Читайте также:
|
The key to the Constitution was the distribution of political authority between three separate branches – legislative, judicial, and executive, each branch with distinct powers to balance the other two branches. The legislative branch – like the British Parliament was divided between two houses – the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each state was concerned with a number of representatives in Congress – the larger states wanted proportional representation while the smaller states insisted on equal representation for all states. The problem was settled by the "Great Compromise" – every state got equal representation in the Senate (two seats), and proportional representation in the House of Representatives (according to the number of citizens).
Proportional representation caused further discussions and clashes – delegates from the states where the number of slaves was larger wanted all people, black and white, to be counted equally; delegates from states with few slaves wanted only free people to be counted. The issue was resolved by the "three-fifths compromise", which was patterned by the formula of taxation developed by the Confederation Congress in 1783 – only 60 % of all slaves were counted for representation. The tree-fifths compromise was a part of the Great Compromise.
The Great Compromise became the first step in balancing political decisions for the nation, which had a wide range of opinions. The draft of the Constitution was based on the principle of checks and balances – the main principle advocated by James Madison – the Father of the Constitution.
The government, he believed, had to be constructed in such a way that it could not become tyrannical or fall wholly under the influence of a particular interest group. The Declaration of Independence was also an important guide, as it fixed the ideas of self-government and preservation of human rights; besides, the authors of the Constitution were influenced by the works of such European philosophers as Montesquieu and John Locke.
The process of making a draft of the Constitution went on till September 1787, when 39 of the present delegates signed it. Probably none of them was fully satisfied. "I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve" admitted Benjamin Franklin, "but I am not sure I shall never approve them".
To come into action the Constitution had to be ratified by at least nine states. The first states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, but the other states insisted on important additions. These were 10 amendments guaranteeing such fundamental rights as freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly trial by jury, prohibition of unreasonable searches or arrests. These amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were incorporated into the Constitution in 1791.
That variant of the Constitution proved to be so efficient that American Constitution successfully serves for more than 200 years with only 27 amendments. It is the world's oldest written constitution in force, and it has served as the model for a number of constitutions all over the world. American Constitution has two important features – it is simple and flexible, so it can guide the evolution of governmental institutions and provide the basis for political stability, individual freedom, economic growth and social progress.
Task 1. Examine the following principles of the US Constitution and study its Articles (Appendix 2, p. 124).
The US Constitution is built on three main principles:
1.The separation of powers of the three branches of government.
2.Government of, for and by the people.
3.Basic human rights (individual freedoms, equality and justice).
Task 2. Examine the summary of first 10 amendments to the Constitution – the Bill of Rights (Appendix 3, p. 126).,Why were these amendments added? What of the amendments do you find the most important? Why?
Дата добавления: 2015-09-11; просмотров: 81 | Поможем написать вашу работу | Нарушение авторских прав |