Six Basic Principles
The Constitution is built upon six basic principles of the government. They are as follows:
- Popular Sovereignty: Popular sovereignty asserts that the PEOPLE are the ultimate source of power and all government power cannot exist without the people's consent. For more information, click here.
- Limited Government: The government's power is restricted to avoid a tyranny of any sort that may corrupt America and therefore interfere with the quality of life for the citizens. For more information, click here.
- Separation of Powers: The government is broken into three branches, (executive, legislative, and judicial) that are independent of each other and ultimately equal in power. For more information, click here.
- Checks and Balances: Allows for the three above mentioned branches to "check", or restrain, the powers of one another.For more information, click here.
- Judicial Review: The power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action. For more information, click here.
- Federalism: A system of government in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. For more information, click here.