constitution

Constitution,

U.S. 44-gun frigate, nicknamed Old Ironsides. It is perhaps the most famous vessel in the history of the U.S. navy. Authorized by Congress in 1794, the ship was launched in 1797 and was commissioned and put to sea in 1798 in the undeclared naval war with the French. It participated in the Tripolitan War. In the War of 1812, serving as flagship for Isaac HullHull, Isaac,
1773–1843, American naval officer, b. Derby, Conn. He served in the undeclared naval war with France (1798–1800) and in the Tripolitan War before being promoted to captain in 1806. In 1810 he was given command of the Constitution.
..... Click the link for more information. , The Constitution won a battle with the British vessel Guerrière on Aug. 19, 1812, and under the command of William Bainbridge it defeated the Java on Dec. 29, 1812. Charles Stewart was commanding the Constitution when on Feb. 20, 1815, it overcame the Cyane and the Levant (though the Levant was later recaptured by the British). The Constitution was condemned (1830) as unseaworthy, but public sentiment, aroused by Oliver Wendell Holmes's poem "Old Ironsides," saved the ship from dismantling, and it was rebuilt in 1833. The ship was laid up at the Portsmouth navy yard in 1855 and was there used as a training ship. In 1877 it was rebuilt again, and the next year it crossed the Atlantic. In 1897 it was stored at the Boston navy yard, and in 1927–30, under authorization of Congress, it was restored by public subscription (1925–27). Another restoration was begun in 1992 and was completed in 1997. The Constitution is now maintained at the Boston navy yard.

Bibliography

See J. Barnes, Naval Actions of the War of 1812 (1896); I. N. Hollis, The Frigate "Constitution" (1901); E. Snow, On the Deck of "Old Ironsides" (1932); T. P. Horgan, Old Ironsides (1963); J. E. Jennings, Tattered Ensign (1966); T. G. Martin, A Most Fortunate Ship (1997).

constitution,

fundamental principles of government in a nation, either implied in its laws, institutions, and customs, or embodied in one fundamental document or in several. In the first category—customary and unwritten constitutions—is the British constitution, which is contained implicitly in the whole body of common and statutory law of the realm, and in the practices and traditions of the government. Because it can be modified by an ordinary act of ParliamentParliament,
legislative assembly of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Over the centuries it has become more than a legislative body; it is the sovereign power of Great Britain, whereas the monarch remains sovereign in name only.
..... Click the link for more information. , the British constitution is often termed flexible. This enables Britain to react quickly to any constitutional emergency, but it affords no fundamental protections of civil or personal liberty, or any areas in which parliamentary legislation is expressly forbidden. The theory of the social contract, developed in the 17th cent. by Thomas HobbesHobbes, Thomas
, 1588–1679, English philosopher, grad. Magdalen College, Oxford, 1608. For many years a tutor in the Cavendish family, Hobbes took great interest in mathematics, physics, and the contemporary rationalism.
..... Click the link for more information. and John LockeLocke, John
, 1632–1704, English philosopher, founder of British empiricism. Locke summed up the Enlightenment in his belief in the middle class and its right to freedom of conscience and right to property, in his faith in science, and in his confidence in the goodness of
..... Click the link for more information. , was fundamental to the development of the modern constitution. The Constitution of the United StatesConstitution of the United States,
document embodying the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. Drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the Constitution was signed on Sept.
..... Click the link for more information. , written in 1787 and ratified in 1789, was the first important written constitution, and a model for a vast number of subsequent constitutional documents. Though to a large extent based on the principles and practices of the British constitution, the Constitution of the United States has superior sanction to the ordinary laws of the land, interpreted through a process of judicial review that passes judgment on the constitutionality of subsequent legislation, and that is subject to a specially prescribed process of amendmentamendment,
in law, alteration of the provisions of a legal document. The term usually refers to the alteration of a statute or a constitution, but it is also applied in parliamentary law to proposed changes to a bill or motion under consideration, and in judicial procedure to
..... Click the link for more information. . The rigidity of its written format has been counterbalanced by growth and usage: in particular, statutory elaboration (see Congress of the United StatesCongress of the United States,
the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines its powers.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and judicial construction (see Supreme Court, United StatesSupreme Court, United States,
highest court of the United States, established by Article 3 of the Constitution of the United States. Scope and Jurisdiction
..... Click the link for more information. , and Marshall, JohnMarshall, John,
1755–1835, American jurist, 4th chief justice of the United States (1801–35), b. Virginia. Early Life

The eldest of 15 children, John Marshall was born in a log cabin on the Virginia frontier (today in Fauquier co., Va.
..... Click the link for more information. ) have kept the written document abreast of the times. But a written constitution, without a commitment to its principles and civil justice, has often proved to be a temporary or rapidly reversed gesture. In the 18th, 19th, and 20th cent., many countries, having made sharp political and economic departures from the past, had little legal custom to rely upon and therefore set forth their organic laws in written constitutions—some of which are judicially enforced. Adolf Hitler never formally abolished the constitution of the Weimar Republic, and the protections of personal liberties contained in the Soviet constitution of 1936 proved to be empty promises. Since the 1960s, many of the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa have adopted written constitutions, often on the model of the American, British, or French constitutions.

