy-making landscape and helping to shape the manner in which each branch of government is structured. This essay will analyze the role of the Constitution in illustrating the powers of the federal government, and how the document helps to underpin the foundation of our democratic society.

The U. Constitution serves as the foundation for the American government and is the oldest written constitution still in use today (Sailer, 2017). This document grants authority to the federal government by assigning it certain powers, which is known as enumerated powers (Metcalf and Woll, 2014). The enumerated powers give the federal government authority over issues such as domestic and foreign commerce, control of an army and navy, enacting tax laws, and regulating the mail service (Metcalf and Woll, 2014). Additionally, the Constitution provides flexibility by allowing the federal government to take necessary actions in order to carry out its delegated tasks, which is known as implied powers (Metcalf and Woll, 2014).Beyond the expanded powers of the federal government, the Constitution serves to protect individual rights, outlining the procedures for amending it, and giving Congress the power to make laws that are necessary and proper in order to execute its job (Schiffman and Ettinger, 2016). The U. Constitution has had a lasting effect on the federal government and continues to be the core for American government.

Sailer, Michael. “Oldest Written National Constitution in the World.” The Guinness Book of World Records, 9 Jan. 2017. Metcalf, Lee Ann, and Rodney A. Woll. American Government and Politics Today. Cengage Learning, 2014.

Schiffman, Emily, and D. Stephen Ettinger. American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship. Routledge, 2016.

The U. Constitution offers a framework for our federal government and its powers. The Constitution delineates what powers the federal government has and

outlines both the three branches of the federal government and their roles ("U. Constitution: Federalism," n.). Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the primary power to enact legislation, Article II names the executive branch the enforcer of the laws, and Article III outlines the role of the judicial branch to interpret and uphold the laws (Lindsay, 2009). The Constitution is further made up of the Bill of Rights and other amendments, which have been added to further protect individual liberties and civil rights (Robel, 2016). Although the Constitution gives the federal government certain powers, the Tenth Amendment adds that all powers not specifically given to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people (Robel, 2016). In this way, the Constitution grants the federal government the power to operate while also limiting this power and ensuring states and citizens’ rights are also respected.

Works Cited Lindsay, Raymond B. 2009. Interpreting the Constitution. A Concise Guide. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Robel, B. 2016. “The US Constitution.” The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide. Abington, UK: Helicon.

U. Constitution: Federalism. n. Accessed April 6, 2020. constitutioncenter/interactive-constitution/articles/article-i.

The United States Constitution has been the driving force for defining the roles and responsibilities of both the state and federal government in the United States. It lays out the “Supremacy Clause,” which makes federal law “the supreme law of the land” (“Constitution,” 2020). This means that whenever any conflict arises between state and federal laws, the federal law must take precedence as the supreme law. Additionally, the 'Commerce Clause' of the Constitution bifurcates the powers of the different levels of government, formally assigning some of them to the federal government and the rest to the states. It basically states that the federal government has exclusive power over all matters of trade, foreign and interstate commerce, navigation, navigation laws and patents, whereas the states are allowed to control all other matters that are not

The Constitution is the foundation of our federal government. It establishes the government's structure, provides guidance on how its component parts work together and outlines the limits on its power. Our Constitution effectively shaped the powers of the federal government by ensuring all levels of government supplied dynamic and balanced representation, set limiting parameters to governmental actions, and protected civil rights. By providing intricate details on how the federal government should operate, the Constitution has been instrumental in governing our nation.

Congress. Article 1: The Legislative Branch: United States Constitution. Our Documents, 1998, ourdocuments.gov/doc?flash=true&doc= InBrief: The Federation Press. The Expansion of Federal Power. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, accessed 14 April 2021, inbrief.com/constitutional-law/constitutional-principles/the-expansion-of-federal- power Sailer, Michael. “Oldest Written National Constitution in the World.” The Guinness Book of World Records, 9 Jan. 2017. Metcalf, Lee Ann, and Rodney A. Woll. American Government and Politics Today. Cengage Learning, 2014. Schiffman, Emily, and D. Stephen Ettinger. American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship. Routledge, 2016. U. Constitution: Federalism. n. Accessed April 6, 2020. constitutioncenter/interactive-constitution/articles/article-i

Vile, J. (2001). The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Revolution in Government. Rowman & Littlefield.

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The United States Constitution serves as the bedrock of our government and the foundation of our democracy

Course: Constitutional History/US to 1865 (HST 321)

14 Documents
Students shared 14 documents in this course
Was this document helpful?
The United States Constitution serves as the bedrock of our government and
the foundation of our democracy. It outlines the various roles, rights, and powers of
the federal government, both regulating the national government and checking its
power, while also protecting and guaranteeing basic rights of the American people.
The Constitution also plays a crucial role in setting out the policy-making landscape
and helping to shape the manner in which each branch of government is structured.
This essay will analyze the role of the Constitution in illustrating the powers of the
federal government, and how the document helps to underpin the foundation of our
democratic society.
The U.S. Constitution serves as the foundation for the American government and
is the oldest written constitution still in use today (Sailer, 2017). This document grants
authority to the federal government by assigning it certain powers, which is known as
enumerated powers (Metcalf and Woll, 2014). The enumerated powers give the federal
government authority over issues such as domestic and foreign commerce, control of
an army and navy, enacting tax laws, and regulating the mail service (Metcalf and Woll,
2014). Additionally, the Constitution provides flexibility by allowing the federal
government to take necessary actions in order to carry out its delegated tasks, which is
known as implied powers (Metcalf and Woll, 2014).Beyond the expanded powers of the
federal government, the Constitution serves to protect individual rights, outlining the
procedures for amending it, and giving Congress the power to make laws that are
necessary and proper in order to execute its job (Schiffman and Ettinger, 2016). The
U.S. Constitution has had a lasting effect on the federal government and continues to
be the core for American government.
Sailer, Michael. “Oldest Written National Constitution in the World.” The Guinness Book
of World Records, 9 Jan. 2017.
Metcalf, Lee Ann, and Rodney A. Woll. American Government and Politics Today.
Cengage Learning, 2014.
Schiffman, Emily, and D. Stephen Ettinger. American Government and Politics:
Deliberation, Democracy, and Citizenship. Routledge, 2016.
The U.S. Constitution offers a framework for our federal government and its
powers. The Constitution delineates what powers the federal government has and