In The Immortal Words Of Thomas Paine, “A Constitution

In the immortal words of Thomas Paine, â€Å"a constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates† (Paine 1805). One of the great debates among Constitutional scholars is just what the exact purpose of Constitutions are. Some argue that Constitutions function as expressions of values of the populace at the time. Others theorize that Constitutions serve as tools of social coordination. While both of these theories have merit, at the end of the day, Constitutions primarily function as power maps. Ultimately, they express the power dynamics between citizens and their government, between different branches of government themselves, and between different social groups. Constitutions serve several important roles, but all but†¦show more content†¦Lockean principles dictate that power flows from the people, but a Constitution takes that power and distributes it among several aspects. The first aspect of the power dynamics is between that of the governmen t and individual civilians. In democratic liberal societies, there is a heavy emphasis on individual rights. Governments are limited from interfering in the private lives of individuals, to a certain extent. This usually takes the form of a bill of rights. These bills of rights often include limits on the government’s powers to regulate speech, regulate press, and regulate religion. They ensure a fair judicial process for the accused. As Galligan and Versteeg puts it, â€Å"Constitutions normally constrain government by enshrining rights and mandating the judiciary to enforce them† (Galligan and Versteeg 2014). This power relationship lies at the heart of Constitutions for liberal democracies. Within the context of the American Constitution, this power struggle isn’t just about expressly limiting the powers of the government, but it is also about outlining express powers that the government has. The federal government is expressly granted the powers to tax and defend the country through a military. The founders laid out a specific set of powers the the government is permitted to do, not just hindered from doing. Throughout the course of ourShow MoreRelatedThe Struggle Of The Revolutionary War1876 Words   |  8 Pageswere the philosophers who supported Thomas Paine, urging military war; moderates like Ben Franklin, who advocated unity and was resilient about total war; and loyalists who sustained James Chalmers, argueing the foolishness of a revolution-- in the midst of 13 diverse colonies. The revolutionary radicals were mainly focused on war because of personal sentiments. The greatest pro-war thinker was Thomas Paine; he wanted outright revolution against the British. Paine had sensed the rise of tension,Read MoreThe Necessity Of The Separation Between Church And State2039 Words   |  9 Pagescreated a state-wide â€Å"Jesus Day.† In 2001, he talked of the â€Å"bridge between church and state† (â€Å"Big List of George W Bush Quotes†). The problem? He is tampering with our nation’s history. He is destroying what the Founding Fathers outlined in the Constitution, and he is the president of the United States—and he’s not the only one who thinks this way. In the last decade, the religious right has gained a foothold in American politics and has been forcing through legislation that, if passed, would slowlyRead MoreDeclaration of Independence9744 Words   |  39 Pageshave recognized those merits, there are surprisingly f ew sustained studies of the stylistic artistry of the Declaration.(1) This essay seeks to illuminate that artistry by probing the discourse microscopically--at the level of the sentence, phrase, word, and syllable. By approaching the Declaration in this way, we can shed light both on its literary qualities and on its rhetorical power as a work designed to convince a candid world that the American colonies were justified in seeking to establishRead MoreFounding Brothers9626 Words   |  39 PagesPreface: The Generation Some people thought that American independence was Manifest Destiny, Tom Paine, for example, claimed that it was simply a matter of common sense that an island could not rule a continent. But for the most part, triumph of the American revolution was improbable, and therefore it is a remarkable event in history. No one expected that Britain, the strongest country in the world would be defeated by the colonies, and that Americas Republic, a government uncommon in