United States Constitution

The United States Constitution:

After the War the 13 colonies first formed a very weak central government under the Articles of Confederation. This government lacked, for example, any power to impose taxes, as it had no method of enforcing payment. It had no authority to override tax laws and tariffs between states. The Articles required unanimous consent from all the states before any changes could take effect. States took the central government so lightly that their representatives were often absent. For lack of a quorum, the national legislature was frequently blocked from making even ineffectual changes.

In September 1786 commissioners from five states met in the Annapolis Convention to discuss adjustments to the Articles of Confederation that would improve commerce. They invited state representatives to convene in Philadelphia to discuss improvements to the federal government. After debate, the Confederation Congress endorsed the plan to revise the Articles of Confederation on February 21, 1787. Twelve states accepted this invitation and sent delegates to convene in May 1787. The resolution calling the Convention specified its purpose was to propose amendments to the Articles, but the Convention ignored its limitations. It voted to keep deliberations secret and decided to draft a new fundamental government design, which eventually stipulated that only 9 of the 13 states would have to ratify for the new government to go into effect. These actions were criticized as exceeding the convention's mandate and existing law. However, Congress, noting dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation government, agreed to submit the proposal to the states despite the exceeded terms of reference. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution was completed in Philadelphia, and the new government it prescribed came into existence on March 41789, after fierce fights over ratification in many of the states.

The U.S. Constitution styles itself the "supreme law of the land." Courts have interpreted this phrase to mean that when laws that have been passed by state legislatures or by the Congress are found to conflict with the federal constitution, these laws are to have no effect. Decisions by the Supreme Court over the course of two centuries have repeatedly confirmed and strengthened the doctrine of Constitutional supremacy, or the supremacy clause.

Although the U.S. Constitution was motivated in no small part by elite mercantilists and financiers' desire to minimize the political impact of non-owning classes and smallholding classes on elites' property and prerogatives, the Constitution guarantees the legitimacy of the American state by invoking the American electorate. The people exercise authority through state actors both elected and appointed; some of these positions are provided for in the Constitution. State actors can change the fundamental law, if they wish, by amending the Constitution or, in the extreme, by drafting a new one.

Different kinds of public officials have varying levels of limitations on their power. Generally, middle and other working class officials have extremely limited powers in American government. Their powers are merely discretionary. However, elite actors in government and certain departments like the military have few checks on their power, aside from divergent interests. Ideally, however, their official actions ought to conform to the Constitution, and to the laws made in accordance with the Constitution; but there is little by way of mechanisms for enforcement. Elected officials can only continue in office if they are re-elected at periodic intervals, which they typically are because of the structural limitations on political organization and participation. Appointed officials serve, in general, at the pleasure of the person or authority who appointed them, and may be removed at any time. The exception to this practice is the lifetime appointment by the President of Justices of the Supreme Court and