The Six Principles of The United States Constitution

by Palodin6 in Law, December 5, 2009

This will explain and show examples of the six principles of the US constitution.

The six principles of the United States Constitution

Principle	Description	Examples
Popular Sovereignty	The people of the United States have the power; but, those chosen to govern are representatives of the people.	1. 26th Amendment: When they Changed the voting age to 18, which gave more power to the people. 2. Electing a President: The people have the ultimate choice by voting for there favorite person.
Limited Government	All Government powers must come directly or indirectly from the Constitution.	1. United States v. Butler (1936): When the Government taxed agricultural Commodities then decide that is was un constitutional therefore limiting the Government. Read more in Law « Why Do Many of Us Feel That Madeleine Martin’s Sentence Was Too Harsh? Serranos From Brazil » 2.Obama: He can not declare himself ultimate ruler.
Separation of Powers	The powers of the Government are separated into three main branches, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial they each help keep the others in check so the power of the country is balanced.	1. Buckley v. Valeo (1976): set financial limits on Supreme Court Campaigns at the Federal level. 2.Branches of the Government: -Legislative: Writes laws -Executive: Enforces laws -Judicial: Interoperates laws
Checks and Balances	One branch of Government can not run by itself it needs other branches to keep it in check and control its power. These checks help to balance out the government’s power between the three branches.	1. Impeachment of President: When the President is put on trial by the senate for not doing his job properly. This ensures the president doesn’t take over. 2.Terms: The President can only hold two terms so that he can not get to powerful.
Judicial Review	Were judges use their own discretion to decide if something is constitutional.	1. Marbury v. Madison (1803): were courts found they had the right to decide constitutionality. 2.Tinker V. Des Moines: when the Supreme Court Decided that is was unconstitutional to “leave your rights at the school yard door.”
Federalism	Were the Government broke down the branches of Government into: -Federal/State -County -City -Ect.	1. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): when the Supreme Court decided that is was unconstitutional to segregate schools. For Brown to get the decision that he wanted, he had to go through the stages of courts. -District Court -State Supreme Court -Federal Supreme Court 2.Power Distribution: Lower powers can not over turn higher powers.