Natalie Beller
Scaffold Reading Assignment
Constitutions and Constitutionalism
UNDERSTANDING
THE PASSAGE
Constitutionalism is the idea that government should be limited through established procedures or laws
Terms To Know
Click on Terms to
Know and define the 5
terms listed.
and that governmental authority depends on its willingness to observe these limitations. The modern
term derives from the Latin word constitutio, which means "establishment" or "ordinance" of the
emperor. As a political or legal doctrine, constitutionalism refers to a government that is devoted first to
the establishment of law and order within society, and second to the control of government within that
order, especially as it pertains to the protection of basic individual rights. It is meant to solve the problem
of anarchy on the one hand and tyranny on the other within a single and coherent constitutional
structure.
The
Philosophers
This section will help
you identify important
philosophers and their
ideas.
Most constitutional governments have a charter or "constitution" that derives its authority from the
people. A constitution consists of a set of rules or norms that imposes limits on government power. It
organizes various branches of government, establishes the balance among them, and sets the limits of
power by guaranteeing certain fundamental rights against infringement. A constitution is unique because
it is usually difficult to change. Whereas legislative enactments can be modified simply by passing
another statute, constitutional amendments typically, although not always, involve surmounting a more
difficult procedural hurdle. In sum, a constitution establishes a framework for the state as a legal entity.
CONSTITUTIONALISM: INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS
Key Ideas
Click on Key Ideas and
answer the 5 questions
that help identify the
main ideas on this
article.
The concept of a constitution as a framework for states goes back to ancient times, but the idea of
constitutionalism emerged during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the theories and
contributions of English political theorists Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and John Locke (1632–1704),
French philosophers Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778),
and the framers of the American Constitution.
THINKING LIKE
A HISTORIAN
Timeline of
Events
The timeline provides
a visual for
understanding the
how the philosophers
ideas rapidly effected
societies.
Understanding
Government
Philosophy
These questions allow
you to understand the
underlying principles
behind Enlightenment
philosophy.
Comparing
Philosophies
Each philosopher had
some of the same
ideas, and some were
quiet different.
Answer these question
comparing the
philosophers and
their beliefs
Impact on
History
A few final questions
to determine the
impact on the 1700s
and implications for
today.
Natalie Beller
Scaffold Reading Assignment
In the English tradition, constitutionalism is rooted in the belief that individuals are rational beings driven
by reason and self-interest to maximize their prosperity and happiness in life. In 1651, Hobbes argued in
his seminal work Leviathan that a brutish "state of nature," in which humans act to better their position at
the expense of others, is an impediment to the pursuit of prosperity and happiness, and that
governments should be formed to prevent people from infringing on the rights and interests of others.
Hobbes believed that because humans were basically selfish creatures, the best system of government
was a system ruled by an all-powerful kingly figure, or leviathan. Hobbes's call for an all-powerful king
reinforced the position of the Stuart monarchy at the time, which claimed the throne of England on the
basis of divine-right absolutism.
During the English Civil War of 1689, the English army and parliament destroyed the Stuart quest for
divine-right absolutism. Locke, who observed this war, rejected the notion of divine right by which kings
and queens justified their right to rule. Instead, he argued that governments should only operate with the
consent of the people they govern.
Locke's belief in popular consent, however, was not without qualification. As a precursor to what would
become known as the "separation of powers" principle, he argued that governmental power should be
divided equally into three branches so that politicians would not be tempted to seek absolute power. He
also argued that the purpose of government was to protect individual rights such as the rights to life,
freedom, and property. These individual rights were absolute and guaranteed to all people. If any
government abused these rights, the people would have the right to rebel and form a new government.
Locke's notion of individual rights would later become the basis for the enumeration of the "rights of
man" in the English Bill of Rights, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789, and the
American Bill of Rights of 1791.
The French philosophers of the eighteenth century, Montesquieu and Rousseau, expanded on Locke's
constitutional ideas. Montesquieu was raised during the reign of Louis XIV (1638–1715), who had
Natalie Beller
Scaffold Reading Assignment
attempted to assert absolute authority over all aspects of French life. In his Spirit of the Laws published
in 1748, Montesquieu argued that to protect the liberties of the nation and the inviolability of the law,
autonomous judicial bodies must possess independent powers to impede the natural despotic
tendencies of an absolute monarchy. He advocated a division of government—a separation of powers—
to serve as a bulwark against the abusive tendencies of the state. This call for a separation of powers
helped to lay the foundation for the French Revolution of 1789 and constitutionalism in France.
Rousseau was one of the first modern writers to question the assumption that the will of the majority is
always correct. He argued that the goal of government should be to secure freedom, equality, and
justice for all within the state, regardless of the will of the majority. In "The Social Contract," he wrote:
The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force
the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey
himself alone, and remain as free as before. (Rousseau 1762/1960, p. 149)
The "social contract" reflects an understanding of the importance of individual rights within a society and
the role of the state in protecting these rights.
Across the Atlantic, the ideas of the Enlightenment thinkers were at the heart of the American
independence movement. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) and James Madison (1751–1836) drew on
their ideas to sever ties with England and to establish the New Republic. The U.S. Constitution
emanates from the social contract tradition and is based on the liberal democratic idea that the people
should rule by consent (i.e., popular sovereignty) and that federal power should be limited. In the
American system, the constitution is supreme, and the three branches of government (the executive, the
legislative, and the judiciary) are creatures of that constitution. For this reason, the government of the
United States is called a constitutional democracy.
Klint, Alexander (2006). Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens' Rights and Responsibilities. Detroit: Macmillan p253-254
Natalie Beller
Scaffold Reading Assignment