Constitution is defined as the body of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state. In some cases, such as the United States, the constitution is a specific written document; in others, such as the United Kingdom, it is a collection of documents, statutes, and traditional practices that are generally accepted as governing political matters.
The general idea of a constitution and of constitutionalism originated with the ancient Greeks and especially in the theoretical and descriptive writings of Aristotle. In his Politics, Constitution of Athens, and other works, Aristotle used the Greek word for constitution (politeia) in several different senses. The simplest and most neutral of these was “the arrangement of the offices in a polis” (state). In this purely descriptive sense of the word, every state has a constitution, no matter how badly or erratically governed it may be.
Aristotle’s classification of the “forms of government” was intended as a classification of constitutions, both good and bad. Under good constitutions-monarchy, aristocracy, and the mixed kind to which Aristotle applied the same term politeia-one person, a few individuals, or the many rule in the interest of the whole polis. Under the bad constitutions-tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy-the tyrant, the rich oligarchs, or the poor demos-rule in their own interest alone.
Britain and the United States both have old constitutions, the one being the oldest in the world, the other being the oldest written constitution in the world. The British constitution comprises an accumulation of traditions, customs, conventions, precedents and Acts of Parliament. They all have been built up, bit by bit, over the centuries. Some of them are written down in laws agreed by Parliament, some of them have been spoken and then written down and some of them have never been written down at all. For example, there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what the powers of the Prime Minister are, even though he or she is probably the most powerful person in the country. Similarly, there is no single written document which asserts people’s rights. Some rights which
are commonly accepted in modern democracies (for example, the rights not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex or race) have been formally recognized by Parliament through legislation; but others (for example, the rights not to be discriminated against on the basis of religion or political views) have not. Nevertheless, it is understood that these latter rights are also part of the constitution.
Constitutional Republic
Constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government’s power over citizens. In a constitutional republic, executive, legislative, and judicial powers are separated into distinct branches and the will of the majority of the population is tempered by protections for individual rights so that no individual or group has absolute power. The fact that a constitution exists
that limits the government’s power makes the state constitutional. That the head of state and other officials are chosen by election, rather than inheriting their positions, and that their decisions are
subject to judicial review makes a state republican.
Constitutional republics were first advocated in the 18th and19th centuries by liberals, who were engaged at the time in a political and ideological conflict against conservative supporters of traditional monarchy. Since the beginning of the 20th century, constitutional republics have entered the political mainstream and have gathered the support of many other ideologies in addition to liberalism.
The United States of America is one of the oldest republics in the world. According to James Woodburn in The American Republic and Its Government, “the constitutional republic with its limitations on popular government is clearly involved in the Constitution, as seen in the election of the President, the election
of the Senate and the appointment of the Supreme Court.” That is, the ability of the people to choose officials in government is checked by not allowing them to elect Supreme Court justices however
in reality, such justices are appointed by the popularly elected president, and approved by the popularly elected Senate.
Woodburn says that in a republic, as distinguished from a democracy, the people are not only checked in choosing officials but also in making laws. A Bill of Rights exists in the U.S. Constitution which protects certain individual rights. The individual rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights cannot be voted away by the majority of citizens if they wished to oppress a minority who does not agree with the restrictions on liberty that they wish to impose. To eliminate these rights would require government officials overcoming constitutional checks as well as a two-thirds majority vote of Congress and ratification by threefourths
of the States in order to amend the Constitution.
A constitutional republic is a form of democracy, but not all democracies are constitutional republics. For example, though the head of state is not elected in a monarchy, it may still be a liberal democracy if there is a parliament with elected representatives that govern according to constitutional law protecting individual rights (called a constitutional democratic monarchy). Also, a representative democracy may or may not be a constitutional republic. For example, “the United States relies on representative democracy, but its system of government is much more complex than that. It is not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law.”
Local Government
Local government generally refers to the government of an area smaller than a country, state, or province. Such areas include counties, cities, towns, and villages. Each unit of local government has some important responsibility for the welfare of its citizens and provides certain services. Most local governments are run by elected officials and have some power of taxation. In the United States, each state government creates and has legal control over all local governments in the state.
Traditionally, Americans have strongly supported the principle of local self-government. Some scholars argue that small local governments are more responsive to citizens' wishes than are large units of government. They also feel that local governments encourage people to become involved in the life of
their community. Other scholars believe that local governments have certain weaknesses. For example, they claim that an individual local unit often cannot deal effectively with such problems as transportation and pollution when they require the cooperation of other local units in the area.
Units of local government. The United States has about 87,000 units of local government. There are four types of local governments: (1) counties, (2) municipalities, (3) school districts, and (4) special districts.
The county is the largest unit of local government in most states. The United States has about 3,000 counties. In Louisiana, these units are called parishes.
There are about 19,000 municipalities in the United States, including cities, villages, and townlike units called boroughs. They lie within each county or extend into two or more counties. Municipalities, often called city governments, are chartered by state governments to provide such services as police and fire
protection.
School districts are responsible for running public school systems. There are about 15,000 school districts in the United States. Most school districts operate independently of city governments. The city governments of New York City and a few other communities in the Northeast operate their own public
school systems.
Special districts are organized to provide one or more public services, such as mosquito control or transportation. There are about 33,000 special districts in the United States. The governing boards of these districts have the authority to levy taxes and to spend public money.
Functions of local government. Most of the activities of local government in the United States can be classified into three main groups: (1) health and safety functions, (2) welfare functions, and (3) housekeeping functions.
Health and safety functions of local government in the United States began with law enforcement by local police forces and through local courts. Today, most local governments also have responsibility for fighting fires, immunizing people against
contagious diseases, and providing and maintaining hospital services, local roads, garbage collection, and safe drinking water. In addition, they conduct inspections and educational campaigns in the areas of health, housing, traffic safety, sanitation, and fire prevention. They are also concerned with reducing air pollution and water pollution.
Welfare functions. Early in U.S. history, local governments began to provide public education. Today, they spend more money on education than on any other function. Local governments also provide libraries, museums, parks and other recreational and athletic facilities, and buses and subways for mass
transportation. They cooperate with other levels of government in providing public housing for low-income families. Many local governments have zoning restrictions to protect and promote the beauty and land values in their area. Many also try to stimulate economic growth by attracting business and industry to their area.
Providing health, safety, and welfare services is an important part of the American political process. Such questions as how much to spend for schools or whether to allow a factory to be built in a certain part of the city often cause conflicts among citizens and groups.
Housekeeping functions are administrative activities. They are essential to the function of a governmental unit but are not part of its main activities. One housekeeping function is keeping official records of births, deaths, marriages, and property transfers and assessments. Local governments also collect taxes, hire public agency workers, and administer elections.