In What Ways Is The United States

Constitution A Conservative Document. What Might Have Been The Mot Essay, Research Paper

The United States Constitution has been a cornerstone of the United States political system since its ratification in 1789. It has remained largely unaltered and continues to have a significant effect on political life. It is largely a conservative document in terms of its content. It can however be viewed as quite radical when it is noted that it was a pioneering document instilling a system of government with many new ideas. In this essay, I will firstly define what I mean by conservative; I will then explain some of the reasons why the document is conservative; I will go on to show how the document is in fact quite radical and it is only by our modern ideas about conservatism that it appears so; I will then examine the problems and influences which led the document to take the form that it did. The term ‘conservative’ can be taken in many ways. In this essay, it will essentially be taken to mean restrictive of any change or action which could be considered radical. Therefore, conservative ideas attempt to maintain the current political order and keep the system stable. With this in mind, the United States Constitution can be viewed in two ways. The document today looks very conservative and restrictive of change, but in 1789 it was very radical. “The Framers have undergone miraculous metamorphoses: at one time acclaimed as liberals and bold social engineers, today they appear in the guise of sound Bukean conservatives.” To the Twentieth Century mind, concepts such as stability and order are conservative notions, to those in the Eighteenth Century, the United States idea of a codified Constitution with a different notion of sovereignty and the separation of powers are quite liberal. The United States Constitution is essentially conservative by the way it limits the use of power in the system. It attempts to a create stable system where radical change is difficult. It is also in this way that short term extremes have a minimal effect. This is done by separating the system into three distinct areas – the executive, legislature and judiciary – and giving each one checks and balances on each other. These three institutions each perform their own duties but also have powers over each other to prevent any one part from acting out of context with the other two. For example, Congress can pass a bill but it can be vetoed by the President who can himself be overruled by a two-thirds majority in both the Houses, furthermore, the Supreme Court can deem a law unconstitutional and insist it is changed. Since it is extremely difficult to control more than one institution and the other institutions have vetoing rights over the controlled one; It reduces the chance of a concentration of power by any one person of group of people (faction) who would then be able to dominate the system. The United States Constitution has a difficult amendment process which shows that it aspires to stability and continuity. It has only been amended 27 times in its life, 10 of which are the Bill of Rights and two relating to the introduction and subsequent repealing of prohibition. It therefore has only had 15 serious amendments which generally relate to the election process and the powers of federal government. It is very difficult to have an amendment ratified; such as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) relating to sex discrimination, has been before Congress since 1923 and the Balanced Budget Amendment which would require the federal government to balance its annual budget has effectively been ’shelved’. When it is examined how much the United States has changed over the last two hundred years, from a relatively small agrarian country to a massive, industrialised world power; it is amazing how the Constitution exists at all when so few amendments have been passed. This shows a number of ideas inherent in the Constitution, of which, some can be seen as conservative. The difficult amendment process is conservative in that it prevents radical change to the document, it maintains a similar order of power throughout time and has become a benchmark which Americans can use to firstly understand what should be occurring and secondly draw government accountable for its actions. For example, the Constitution played a key part in the removal of Richard Nixon from office following the Watergate scandal. The system of checks and balances were in place to prevent further damage being done by an alleged corrupt President. During the scandal, the Constitution allowed the Supreme Court to sopeana key evidence, and begin the process of impeachment before Nixon resigned. The Constitution can however be seen as radical because it is short and remains flexible. Changes in the American society and economy have led to different interpretations of the Constitution without making the Constitution defunct. The main changes have been the assertion of the Federal government and the executive within that government; the growth of power of the supreme court and the protection of rights by the Federal government. The changes America have occurred and the different interpretation of the Constitution can be argued to have been necessary and could not all have been envisaged by the Framers, but the Constitution survives and remains an active document. The United States Constitution is radical in certain key concepts, the main ones are Sovereignty and Republicanism