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U. S. A Constitution The constitution of the USA is the oldest one among of the hand-written constitutions working now. It has been produced by convent, that was held in Philadelphia from May, 14 till September, 17, 1787. Interests of the social groups submitted in convent were reflected in it - slaveholders, ground aristocracy, bourgeoisie, in other words the layers of the population distinctly understanding the purposes and tasks of constitutional system created by them. The structure of convent cannot be named representative enough; from 74 delegates appointed in it only 55 participated in work, a number from them has left convent before its ending, and only 39 have put the signatures under the text of the main law.
The constitution, accepted on September, 17, 1787 has been transferred to the Continental congress which on September, 28 has directed it to legislative assemblies of states so that they have submitted to its consideration of the convents consisting of delegates, elected in each state by its nation according to decisions of Convent. (Land S. , ch. 2) The constitution has been ratified by the convents elected in each state. The first, who approved it on December, 7, 1787, was the Delaware state; the ninth state was New Hampshire due to which the ratification on June, 21, 1788 this document has come into force. During the ratification there was a significant opposition of the Constitution in the majority of states. Convents only in Delaware, New Jersey and Georgia have accepted it unanimously. Other four states ratified the Constitution later; the last state was Rhode Island (on May, 29, 1790).
Six states - Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northern Carolina, Virginia and New York - during ratification demanded inclusion in it the Bill of Rights. During the first session of the Congress called on the basis of the new Constitution, James Madison who was the author of the project that was a base of Constitutions, and subsequently began the president the USA (1809 - 1817), has undertaken the initiative to offer the Bill of Rights. Among all amendments brought for ratification on September, 25, 1789 ten of them got approval of states on December, 15, 1791. These amendments have specified limits of powers of the Congress, have confirmed a principle of preservation of the general competence, by states (or by nation) which has been not given to federation and have fixed a number of the rights and freedom. (Hentoff, ch. 7) The constitution of the USA includes three components: a preamble which does not admit by courts and the American doctrine for a component of the main law, and it is considered only from the point of view of a source from which it proceeds, and purposes for the sake of which it is produced: statements of justice, maintenance of internal calmness, the organization of joint defense, assistance to the general well-being and maintenance to citizens the USA of the blessings of freedom; 2) seven articles and 3) twenty seven amendments.
The major constitutional documents are also the Declaration of independence of 1776 and the amendment to the constitution which are designated with the Roman figures. They are not included in the text of the constitution remaining constant, and applied to it. By present time 27 amendments are accepted, last from them - in 1992. The constitution of the USA is the first hand-written constitution, the progressive document which has influenced constitutions of many countries of the world. It has fixed formation of a sovereign federative state, event in a result of struggle for freedom by nation against the British crown, has proclaimed a principle of nation's sovereignty, has defined democratic principles of the organization of statehood (representative board, division of authorities, etc. ), has established, that the federal right has a priority above the right of states. Under influence of this constitution the doctrine of constitutionalism began to be distributed in the world.
At the same time the constitution of 1787 had historically limited character connected with conditions of its time, and the reactionary features caused by interests of ruling circles, basically planters of slaveholders of southern states and businessmen of the North. According to representations of that time the constitution was limited to regulation of relations between the government and the person (but mainly in judicial sphere and within the framework of some personal rights of the individual), and also an establishment of structure and mutual relations of the supreme bodies of the state. In the text of the constitution there were no articles about the political and social and economic rights of the person. Political rights have been included with first ten amendments which have received name the Bill of Rights, and regulations about many social, economic, cultural rights are absent in the text of the constitution nowadays. The constitution fixed slavery. It allowed voting for it by slaves owners planters and also it deprived women with suffrages (last restriction operated till 1919).
In many aspects (questions of direct democracy, principles of a democratic mode, etc. ) the constitution wasnt perfect. Sometimes its formulations were unusual, have insufficiently generalizing character. According to the constitution the United States is presidential republic by the form of board, by the form of a territorial-political system - centralized federation, the country with a democratic state mode. The constitution of the USA is the rigid constitution. Amendments to it can be accepted by 2 / 3 members of both chambers of the supreme legislature - the congress - or by the special convent called under the initiative of 2 / 3 states (there were not cases of such convocation). They are subject to ratification by legislative assemblies of 3 / 4 states or 3 / 4 convents of the states called under the decision of the federal congress.
