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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam who wrote (120070)	11/20/2003 12:51:53 PM
From: Jacob Snyder	Respond to of 281500

re Constitution: Thanks for that excellent historical review. The Founders considered the Constitution to be a living document, something that would evolve over time. They also thought it might need to be totally re-written every generation or so, which is why they put in the provision for new Constitutional Conventions. The main changes that have happened, in the last 200+ years, are: 1. the franchise has been steadily expanded from its initial small base 2. more direct control by the voters, than the Founders intended 3. the power of the purse has given the federal government much more power than the Founders intended, at the expense of the states.

To: Sam who wrote (120070)	11/20/2003 3:02:45 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 281500

Don't forget... We are a Democracy IN a Republic"......Edit: I see Nadine had reminded us all of that just before.

To: Sam who wrote (120070)	11/20/2003 3:36:18 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 281500

Your account is pretty good. I just want to add on a couple of things. First, one of the forgotten but influential texts the Founders read was Cicero's "On the Republic". In it, he idealizes the Roman system, and argues for a constitution based on monarchical, aristocratic, and democratic elements. In addition, Montesquieu argued the virtue of the English system on similar grounds, namely, that each type had its virtues, and that they were combinable in a properly crafted system. These ideas permeate the Constitution, which is essentially conservative and elitist, which is another way of saying that it is supposed to allow broad participation in government without permitting the "tyranny of the majority". The people are sovereign, not the King, but just as the King's power is hedged by the constitution in a proper monarchy, so is the people's in a well- ordered Republic. Thus, no bill can pass without either the concurrence of both houses of Congress plus the agreement of the president, or without over- riding a veto through supermajorities. In other words, the government is supposed to be slow and deliberate, except for those things, like national security, that require prompt action, reserved to the president.