什麼是美國憲法

美國聯邦政府體制的根本法，也是西方世界一個劃時代的檔案。它是正在實施中的最早的成文國家憲法，1787年由五十五位代表聚集於費城舉行的一個會議中寫成的，會議的名義是對美國第一部成文憲法「邦聯條例」進行修改。由於許多州的批准是以許諾補充「人權法案」為條件的，使得該憲法的正式通過直到1791年才得到完全確認。這部憲法的設計者們特別關注於限制政府的權力和保障公民的自由。立法、行政和司法部門的分離，它們彼此之間的制約和平衡，以及對個人自由的明確保證，都是旨在達到權威和自由之間的平衡。第一條將全部立法權力授予國會－－眾議院和參議院。第二條將行政權授予總統。第三條將司法權授予法院。第四條部分地談到州際關係和各州公民的特權。第五條談到修改程式。第六條談到國債和憲法的至高無上的效力。第七條說明批准的條件。第十條修正案規定聯邦政府僅有憲法授予它的權力；各州則除另有限制者外，擁有所有其他的權力。因此，聯邦的權力是列舉的，州的權力是概括的。州的權力常常被稱為剩餘權力。憲法修正案可由國會兩院2/3的議員提出，或由國會根據2/3州議會的請求召開的一次會議提出。所有後來的修正案都是由國會提出的。國會提出的修正案必須經3/4的州議會批准，或由同樣多的州的會議批准。從1789年以來已經有二十七項修正案被補充入憲法中。除最初的十項－－1791年的「人權法案」被採納為一個獨立的單位－－以外，其他影響深遠的修正案包括︰第十三條修正案（1865），廢除奴隸制；第十四條修正案（1868），法律提供公平審判和平等保護的原則；第十五條修正案（1870），保證不受種族影響的投票權；第十七條修正案（1913），規定直接選舉美國參議員；第十九條修正案（1920），規定婦女選舉權；第二十二條修正案（1951），限制總統的任期不得超過兩屆等。參閱civil liberty、commerce clause、Equal Rights Amendment、freedom of speech、judiciary和states' rights。

Constitution of the United States

Fundamental law of the U.S. federal system of government and a landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in operation, completed in 1787 at a convention of 55 delegates who met in Philadelphia, ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation. Because ratification in many states hinged on the promised addition of a Bill of Rights, the Constitution was not fully certified until 1791. The framers were especially concerned with limiting the power of the government and securing the liberty of citizens. The Constitution's separation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, the checks and balances of each branch against the other, and the explicit guarantees of individual liberty were all designed to strike a balance between authority and liberty. Article I vests all legislative powers in the Congress—the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article II vests executive power in the president. Article III places judicial power in the hands of the courts. Article IV deals, in part, with relations among the states and with the privileges of the citizens, Article V with amendment procedure, and Article VI with public debts and the supremacy of the Constitution. Article VII gives ratification terms. The 10th Amendment restricted the national government's powers to those expressly listed in the Constitution; the states, unless otherwise restricted, possess all the remaining (or “residual”) powers of government. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states. (All subsequent amendments have been initiated by Congress.) Amendments proposed by Congress must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or by conventions in as many states. Twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1789. In addition to the Bill of Rights, these include the 13th (1865), abolishing slavery; the 14th (1868), requiring due process and equal protection under the law; the 15th (1870), guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race; the 17th (1913), providing for the direct election of U.S. senators; the 19th (1920), instituting women's suffrage, and the 22nd (1951), limiting the presidency to two terms. See also civil liberty, commerce clause, Equal Rights Amendment, establishment clause, freedom of speech, judiciary, states' rights.