As a result of these complexities during two centuries were accepted only 27 amendments (it was offered more than 5 thousand amendments, the congress has accepted about 40 of them, the necessary majority of states ratified 27). Individual amendments have no basic value as are devoted to rather private questions, some of them appoint, and then cancel different positions For the first time the constitution the USA has been added with the Bill of Rights (first ten amendments), accepted in 1789 and ratified required number of states in 1791. The Bill of Rights fixes the major political and personal freedoms. From the area of the social and economic rights it is spoken in it only about some guarantees of a private property: any property cannot be withdrawn for general welfare without fair compensation. Three post-war amendments, accepted after Civil war 1861 - 1865 have great value. They are XIII amendment (1865) about a recognition of former slaves by citizens of the USA and about equality of the rights of citizens, XIV amendment (it is accepted in 1966 and ratified in 1968) About racial and national equality of citizens, about prohibition of deprivation of a life, freedom, the property without due legal proceedings, about deprivation of the rights of the certain officials for participation in mutiny, about some questions of a public debt and XV amendment (it is accepted in 1869 and ratified in 1870) about equality of suffrages of male citizens. (Wood G.
ch. 3) The constitutional control is carried out by the general courts, and the final decision under federal acts accepts the Supreme court the USA, under state acts - usually Supreme courts of states, but also in the latter case under the complaint of the party (if this complaint will pass necessary judicial instances) the Supreme court of the USA can make the final decision. The concept of human rights that forms the constitutional regulation proceeds from idea about the natural and inalienable rights. Human rights are the natural, inalienable rights belonging to him by virtue of a birth as the person. Under slogans of inalienable human rights the advanced representatives of "the third estate, revolutionary bourgeoisie, opposed an arbitrariness of absolute monarchs and enslaving of the person by medieval church. The requirement of protection of human rights is put forward and now by the various movements directed against authoritarianism and totalitarianism. To number of inalienable human rights it is usually concerned right for a life, freedom, safety, the property, physical and mental inviolability, advantage of the person, personal and family secret, etc.
During last years some rights of the "third" and "fourth" generations were also added, for example the right of use of achievements of culture or the pure natural environment. It is considered, that the government cannot grant or alienate these right with the certificates and actions. Rights of the citizen, on the contrary, are connected to the fact of citizenship, a belonging of the person to the state, political community. These are rights of the person as a member of political community. They are connected to certificates and actions of the state bodies. To their number concern, suffrages, the right on association in political parties, the right on participation in an administrative office of the state, etc.
Also some social and economic rights concern here. Political rights of the citizen have been included in the constitution subsequently. It is not spoken at all about the social and economic and cultural rights in the constitutional texts. (Maddex R. ch. 10) More than 200 years it remains the main law of successfully developing state, the territory and population of which have increased many times over, and the political and economic life has changed in the completely other way. Attempts to reconsider the Constitution the USA and to develop the new main law were repeatedly undertaken. However any of them has not crowned success.
For revision and acceptance of the new Constitution the consent of three quarters of states is necessary. For the present nobody managed to receive necessary amount of voices. Each generation of Americans considers the Constitution not as historical, and as the modern document potentially containing all legal norms, necessary for the sanction of the current problems. Due to flexibility of the USA political-legal system the Constitution really carries out this role till now. A question on the norms incorporated by the Constitution is a source of uncountable disputes.
In 1907 founder of progressive movement J. A. Smith has named the Constitution the reactionary document, as the government created on its basis, has no right to interfere with property relations and to achieve well-being of people. During F. D. Roosevelt reign such intervention became normal, as it met approval of the Supreme court which ascertained, that social progress can be achieved with the help of more and more extending and amplifying governmental control.
At interpretation of the Constitution of the USA people usually try to find out initial intentions of its authors, using materials of the Constitutional convent 1787, letters and notes of J. Madison, G. Washington, A. Hamilton, etc. , and also their publication "Federalist" in which principles of the main law of the USA spoke.
The American Constitution has influenced lawmaking of many countries of the world (especially federal). Its norms were used at drawing up of constitutions of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Japan, Russia, etc. The original of the Constitution of the USA is kept in National archive of the USA in Washington where it is exposed for a review in the specially equipped show-window together with the Declaration of independence. (Will P. ch. 17) Bibliography: Peter Will.
Behind the Scenes In American Government. Harpers Collins Publishers, (1991); An Illustrated History Of the USA. Longman Group UK Limited, (1990); The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Ed. by M.
Farrand. New Haven; London, 4 vols. (1966). Land S. Class Conflict, Slavery, & the United States Constitution. Indianapolis; New York, (1967); Wood G. The Creation of the American Republic 1776 - 1787.
New York, (1969); Berns, Walter, The First Amendment and the Future of American Democracy, Princeton University Press (1976); Hentoff, Nat, The First Freedom, Madison: Madison House (1980); Maddex, Robert L. , The U. S. Constitution A to Z. Washington, D.
C. : CQ Press, 2002; Oak Hill, The U. S. Constitution And Fascinating Facts About It. Copyright, Publishing Company (1998) < web >.
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