Bibliography

See E. McWhinney, Constitution-Making (1981); V. Bhagwan and V. Bhushan, World Constitutions (2d ed. 1987); P. Bobbitt, Constitutional Interpretation (1991); J. W. Peltason, Understanding the Constitution (12th ed. 1991).

Constitution

a state’s fundamental law, which has the highest legal force and establishes the basic principles of the political, legal, and economic systems of a given country.

A constitution reflects the correlation of class forces at the time of its adoption. It consolidates the dictatorship of the ruling class, the form of government, the structure of the state, the organizational procedure and jurisdiction of both central and local government bodies and administration, the legal status of the individual, the organization and fundamental principles of justice, and the electoral system.

As to their form, constitutions are usually classified as written or unwritten. In the overwhelming majority of countries, written constitutions consist of a single act. However, they may be composed of a body of constitutional or organic acts. (This is the case in Sweden, Spain, and Finland.) Unwritten constitutions, which are in force in Great Britain and New Zealand, consist of a great number of laws, constitutional customs, and precedents. The right to adopt a constitution (the constituent authority) is given to a constituent assembly (for example, in Italy and India), to the electorate by means of a referendum (for example, in France and Turkey), or to the head of the state (for example, in Iran and Afghanistan). As a rule, the procedure for making changes and amendments is established in the constitution. (The procedure for amending a constitution is more complicated than the procedure for the adoption of ordinary laws.)

The constitutions of most contemporary bourgeois states proclaim a number of democratic rights and liberties for citizens. Thus, as a result of the deepening of the class struggle in the 20th century the majority of bourgeois constitutions came to include provisions concerning universal suffrage, the right to form political parties, and the right to strike, for example. The creation of the world socialist system, which, for the working people of capitalist countries, serves as an example of the realization of citizens’ rights, has greatly influenced the broadening of constitutional rights and liberties.

However, the constitutions of the bourgeois states merely proclaim democratic civil rights and liberties and do not contain real guarantees of their implementation. In these countries constitutions are an instrument of the dictatorship of the ruling class, which makes certain concessions but which, in practice, finds ways to evade constitutional norms and violate the legality it has created. For instance, the established provisions of the constitution may be violated by the government’s legislative activity, which is often contrary to the constitution and which narrows the legislative rights of the elected parliament.

The Communist parties in the capitalist countries attach great significance to the struggle for the observance of constitutional rights and liberties, considering their demands in this regard to be part of the struggle for socialism.

The constitutions of the socialist countries consolidate the power of the working people and establish the principles of the economic, political, and legal systems of socialist society, which has abolished the exploitation of man by man. In addition to consolidating the gains of the working people, and the democratic rights and liberties of the citizens, socialist constitutions contain real guarantees for the realization of these rights and liberties. As a rule, they contain programmatic provisions concerning the further development of the society. All socialist constitutions are uniform, systematized acts. The draft constitutions of the socialist countries are usually drawn up by special constitutional commissions and are subject to public consideration. In the USSR, Poland, Hungary, and Rumania the highest bodies of state power have the right to adopt a constitution. Constitutions are adopted by referendum in the German Democratic Republic and Bulgaria.

A. A. MISHIN

constitution

1. the fundamental political principles on which a state is governed, esp when considered as embodying the rights of the subjects of that state 2. (in certain countries, esp Australia and the US) a statute embodying such principles
www.psa.ac.uk/www/constitutions.htm

Constitution

Related to Constitution: Bill of Rights

Constitution

The fundamental law, written or unwritten, that establishes the character of a government by defining the basic principles to which a society must conform; by describing the organization of the government and regulation, distribution, and limitations on the functions of different government departments; and by prescribing the extent and manner of the exercise of its sovereign powers.

A legislative charter by which a government or group derives its authority to act.

The concept of a constitution dates to the city-states of ancient Greece. The philosopher Aristotle (384–322 b.c.), in his work Politics, analyzed over 150 Greek constitutions. He described a constitution as creating the frame upon which the government and laws of a society are built:

A constitution may be defined as an organization of offices in a state, by which the method of their distribution is fixed, the sovereign authority is determined, and the nature of the end to be pursued by the association and all its members is prescribed. Laws, as distinct from the frame of the constitution, are the rules by which the magistrates should exercise their powers, and should watch and check transgressors.

In modern Europe, written constitutions came into greater use during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Constitutions such as that of the United States, created in 1787, were influenced by the ancient Greek models. During the twentieth century, an increasing number of countries around the world concluded that constitutions are a necessary part of democratic or republican government. Many thus adopted their own constitutions.

Different forms and levels of government may have constitutions. All 50 states have constitutions, as do many countries including Japan, India, Canada, and Germany. It is also common for nongovernmental organizations and civic groups to have constitutions.

In its ideal form, a constitution emanates from the consent and will of the people whom it governs. Besides establishing the institutions of government and the manner in which they function toward each other and toward the people, a constitution may also set forth the rights of the individual and a government's responsibility to honor those rights.

