Define the major principles on which the United States Constitution is based.Cite principles and explain?

Answer 1

In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. Some states have had multiple constitutions and since each state drafts its own, there is great diversity between them, though all have some basic concepts in common.

The average length of a state constitution is 26,000 words (compared to about 8,700 words for the U.S. constitution). The longest state governing document is that of Alabama, which has over 310,000 words. That document is also the most amended state constitution in the Union, with over 770 amendments as of 2005 (the average state constitution has been amended about 115 times)[citation needed]. The oldest state constitution still in effect is that of Massachusetts, which took effect in 1780. The newest is the Georgia Constitution, which was ratified in 1983

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. Most Americans take the term to mean the actual written text which was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was later ratified by special conventions in each state.[1] When nine states of the then thirteen states ratified the document it marked the creation of a union of sovereign states, and a federal government to operate that union. It replaced the weaker, less well-defined union that existed under the Articles of Confederation and took effect on March 4, 1789. The Constitution of the United States is the oldest federal constitution currently in use

Article One establishes the legislative branch of government, U.S. Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Article establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each House. In addition, it provides for free debate in congress and limits self-serving behavior of congressmen, outlines legislative procedure and indicates the powers of the legislative branch. Finally, it establishes limits on federal and state legislative power.

Article Two describes the presidency (the executive branch): procedures for the selection of the president, qualifications for office, the oath to be affirmed and the powers and duties of the office. It also provides for the office of Vice President of the United States, and specifies that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency if the President is incapacitated, dies, or resigns, although whether this succession was on an acting or permanent basis was unclear until the passage of the 25th Amendment.

Article Two also provides for the impeachment and removal from office of civil officers (the President, Vice President, judges, and others). (See presidential system)

Article Three describes the court system (the judicial branch), including the Supreme Court. The article requires that there be one court called the Supreme Court; Congress, at its discretion, can create lower courts, whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the Supreme Court. Article Three also requires trial by jury in all criminal cases, defines the crime of treason, and charges Congress with providing for a punishment for it, while imposing limits on that punishment.

Article Four describes the relationship between the states and the Federal government, and amongst the states. For instance, it requires states to give "full faith and credit" to the public acts, records and court proceedings of the other states. Congress is permitted to regulate the manner in which proof of such acts, records or proceedings may be admitted. The "privileges and immunities" clause prohibits state governments from discriminating against citizens of other states in favor of resident citizens (e.g., having tougher penalties for residents of Ohio convicted of crimes within Arizona). It also establishes extradition between the states, as well as laying down a legal basis for freedom of movement and travel amongst the states. Today, this provision is sometimes taken for granted, especially by citizens who live near state borders; but in the days of the Articles of Confederation, crossing state lines was often a much more arduous (and costly) process. Article Four also provides for the creation and admission of new states. The Territorial Clause gives Congress the power to make rules for disposing of Federal property and governing non-state territories of the United States. Finally, the fourth section of Article Four requires the United States to guarantee to each state a republican form of government, and to protect the states from invasion and violence.


Article Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a national convention requested by the states. Under the first method, Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum, not necessarily of the entire body) of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Under the second method, two-thirds of the state legislatures may convene and "apply" to Congress to hold a national convention, whereupon Congress must call such a convention for the purpose of considering amendments. As of mid-2006, only the first method (proposal by Congress) has been used.

Once proposed—whether submitted by a national convention or by Congress—amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths of the states to take effect. Article Five gives Congress the option of requiring ratification by state legislatures or by special conventions assembled in the states. The convention method of ratification has been used only once (to approve the 21st Amendment). Article Five currently places only one limitation on the amending power—that no amendment can deprive a state of its equal representation in the Senate without that state's consent.

Article Six establishes the Constitution, and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it, to be the supreme law of the land. It also validates national debt created under the Articles of Confederation and requires that all legislators, federal officers, and judges take oaths to support the Constitution.


Article Seven sets forth the requirements for ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution would not take effect until at least nine states had ratified the Constitution in state conventions specially convened for that purpose. New Hampshire became that ninth state on June 21, 1788. Once the Congress of the Confederation received word of New Hampshire's ratification, it set a timetable for the start of operations under the Constitution, and, on March 4, 1789, the government under the Constitution began operations.

Answer 2

Yes. but only on principal. The reason we separates it from religion is because the Pilgrims left England to get away from a Catholic run Parliament. The king at that time was under the rule and subject to the Pope. It had been this way for centuries. The Pilgrims wanted to be governed by the people. Not the church. When we fought the British in the 17 hundreds, we were fighting the pope, who was telling the king what to do. The people of Britain rebelled against the king after we won our independence and the king stopped taking orders from the pope. Separation of church and state works because there are so many people with influence in the world that if given the power could turn the United States back into a religious run country and a lot of what we regard as freedom would go right out the window. How would you like some one like say, Jimmy Swaggart in the White house telling the president what to do and which bill to pass and which one to vito? Seperation of state and church is the only way to go. Read history and check it out for you're self.

Answer 3

http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html