He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:.
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:. For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:.
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. Notice that according to this definition of the word, every nation has a constitution.
Good governments and bad governments may have constitutions. Some of the worst governments have constitutions that include lists of the basic rights of their citizens.
The former Soviet Union had one of the longest and most elaborate constitutions in history, but in reality its citizens enjoyed few of the rights guaranteed by it. If you study the constitution of a government, you will be able to answer the following questions about the relationship between the government and its citizens:.
It is very important to understand that having a constitution does not mean that a nation has a constitutional government. If a constitution provides for the unlimited exercise of political power-by one, few, or even many-such a constitution would not be the basis of a constitutional government. If a constitution provides that the government's power is to be limited, but it does not include ways to enforce those limitations, it is not the basis of a constitutional government.
In a constitutional government the constitution is a form of higher or fundamental law that must be obeyed by everyone, including those in power.
According to the Founders, a constitution or higher law should have the following characteristics:. How does the principle of private domain protect you from government interference? The first is a purely legal protection of a citizen's freedom. The next is an organizational protection , having to do with the way in which government operates.
In constitutional governments powers are usually distributed and shared among several branches of government. This distribution and sharing of power makes it less likely that any one branch can abuse or misuse its powers. It is also less likely that any group will gain so much power that it can ignore the limitations placed on it by the constitution.
To prevent our government from abusing its powers, the Framers provided for distribution and sharing of powers among three branches of the national government. Each branch has primary responsibility for certain functions, but each branch also shares these functions and powers with the other branches.
For example,. It is this system of distributed and shared powers that provides the basis for checks and balances. Although each branch of the government has its own special powers, many of these powers are "checked" because they are shared with the other groups.
The complicated ways in which constitutional governments are organized often mean that it takes them a long time to get things done. It may seem strange, but this "inefficiency" was seen by the Framers as an advantage. They thought that these difficulties would help to prevent the abuse of power and make it more likely that when a decision was finally made, it would be a good one.
Given their knowledge of history and their experiences with the British government, it is not surprising that the Founders greatly feared the possible abuse of the powers of government. For example, read the following selections from some of their writings. Then discuss with the class your answers to the questions that follow.
The Founders knew that constitutional government can take many forms. It is possible to have a constitutional government with one ruler, a group of rulers, or rule by the people as a whole, so long as those in power obey the limitations placed on them by the "higher law" of the constitution.
Historically, constitutional governments have included monarchies, republics, democracies, and various combinations of these forms of government. History has shown, however, that problems inevitably arise when a constitutional government is ruled by one person or a small group of people. If all power is given to a select few, it is difficult to ensure that they will obey the limitations placed on them by a constitution.
The rulers in such nations would control the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. How could citizens force the rulers to obey their constitution? Monarchy-rule by a king or queen-was by far the most common form of government in the eighteenth century. The Founders preferred a form of government more broadly representative of the interests of the whole nation. The most obvious alternative to monarchy was a republic , a model of government with which the Founders were familiar through their knowledge of ancient history.
The Founders admired the republics of ancient Greece and Rome. They also had studied more recent examples of republican governments , such as the Italian city-states of the Renaissance and the cantons of Switzerland. The Founders differed among themselves about exactly what a republican government was.
In general it meant a form of government. Today we view republican and democratic government as almost the same thing. The United States, we believe, is both a republic and a democracy. The Founders, however, drew a sharp distinction between the two forms of government. Democracy had traditionally meant a form of government in which ultimate authority was based on the will of the majority. We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Words nearby consent of the governed consent decree , consentience , consentient , consenting adult , consent judgment , consent of the governed , consentual , consequence , consequences , consequent , consequential. All rights reserved. How to use consent of the governed in a sentence France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress. The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
The guiding principle of this experiment in representative Democracy is that our government derives its powers from those it governs. We still adhere to the beliefs that all men are created equal.
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