The constitutional system of the United States helps maintain the individual agency of its people, as it is called upon to guarantee rights and freedoms to the citizens of the United States of America. Actions of people are regulated by the Constitutional Articles and Amendments. The constitutional rights cannot be infringed, as they are guaranteed to all citizens of the United States of America.
The Constitution of the United States of America is the source of the fundamental issues and the basic document of the law of the United States. It is the foundation of the legal authority that stipulates the existence of the country and the federal government of the United States of America. It ensures the structure, a certain scheme for the organization of work of the U.S. government and determines the relations between the states and the government.
The Constitution of the United States of America gives definite instructions to the work of three main branches of government and stipulates their rights and obligations, the procedure of elections, people allowed to vote and to be elected: the legislative power, bicameral Congress, the executive power, and the judicial power. The executive branch is headed by the President, and the judicial power is headed by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Constitution was adopted in 1787. It is still in use from all written constitutions of the world, the oldest and the shortest one. The Constitution has a central place in United States law and political culture. The original document is represented at the National Archives.
Moreover, Articles and Amendments of the Constitution of the United States secure different rights for citizens of the United States of America, suchlike the First amendment guarantees freedom of religion, press, expression: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Mount, 2009). Also the Constitution secures the right of the Americans to bear arms (U.S. Const. am. 2); gives details on the procedure of trial, punishment, and compensation for taking (U.S. Const. am. 5); and the Amendment Four specifies certain points of search and seizure, as
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” (Mount, 2009).
Other different rights concerning the individual agency of people describe the details of right to speedy trial, and confrontation of witnesses (U.S. Const. am. 6); trial by jury in civil cases (U.S. Const. am. 7); and the Amendment Eight tells about cruel and unusual punishment: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Mount, 2009). The Amendments from Nine to Thirteen tell about the construction of the Constitution of the United States; powers delegated to the states and people; judicial limits; the procedure of choosing the President and Vice-President; and abolition of slavery (Mount, 2009).
The Amendment Fourteen describes the citizenship rights; the next Amendments tell about the right to vote irrespective of race; clarify status of income tax; specify the procedure of election of senators; tell about abolition of liquor (U.S. Const. am. 18), this Amendment was repealed by Amendment 21. Other Amendments mainly describe details of the Presidential elections, voting age and Presidential term limits. Thus the basic principles of rights and freedoms are stipulated in the Constitution of the United States of America, Amendments concerning the rights of citizens are to help maintain the individual agency of the American people.
John Adams was one of the first to present his own views on the problem of government, constitutional structure, principles of independence and other notions concerning the country’s organization. He made his presentation in the form of a letter dating 1776 “Thoughts on Government”. In this source he reveals his thoughts about necessity of the development of the government and the basic principles of it, “as the divine science of politics is the science of social happiness, and the blessings of society depend entirely on the constitutions of government, which are generally institutions that last for many generations, there can be no employment more agreeable to a benevolent mind than a research after the best” (Adams 1).
One of the main questions put by John Adams in his letter was about the function and organization of the government: “What is the function of government and how should a new one be framed?” (Adams 1). He was searching for the best, the most suitable form of government for the new country, which would satisfy all requirements, and maintain the individual agency in the full measure. “We ought to consider what is the end of government, before we determine which is the best form” (Adams 1), as he believed that when the happiness of society is reached, there comes an end to the government, as “the happiness of the individual is the end of man” (Adams 1).
As the Constitution of the United States was the basic source of the basic issues and the fundamental document of the law of the United States, it is the basis of the legal authority that predetermines the existence of the country and the federal government of the United States of America. It guarantees the frame, a specific system for the organization of work of the government and settles the relations between the states and the government. “A Constitution of government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever” (Adams 1). One more fundamental issue of the government is the constitution of the country, as it specifies the principles of governmental activities.
The pamphlet did not only criticize the drawbacks of the monarchy, republic and other forms of government; described not only form of government, but also different branches of power, suchlike executive, legislative and judicial. Moreover, John Adams talked about the assembly; the rules that people had to follow during the assemblies. But “British authorities had few qualms about revoking jury trial and other traditional rights” (Fox, 2007), as they were not interested in giving the rights to common people that lived in colonies, because they were used only in the capacity of working forces.
Also “Slaves were imported to the colonies to help produce commodities that were sent to England” (Fox, 2007), and the slaves were an additional powers in producing of different goods. The colonies were bound to the English Empire because of their value as sources of raw materials; “Before 1763 the colonies were bound to the British Empire by economic interdependence – as “hen and chicks,” it was said – and by the fear of France and Spain, who were often poised to attack the fledgling chicks” (Fox, 2007).
Thus the colonies were crucially important for the empire; that is why it was very difficult for colonies to obtain independence or at least some autonomy. The activities of people were aimed at the enrichment of the British Empire: “For them, the colonies were an important cog in Britain’s economic machine. Parliament and the king did not view their American colonies as an opportunity for ordinary Englishmen to get rich. For them, the empire existed to enrich the British treasury” (Fox, 2007).
“The colonists had excellent resources to exploit for profit. They would expand to the west if they could convince Britain to ignore the rights of the Native Americans occupying the land” (Fox, 2007). It gives one more vivid example of the purposes of the British Empire and ways of goal achievement; the colonies and colonists were dependent on the empire, its laws, and decisions, as “they were subservient to the British Parliament and to British courts in matters of commercial policy” (Fox, 2007). Thereby the inhabitants of colonies could not afford activities out of concern for the imperial ones. The actions, individual agency of people that lived within British colonies had different economies, which “operated very differently, some closely tied to the empire, others independent from it. Their societies, even their political systems, were markedly dissimilar” (Fox, 2007).
Thus, the constitutional system of the United States helps maintain the individual agency of its people, as it is called upon to guarantee rights and freedoms to the citizens of the United States of America. Actions of people are regulated by the Constitutional Articles and Amendments. The constitutional rights for individual agency cannot be infringed, as they are guaranteed to all citizens of the United States of America.
Works Cited
Fox, W. Frank, and Clayne L. Pope. (2007). City Upon a Hill: The Legacy of America’s Founding. Utah: BYU Academic Publishing.
Mount, Steve. (2009). Constitution of the United States. Web.
Adams, John. Thoughts on Government. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs website. Web.