How Did The Constitution Influence The Government Of The United States?

On September 17th, 1787, over two hundred years ago, the greatest document ever drafted was signed into law, and became the United States Constitution. The Constitution is the document that establishes the modern government of the United States, and describes which powers this government possesses, and which it does not. The authors of this document were the fathers of the United States, educated men, who wrote and were inspired by many different influences. The authors got ideas from many different sources such as the Ancients, English, and Enlightened thinkers while writing this document, so they could create a prosperous country. The United States Constitution was influenced by the Ancients, the English, and the Enlightenment Movement.
The Magna Carta was a document that instituted a system of checks and balances to limit the king’s power. It was ratified on June 15th, 1215. This document is the equivalent of the English Constitution. Previous to the Magna Carta, the king had absolute power, and could do as he pleased. There was nothing to check his power. The aristocrats didn’t have any power, and were eminently displeased with the king. They replaced him in a bloodless uprising called the glorious revolution, with King William, and Queen Mary. If the king wanted to pass a law, or incarcerate one of his subjects, he had to follow due process of law, which means he the a person needs to be convicted and sentenced, and laws have to be passed by parliament. Parliament could check the king’s power in this way. This is an example of checks and balances, the idea that different parts of government should be able to check each other. This demonstrated England’s use of the principle of checks and balances. Checks and balances are used in the present. An example of this would be congress refusing Barack Obama’s nominee for the vacant position on the Supreme Court. The Magna Carta was the first document to limit the power of the king. It established Parliament, which would be made of a House of Commons, and a House of Lords. The House of Commons
The Enlightenment was based on reason and science. All hypotheses needed to be proven. Thinkers like John Locke, Baron Montesquieu, and Voltaire, had unprecedented ideas about the way a country should run. Voltaire believed in individual rights, and tolerance. Voltaire thought that upon birth, a person’s natural rights were bestowed upon them. Voltaire was an Enlightened Thinker who believed in individual rights for all. In the United States Constitution, separation of church and state are promised. For instance, in 1962, it was ruled unconstitutional for states to encourage children in public schools to join in prayer. Freedom of speech and religion, as Voltaire wanted, is promised to all United States citizens in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. John Locke was another Enlightened thinker. His view of humanity was that people were mostly good with a few bad tendencies, rather than mostly bad with a few good tendencies. Locke thought that people should rule themselves. Locke wanted the power of the government to come from the consent of the governed. Locke spoke about how government should be for the people. He spoke out about the need for tolerance, and the natural right that all people have to life, liberty, and property. He believed that the social contract the American Colonies had with England was broken when the people could no longer govern