The government of the United States is limited by our written laws. Limiting the power of government was extremely important to the founding fathers who had just overthrown a tyrannical king. The legislative branch is the only branch of government that can create the laws which govern the people of the United States of America. Article one of the Constitution covers the legislative branch of government which is directly elected by the people. This is a simple concept and one that is the basis of any democratic form of government. The power in the government of the United States comes directly from the people. вЂњWe the peopleвЂ¦вЂќ the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution describes the essence of popular sovereignty. Understanding the Constitution is impossible without understanding the basic principles that it was created from. Every one of its seven articles will refer back to at least one of these principles. There are seven principles that the Constitution of the United States of America is based on. Because of its many flaws the Articles of Confederation was replaced in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

The predecessor to the current Constitution was called the Articles of Confederation.

The United States a nation in its infancy now needed to create its government. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. A definition and example is provided for each principle. Brief summary of the principles of the American Constitution.

Principal definition us history