Was the Constitution Created to Protect People?

Was the Constitution Created to Protect People?
Lisa Vu
U.S. History
Period 4

Throughout the world, democracy seems to be a popular form of government because in this type of government, the people have power to decide on the decisions that affect them. After the Shays’ Rebellion, the Article of Confederation was weak because it did not have a strong central government to enforce laws effectively; therefore, the Constitution was called to replace the Articles of Confederation. The purpose of the Constitution was to provide a strong federal government but also limit its power. Also, the purpose of the Constitution is protecting the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, the preamble of the Constitution best exemplifies its purposes, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Consequently, the U.S. has supported democracy because its values respect human rights and helps created a stable government in order to prosper. Additionally, democratically governed nations are apt to secure peace among citizens because they provide the countries with economic development, work rights, global improvements, and humans’ wellbeing. By supporting democracies around the world, the United States helps protect the people’s freedom in other countries. The creation of the Constitution serves as protection of liberty because it constructs a rational government, creates boundaries between the state and federal governments, and outlines the people’s freedoms. In order to protect country’s liberties, the Constitution produces three branches of government to govern the U.S. in a balanced way and uses the system called checks and balances to restrain any branch from becoming more powerful than another. The three branches are legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch is made up of the two houses of Congress—the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress has the power to enact laws, declare war, the right to confirm or reject Presidential appointments. The Senate approves the President’s appointments to the Cabinet, the Supreme Court, and federal courts; also, the Senate must ratify all treaties by a two-thirds vote. In Article I, Section 2, the Constitution states that “The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” One example of checks and balances is that the legislative branch has the power to impeach the president, and they also have the power to override a presidential veto. The Executive branch is made of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments. The President approves and carries out laws passed by the legislative branch. Moreover, the President “…shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and…appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United State…” (US Const. Art. II, Sec. 2). By nominating the judges, the executive branch checks the judicial branch. Lastly, the Judicial branch is made of the Federal courts and the Supreme Court. The judicial branch manages the court system of the U.S. Through court cases, the judicial branch explains the meaning of the Constitution and laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch. Another instance of a checks and balance is the Supreme Court rules whether something is constitutional or unconstitutional under the Constitution. By forcing the three branches to be monitored by the others, no branch can gain enough power to become superior over the others. As a result, the people are protected from the government becoming a tyranny. The Constitution not only separates power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the Federal government, but also separates powers between the Federal government and the states.
The division of powers between the Federal government and states preserves the country’s liberties since it establishes a strong, central government that safeguards the people against state sovereignty. The federal government has specific powers while the state governments have other powers, but they also shared some. For example, the Federal government can impose taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and establish bankruptcy laws. In Article I, Section 8, the Constitution writes, “The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts…to borrow money on the credit of the United States; to regulate commerce…and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States...” In addition, the Federal government also possesses military powers such as declaring war, raising and supporting armies, maintaining navies, and summoning the militia. According to Article I, Section 10, the states were not able to issue currency, to levy taxes freely, to keep troops in time of peace, to make agreement with another state, or with a foreign state, and to engage in war. Although the state’s powers are restricted, they still possess some essential powers and implement important functions. The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution indicates that the states acquire, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Therefore, the state powers are called reserved powers which are the right to establish schools, supervise education, conduct elections, establish local government divisions, and borrow money. In addition, the states are able to protect and promote the health, safety, and wellbeing of their people; all these powers directly affect the lives of the Americans. Conversely, concurrent powers are powers that both the Federal and state governments share which includes the power to tax, borrow money, to build roads, to take property, to enact bankruptcy laws, and to establish laws and courts. Not only does the separation of power between the Federal and state governments protect the liberties of the people, but also the Bill of Rights contributes to this safeguard.
The Bill of Rights prohibits the government from infringing on numerous human freedoms such as religious, intellectual, and economical activities. For example, the First Amendment addresses the rights of freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms and the Third Amendment prohibits the quartering of troops in any house during peacetime and allows it in times of war only in a lawful manner. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizure and requires a search warrant before a search can take place. The Fifth Amendment requires indictment by a grand jury before a person can be charged with a serious crime. It also prohibits a person from being tried twice for the same crime and from being forced to be a witness against himself. It protects against deprivation of life liberty or property without due process of law. In addition, it prohibits the taking of private property without just compensation. The Sixth Amendment provides the right to a speedy and public trial, to a trial by a fair and local jury, to be informed of the charges, to be confronted by witnesses, to compulsory process for obtaining witnesses, and to have a lawyer. The Seventh Amendment preserves the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases. The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. The Ninth Amendment states that the enumeration of rights cannot violate the rights that are not listed in the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment reserves all powers not given to the federal government, or prohibited to the states by the Constitution, to the states or to the people. In conclusion, the Bill of Rights protects the inalienable rights that adhere to all citizens of a constitutional democracy.
There are both positives and negatives of the United States Constitution. The Constitution has a huge impact on society because its effects are positive as well as negative. The Constitution is such a powerful tool that governs the direction of society today. It propels and directs the world in many different ways. Some positive effects are that it acts as a safeguard of liberty for the United States. Also, the Constitution functions as a model of government throughout the world for many countries. For example, the design of government benefits its citizens through the creation of a rational control, the boundaries between the branches and state and federal governments, and the highlights the people’s freedoms. As a result, the Constitution creates a strong, secure, and table government. On the contrary, the Constitution can affect individuals negatively by its flexibility and ambiguity. For instance, the government strips the privacy of Americans by collecting data, storage, and tracking; the FBI’s investigated date has grown over 560 million records. Therefore, people’s information can be accessed within a matter of seconds. Overall, the Constitution serves to protect the citizens, but it can also harm them.

Works Cited

Mount, Steve. “The United States Constitution.” USConstitution.net. Archives in Washington, D.C., 27 Feb 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2012.