USA Constitution and its Significance

Running head: USA CONSTITUTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
USA Constitution and its Significance
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1USA CONSTITUTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
The constitution of any nation forms one of the core components of the government of
the concerned nation and in a way decides the kind of government which that particular
nation is going to follow (Campbell & Goldsworthy, 2017). The same concept hold true for
the nation United States of America as well. The constitution of USA clearly indicates the
kind of government which the nation is to follow and it can even be said that it lends a great
deal of stability to the democratic system of governance which the nation follows (Campbell
& Goldsworthy, 2017). The democratic system of government is not only one of the largest
ones of the world but at the same time one of the earliest ones of the world (Roberts & Odd,
2013). The founding fathers of the nation had certainly in mind the then popular dictum of
“liberty, equality and fraternity” which was much popularized by the French Revolution of
1789 (Roberts & Odd, 2013). It is a reflection of this particular fact that even in the 21st
century the Constitution as well as the various amendments passed by the government of the
nation are being molded as per these three concepts. Furthermore, another unique feature of
the Constitution of the nation is the “Bill of Rights” which the founding fathers of the
Constitution introduced with the objective to provide the people of the nation with the kind of
opportunities that were likely to help them to lead their lives to the its full potential (Rabkin,
2018). The Constitution of the nation as well as the “Bill of Rights” which forms an integral
part of the Constitution of the nation hold significance even in the present times. This essay
will argue the fact that the American Constitution and the “Bill of Rights” hold significance
even in the present times.
The American Constitution was designed by the founding fathers of the nation
keeping in view the various precepts of the concept of democracy (Rabkin, 2018). This can
be seen as a reflection of the fact that the American nation was under the yoke of British
colonialism for a very long time and thus the founding fathers of the nation decided to give
the power of the nation to its citizens (Redish, 2017). The American government, thus, is

2USA CONSTITUTION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
based on the concept of “for the people, by the people and of the people” (Redish, 2017). The
most important aspect of this particular type of government is the fact that the people of the
nation get to choose their representatives who governs the nation on their behalf (Reynolds,
2009). It is significant to note that although the American Constitution has undergone several
amendments since its introduction yet the Constitution of the nation has managed to retain
this basic essence. All these factors have contributed in a significant manner to make the
American Constitution one of the torch bearers of the democratic system of governance.
The American Constitution, although, one of the oldest as well as stable ones of the
world has received a considerable amount of criticism from various cauldrons (Campbell &
Goldsworthy, 2017). For example, Charles Beard in his famous work “An Economic
Interpretation of the Constitution” has argued that the American Constitution was designed
with the objective to protect as well as safeguard the interests of the rich people of the nation
(Howard, 1995). He furthermore, argued that the rich people formed only a small portion of
the nation and the founding fathers of the nation by focusing only on safeguarding the
interests of the rich people of the nation deprived the other people of the nation of their most
basic rights (Howard, 1995). In addition to this, Robert E. Brown in his critically acclaimed
work “Charles Beard and the Constitution” argues the fact that the major focus of the
founding fathers of the nation was on safeguarding the interests of the property owners of the
nation (Howard, 1995). It is interesting to note that at the time when the American
Constitution was drafted a considerable section of the population of the nation were property
owners. Moreover, the author Zinn (1995) propounds that it is true that the major area of
focus of the American Constitution was to safeguard the rights of the rich section of the
population however at the same time it must be noted that the Constitution at the same time
had ample scope for the other people who formed the major part of the nation like the small
as well as the medium sized property holders. Thus, the point made by Brown and also the