The Principles of the U.S. Constitution

When the founding fathers created the Constitution, they combined many different principles in order to form a government that would best serve the people and their needs. Among these important principles are judicial review, federalism, checks and balances, and the separation of powers. Each of these principles helps the Constitution become an effective guideline for the U.S. government and helps the government rule fairly and justly.

One of the principles that created by the Constitution is the separation of powers. Separation of powers divides the government into three branches, each having a specific job. The three branches are the executive branch, which enforces laws, the legislative branch, which creates laws, and the judicial branch, which interprets laws. Although they are separate from each other, the branches do cooperate to perform their tasks (DiIulio & Wilson 2005). The three branches of government were created to make sure that no one branch held all the power and could have too much control of the country. For example, the legislative branch has the power to pass laws, but that power is useless without the executive branch, which enforces the laws. The legislative branch, like all the others, does not have the power to rule over the entire country by itself.

Another principle that the Constitution created is the idea of checks and balances. Checks and balances make sure that none of the separated branches holds too much power over the others. Each branch of government was created with ability to override the other branches' decisions. This important principle was included in the Constitution because the founders wanted to make sure that none of the branches took too much control over the government and had too much control of the people. The founding fathers were afraid that the new American government might be similar to the absolute monarchy that Britain ruled them with. The checks and balances idea is their way of preventing the same thing from happening. Examples of the checks and balances can be seen clearly in many of the government's activities, such as when Congress creates a law, but must have the law approved by the president and not declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (DiIulio & Wilson 2005).

The principle of federalism was also an important part of the Constitution. Federalism is the sharing of powers between the central government and the state governments. Federalism gives some powers only to the central government, some only to the state governments, and some to both levels of government. The principle of federalism was included in the Constitution as a way of settling disputes and controversy between the central government and state governments over the interpreting of laws. An example of federalism's delegate powers is how the central government has the ability to print money but the state government does not. An example of federalism's reserved powers is how the state government can license teachers, but the central government cannot. Both central and local governments can collect taxes, showing federalism's shared powers (DiIulio & Wilson 2005).

Judicial review was established by the Supreme Court case of Marbury vs. Madison. The case gives the Supreme Court the power to determine if what the government does follows what is set in the Constitution (DiIulio & Wilson 2005). Judicial review was included in the U.S. government because the government needed a way to determine which laws were constitutional and which were not. Examples of judicial review can be seen any time the Supreme Court takes a vote to overrule the decisions of Congress.

In conclusion, the founding fathers combined many different principles when they created the U.S. Constitution. Some of the most important principles were separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and federalism. These principles combined to form a unique government that has served the needs of the American people since its creation.

WORKS CITED

DiIulio, John J. & Wilson, James Q. American Government: Institutions & Policies. September 2005.