Constitutions, whether written or unwritten, typically function as an evolving body of legal custom and opinion. Their evolution generally involves changes in judicial interpretation or in themselves, the latter usually through a process called amendment. Amendment of a constitution is usually designed to be a difficult process in order to give the constitution greater stability. On the other hand, if a constitution is extremely difficult to amend, it might be too inflexible to survive over time.The ongoing evolutionary nature of constitutions explains why England may be described as having a constitution even though it does not have a single written document that is designated as such. England's constitution instead inheres in a body of legal custom and tradition that regulates the relationship among the monarchy, the legislature (Parliament), the judicial system, and Common Law. Although England's constitution is, in a sense, unwritten because it does not originate in a single document, many written laws have been instrumental in its creation, and England in fact has one of the oldest traditions of constitutionalism.

In a truly constitutional form of government, public officials are subject to constitutional rules and provisions and may not violate them without punishment. Such constitutional governments are also called limited governments because the constitution restricts the scope of their power over the people. However, many governments that have constitutions do not practice true constitutionalism. The former Soviet Union, for example, created the 1936 Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the "Stalin Constitution," but that document did not establish a truly constitutional form of government. Joseph Stalin, the ruler of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953, could not be formally penalized or called to account for his actions, no matter how heinous, before any other government official, any court, or the people themselves. The Soviet Constitution also claimed to guarantee Freedom of Speech, press, and assembly, but in practice the Soviet government continually repressed those who sought to express those freedoms. Constitutions such as that of the former Soviet Union are called nominal constitutions, whereas those that function more truly as prescriptive documents, such as the Constitution of the United States, are called normative constitutions.

In the United States, individual state constitutions must conform to the basic principles of the U.S. Constitution—they may not violate rights or standards that it establishes. However, states are free to grant rights that are not defined in the U.S. Constitution, as long as doing so does not interfere with other rights that are drawn from it. For this reason, groups or individuals who seek to file constitutional claims in court are increasingly examining state constitutions for settlement of their grievances. In the issue of School Desegregation, for example, groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in the 1990s to shift focus to the state level, with the hope of finding greater protection of rights under state constitutions.

In many states, however, courts have construed their respective state constitutions to provide rights that are equivalent to those provided under the U.S. Constitution. For example, in Jackson v. Benson, 578 N.W.2d 602 (Wisc. 1998), the Wisconsin Supreme Court, citing settled precedent, noted that the Wisconsin Constitution's provisions relating to Equal Protection provide the same rights as those provisions in the federal counterpart, even though the Wisconsin provisions are phrased quite differently. The NAACP claimed that a school program in Milwaukee, which allowed parents of certain qualifying students of public schools in the city to send their children to any private, nonsectarian school of their choice at no cost, was enacted with discriminatory intent. The court treated the state and federal constitutional claims of the NAACP as alike.

Cross-references

Constitution of the United States; "Constitution of the United States" (Appendix, Primary Document).

constitution

n. the fundamental, underlying document which establishes the government of a nation or state. The United States Constitution, originally adopted in convention on September 17, 1787, ratified by the states in 1788, and thereafter amended 27 times, is the prime example of such a document. It is the basis for all decisions by the U. S. Supreme Court (and federal and state courts) on constitutionality. The case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) firmly established the power of the Supreme Court to strike down federal statutes it found unconstitutional, making the Supreme Court the final arbiter of constitutional interpretation. The "equal rights" provision of the 14th Amendment established that the rights in the first ten amendments ("Bill of Rights") applied to state governments. Unfortunately, state constitutions have gathered tremendous amounts of baggage of detail by amendment over the years, and it is more difficult to "fine tune" state constitutions by further amendment than it is to enact statutes (pass new laws.) However, state courts are bound by their state's constitution on fundamental issues. The so-called English constitution is an unwritten body of legal customs and rights developed by practice and court decisions from the 11th to the 18th Century. (See: Bill of Rights, constitutional rights, common law)

CONSTITUTION, government. The fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded, and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these powers is to be confided, and the, manner it is to be exercised as, the Constitution of the United States. See Story on the Constitution; Rawle on the Const.
2. The words constitution and government (q.v.) are sometimes employed to express the same idea, the manner in which sovereignty is exercised in each state. Constitution is also the name of the instrument containing the fundamental laws of the state.
3. By constitution, the civilians, and, from them, the common law writers, mean some particular law; as the constitutions of the emperors contained in the Code.

CONSTITUTION, contracts. The constitution of a contract, is the making of the contract as, the written constitution of a debt. 1 Bell's Com. 332, 5th ed.

constitution

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constitution

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Constitution,

Bibliography

constitution,

Bibliography

Constitution

constitution

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constitution

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Patient discussion about constitution

Constitution

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constitution

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constitution

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noun laws

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noun state of health

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noun structure

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Synonyms for constitution

noun the act of founding or establishing

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noun the physical or constitutional characteristics of a person

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noun law determining the fundamental political principles of a government

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noun the act of forming or establishing something

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noun the constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states

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noun the way in which someone or something is composed

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noun a United States 44-gun frigate that was one of the first three naval ships built by the United States

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