The U.S. Constitution

The constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land. It was created as a way of distributing power. The framers of the constitution feared the possibility of one person or group becoming too powerful. This is why the federal government was separated into three different branches these include; a legislature, a bicameral congress and the executive branch which is led by the president. The constitution is still an extremely important document and remains relevant to this day. When discussing the constitution it is impossible to leave out John Locke. Although Locke died in 1704, which was over 80 years before the constitution was written, he had a profound impact on what the constitution would eventually become. The ideas of Locke were adopted by Thomas Jefferson who read many of the works of Locke. A belief of Locke was that all people were entitled to life, liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. He also believed that if the government was to infringe on these rights it was the duty of the people to overthrow that government. Also it was believed that the government got its power from the people. John Locke was a major influence of the constitution and the people who wrote it.. Originally while drafting the constitution there were two plans. One was the Virginia plan which based representation in the federal government on population. Obviously this would be much better for the states with more people. The apposing plan was named the New Jersey plan. This plan would award each state equal representation and therefore would be helpful the states with much smaller populations. Eventually the constitutional convention would agree on something. This agreement is known as the Great Compromise. This settlement created a bicameral legislature. This bicameral legislature included the House Representatives which is based on population and the Senate which has an equal amount of representation to all states. The Bill of Rights is essential to the constitution. It is used to protect the basic human rights which Locke spoke of. This Bill of rights includes the right to free speech and grants all citizens the right to a fair trial. It was meant as a way to secure civil liberties and it is a major part of the constitution. The idea of separation of powers was not easy to put into effect. The American system of government is quite complex. This idea of separation of powers is credited to Montesquieu. He was credited as the first person to have this idea of separation of powers. In The constitution Article 1 Section 8 the constitution lists the actions which are allowed by congress while section 9 of that same article lists the actions which are prohibited for congress. The Supreme Court holds "The judicial Power" according to Article III, and it first established the implication of Judicial Review in Marbury vs. Madison. The Executive branch gets its powers from Article II of the constitution. The equality of these branches is often debated. Throughout history it has seemed as if the Judiciary branch is the weakest. Early in American history the Judiciary had been even less powerful. This branch only used its power to strike down congressional acts as unconstitutional only twice before the civil war. The President has the veto power. This is one of the largest powers in this system. This is the executive branches way of checking over congress. After this the houses of congress can override the presidents actions with a 2/3 majority vote to supersede the presidents veto The constitution is a major document in history. Without this constitution America would be different. The framers of the constitution had one main idea in mind. This was to make sure that in this system of government no one man or group could be too powerful. This system of checks and balances made sure of that and was successful. To this day people look to the constitution to be made aware of their rights. We owe it to John Locke and the framers of the constitution who without them the world could be very different today.