Characteristics of the Constitution of the United States of America

Constitution of the United States

The Constitution that emerged from the Philadelphia Convention was a model of draftsmanship, of linguistic style, of shortness and of apparent clarity. It is the oldest written Constitution in existence and the shortest of the Constitution of any other nation, except the Chinese. It contains only 4,000 words, occupying ten to twelve pages in print. The following are the fundamental characteristics of the Constitution.

Essential Characteristics of the Constitution of the USA:

1. Federal Form of Government

The delegates at the Philadelphia Convention met to find means for establishing an effective national government. At the same time there was no serious discussion in the Convention of proposals which might have lowered the dignity of the individual States.

The Constitutional Basis of American Federalism:

1. The Constitution grants certain legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the national government.

2. It reserves to the states powers not granted to the national government.

3. It makes the national government supreme. The Constitution, all laws passed in pursuance thereof, and treaties of the United States are the supreme law of the land. American citizens, most of whom are also state citizens, owe their primary allegiance to the national government.

2.Separation of powers

Another basic feature of the Constitution is the distribution of national political independence from one another. The personnel of each branch are chosen by different procedures and holds office for terms that are independent of those of the other branches. It is the independence of the three branches, not just the distribution of functions, that is the central feature of the system of separation of powers. In the United States, the president's power comes not from Congress but from the Constitution.

3. Judicial review

Judicial review is the authority of judges to interpret the Constitution and to refuse to enforce measures that, in their opinion, are in conflict with the Constitution; the ultimate authority is that of the justices of the Supreme Court. The study of the American Constitution is, therefore, in large measure a study of judicial decisions and opinions.

The Constitution does not specifically grant the courts the power to interpret the Constitution, but it furnishes sufficient verbal basis for the power. The first assertion of that power against an act of Congress was made in 1803 in Chief Justice John Marshall's famous opinion in the great case of Marbury v. Madison.

4. Written Character

Like other federal constitutions in the world, the American Constitution is written in form. It is a brief document consisting of only 7 Articles and 27 amendments. Indeed it was a skeleton constitution since the framers of the constitution left the details to be filled in by the Acts of the Congress. The constitution was thus a starting point or taking off ground. It has been adequately clothed with conventions, customs, judicial decisions and legislative measures. The unwritten element in the form of conventions has played a vital role so that the very nature of the constitution stands changed now. To take one example, the fathers of the constitution provided for indirect election of the President but as a matter of convention, he is now directly elected.

5. Constitutional Conventions

The framers of Constitution did not make a strong jacket. They only made a Constitution capable of giving a starting point; a take off ground. They made a skeleton which was to be supplied with flesh and blood by way of customs, traditions. and usages. During the long period of its working it is seen that development of conventions and traditions have changed the Constitution beyond recognition. For example, by way of convention, indirect election of the president has become a direct one. The first President of America, George Washington established a convention that a president should not continue for more than two terms. This convention was adhered to till 1940, when President Roosevelt offered himself for a third term and even fourth in 1944. But such was the force of convention set by Washington that the constitution was amended limiting the tenure of the president for 2 terms.

The followings are the examples of constitutional conventions in the United States:

Members of the Electoral College should vote for the Presidential candidate having the most votes in their state. This is enforced by law in many but not all states. Some electors have abstained or voted for a non-candidate as a form of protest.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives should reside in the congressional district in which they are elected. There is a constitutional requirement that members of the House come from the state they represent, but no federal requirement as to district residency.

The losing major-party candidate in a presidential campaign should concede as soon as his or her loss is apparent, to avoid any public uncertainty as to the result. This was broken in 2000, when the results were a matter of significant debate and eventually litigation.

Leaders in the U.S. Senate should not campaign against their counterparts in the opposing party. This convention was broken in 2004, when Senate majority leader Bill frist campaigned against minority leader Tom Daschle in Daschle's home state of South Dakota. Daschle was defeated in his bid for re-election.

The two leading presidential candidates should be willing to engage in multiple televised debates with each other. The convention developed in the 1960 election, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy held the first nationally televised. debate.

6. Rigidity

The American Constitution is probably the most rigid constitution in the world. It can be amended by a very lengthy and burdensome process. Because of the complicated nature of the amendment procedure, sometimes, it takes years before an amendment becomes operative after it has been proposed.

Every amendment, which can be moved in two different ways, must be ratified by three-fourths of the States. The rigidity of the constitution is obvious from the fact that during the 216 years it has been in operation, only 27 amendments have been made in the Constitution.

7. Supremacy of the Constitution

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Neither the Centre nor the States can override it. The Supreme Court can declare a law or an executive order repugnant to the Constitution unconstitutional and invalid.

8. Bill of Rights

The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights of person, property and liberty. It is, however, noteworthy that the rights were incorporated in the Constitution by a number of amendments effected after the Constitution was promulgated. They were not enumerated in the original draft of the Constitution. But by subsequent amendments, individual liberty has been effectively safeguarded. These rights have been introduced in the Constitution on the insistence of federating states and first 10 amendments were immediately made to incorporate the fundamental rights. The rights of citizens are enforceable by recourse to judiciary. These rights cannot be modified or suspended except by a Constitutional amendment.

9. Division of Powers

As the federal government requires a double set of government that of centre and those of states, there must be a division of powers between the two parts. The Constitutions pecifies power of the federal government and leaves the rest for the States.

10. Popular Sovereignty

An important feature of the American system is that it emphasizes the theory of popular sovereignty. Ultimate authority has been vested in the people. According to Madison, "The American system was based on that honorable determination which animates every votary of freedom, to rest our political experiments on the capacity of the mankind for self-government".

11. Republicanism.

The U.S.A. is a republic with the President as the elected head of the State. The Constitution derives its authority from the people. Moreover, the Constitution makes at binding upon every constituent State to have the republican form of government.

12. Presidential

The Constitution provides for the Presidential type of government in the U.S.A. All powers are vested in the President. Though the Constitution provides indirect election of the President but in practice his election has become direct. The President is not politically responsible to the Congress in the manner in which the executive is responsible to the legislature in Britain or India. He does not attend its sessions, nor initiates legislation directly, nor answers questions. The Congress cannot remove him during the term of his office which is fixed for four years. On the other hand, the President cannot dissolve the Congress. The members of his Cabinet are their members of the Congress nor answerable on it.

13. Dual Citizenship:

The U.S. Constitution provides for dual citizenship for the people of the United States. An American is the citizen of the U.S.A as also of the State wherein he or she is domiciled. It is in contrast with the idea of single citizenship incorporated in the Constitution of India where every citizen irrespective of domicile is the Citizen of India alone.

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