European Legal Doctrines and Their Influence on the US Constitution Essay Sample
The United States Constitution considers citizenship as an important ingredient of democracy. In its democratic space, the US Constitution insists on the importance of citizens’ participation in different elections to choose their preferred leaders. Illustratively, citizenship and democracy are interconnected such that the action of the citizens informs democratic processes and when citizenship is weakened then democracy is equally disabled. The US Constitution is informed by various constitutional principles and influential documents as its sources. The principles build and activate citizenship and democracy to ensure they become functional and effective. The essay discusses the principles of popular sovereignty, separation of powers, and checks and balances alongside the important documents of the Bill of Rights, Magna Carta, and the Article of Confederation.
The first principle is popular sovereignty which dates back to social contract as was championed by Thomas Hobbes. The principle states that the government’s authority is from the people (Libraries, 2022). It affirms the need for the people to participate in the running of the government through representatives who are democratically elected by the people. On the other hand, the Bill of Rights is an influential document that was adopted in 1789 by the Joint Resolution of Congress (National Archives, 2022). The document has been significant in championing the rights of citizens and their roles in government affairs for a democratic society. The Constitution has captured the contents of the document, such as “freedom of speech which guarantees citizens the ability to express themselves freely without restriction” and “freedom of assembly, which promotes lawful gathering” and framed them as crucial components that protect citizenship and democracy.
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The second principle is the separation of powers. The principle was coined by Charles-Louis in his publication of the Spirit of the Law and it distinguishes the roles of each arm of government to ensure they function smoothly and independently (Libraries, 2022). The principle ensures oversight in the process and empowers a citizen to petition a government when they feel that it does not execute its mandate accordingly. The document of the Article of Confederation established the functions of the American National Government after its independence from Great Britain (National Archives, 2022). The document is important in setting the roles of each level of government in the US Constitution. Article one of the article created the names of the combined thirteen states while article three stipulates that “each state should support each other in events of external attacks.”
The third principle in the Constitution is checks and balances. The principle was coined by philosopher Montesquieu in the 18th century (Libraries, 2022). Through the separation of powers, it was important to assign each branch the responsibility of checking one another for stability. The parliament oversights the executive while the judiciary checks both. Magna Carta is another important document that shapes American Constitution. The document has important clauses touching on taxation and trade, which were incorporated in the US from the United Kingdom’s Constitution (National Archives, 2022). Trial before execution as prescribed in article 39 of the Magna Carta is today found in the US Constitution under the “right to a fair trial of an offender.”
Conclusively, US citizenship and democracy have developed from important documents borrowed from Great Britain. Most of the basic principles in the constitution borrow their origin from other principles in the UK’s Constitution, while the three documents shape the constitution by introducing important aspects that support the spirit championed in the American society. As a flexible and comprehensive constitution, the whole document effectively covers the aspects of citizenship and democracy by creating relationships that strengthen them.
References
Libraries (2022). Constitutional principles and provisions. https://open.lib.umn.edu/americangovernment/chapter/2-3-Constitutional-principles-and-provisions/
National Archives (2022). American founding documents. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs