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Chapter -1 Evolution and Legacies of the Constitution The major principles that have been adopted by various countries of the world from the British system of governance include the Parliamentary System, Rule of Law, institutions of local governance, bi-party system, impartiality of the speaker and independence of judiciary, etc. According to Adams, "The British Constitution has travelled the whole world and has become the common property of civilized mankind." √ Development of the British Constitution- One of the main features of the British Constitution is that it is a developed Constitution. This means that it has not been made at a specific time by any person, Constituent Assembly or any other institution, but it has developed gradually. This Constitution has molded itself according to the changing circumstances of the country, so it is a living Constitution. The politicians of the country have made every effort from time to time to make it suitable to the circumstances of the country. The people there have slowly, one brick at a time, built this building of the Constitution and they have had to try for several centuries to give it a modern look. In the words of Woodrow Wilson, "The specialty of the constitutional development of England is that its political organization has been developing continuously and this continuity has remained unbroken from ancient times till now." Sir William Anson wrote, "It is a systematic structure in the construction of which different types of materials have been used and in whose construction different manufacturers have made additions according to their convenience. The entire building has been built by thousands of skilled artisans." From the point of view of constitutional development, the history of the British Constitution can be divided into the following parts
- Anglo-Saxon Period
- Norman Period
- Plantagenet Period
- Tudor Period
- Stuart Period
- Hanover Period Following is a brief introduction of all these periods
- Anglo-Saxon Period-5th Century to 1066-The development of political institutions in England definitely begins from the Anglo-Saxon period. England was ruled by the Celts in 54 BC. In 54 BC Julius Caesar took over England, but he did not establish a permanent state. About a century later Emperor Claudius conquered England and established an empire which lasted till 407 AD. After that many tribes like Angles, Danes and Saxons came there and from then on the fifth century the Anglo-Saxon period began in England. The two main institutions established there during this period are-Kingship and the system of local self-
government. In the Anglo-Saxon period, the oldest institution of England, monarchy, was established. All the powers of governance were in the hands of the king and a council called Witenagamot was established to advise him in governance. The members of this council included members of the royal family, vassals, priests, important government officials and other wise men, who were appointed by the king. The number of members of the council was not fixed nor was its meeting called with certainty; the king himself called its meeting as per his wish. Generally, the council used to advise the king in governance, but it used to exert its influence on weak kings and sometimes even dethroned the king. In this period, the position of the king was partly hereditary and partly elected. The reason for this was that usually the elder son of the king used to sit on the throne, but if the council did not consider the elder son capable, then it could also make the younger son the king. The second contribution of the Anglo-Saxon period is the system of local self-government. During this period, three units of local self- government were established - Township, Borough and Shire, which later became Counties. The post of Sheriff in England also dates back to that time. Thus, the Anglo-Saxon period gave birth to a democratic system of governance which is continuing even today. Blackstone wrote, "The independence of England is a result of its independent autonomous institutions. Since the time of their ancestors Saxons, the English have learned the duties and responsibilities of the citizen at their own doorstep."
- Norman Period- In 1066, King William I of Normandy conquered England and with him began a new era in the constitutional development of England. The Norman Period of England's history begins from there. Emperor William I broke the old council and established a new council which was named 'Magnum Concilium' or The Great Council. This Great Council later took the form of Parliament. In this council, big feudal lords, to whom William I had distributed land, big priests (Archbishops), pastors (Bishops) and abbots etc. used to participate. Its session used to be held three times a year. But to run the work permanently, the king established an intimate council of his permanent officials, which was named 'Curia Regis'. With the passage of time, another small and efficient institution was established in this council, which was named 'Privy Council'. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Privy Council was transformed into the Council of Ministers and finally the Cabinet.
- Plantagenet Period -The political institutions established by Emperor William of the Norman period weakened during the reign of Stephen (1135-1154), but the same institutions became effective during the reign of Henry II. Although powerful kings continued to rule autocratically, weak kings had to work according to the wishes of these institutions. For example, the feudal lords revolted against King John, who was a weak and tyrannical emperor, and forced him to fulfil their demands. These demands are famous as 'Magna-Carta', which were accepted on 15 June 1215 AD. This put some limits on the powers of the king and a council of feudal lords was established whose main task was to see whether the king works within those limits or not. After this, the political flow started moving in the direction of limited monarchy. Origin of Parliament- The origin and development of the British Parliament also began during this period. Firstly, in 1265, Simon de Montfort called a Parliament in which, apart from the feudal lords and priests, two representatives each were invited from different cities. After this, the 'Model Parliament' was called by King Edward I in 1295 in which the representatives of the cities, who were in a way elected
Mainly three principles were established by this Act, which were counted among the main principles of the Constitution in the future- (i) The king is the representative of the people, not of God. (ii) The law is supreme and even the king is not independent (above) it. (iii) The judiciary must be independent. Act of Settlement, 1701- This Act determined the rules of succession to the British throne. This Act determined that after Queen Anne, the throne of England would be given to Sophia and her successors, but it was necessary for them to be 'Protestants'. Under this section, after the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the throne of England was given to George I of the Hanover Dynasty. Through other provisions of this Act, an attempt was made to prove that the Parliament can give the throne of England to anyone and the final decision in this regard is in its hands. Many restrictions were also imposed on the powers of the King by this Act. It was necessary for the King to be of Protestant religion and he could not go out of the country without the approval of the Parliament. He could not remove judges from their posts as per his wish.
- Hanover Period- Although the supremacy of the Parliament was recognised by the Bill of Rights 1689 and the powers of the King were limited, this did not mean that the King was rendered completely powerless. He still had the right to veto bills passed by the Parliament and he still chose his own advisors and officials. But the constitutional development of England took a new turn when George I ascended the throne. So many new traditions were established during this period that it completely changed the system of governance in England. George I, who ascended the throne of England in 1714, did not know the English language and neither did he know about the system of governance in England. Due to his old age, he did not even try to learn them. Since he did not know English, he stopped attending the cabinet meetings and started depending on the information given by the ministers for everything. In his absence, the cabinet meetings started being presided over by a senior and capable minister and thus the foundation of the post of Prime Minister was laid in England. Sir Robert Walpole became the first Prime Minister in this capacity. After that, it was established that the king would not participate in the cabinet meetings and this practice still exists there. The ministers will be responsible to the Parliament. This practice was established in 1742, when Walpole resigned from the cabinet after the Parliament passed a no-confidence motion. In the 19th century, many Reform Acts were passed, by which the common people were given representation in the Parliament. First, the Reform Act of 1832 was passed, by which some section of the people got representation. After that, the Reform Act of 1867 and the Reform Act of 1884 were passed, by which the House of Commons was made the representative house of the people. According to the 'Representation of People's Act. 1918', men of 21 years of age or above and women of 30 years of age or above were given the right to vote. By the Act of 1928, universal adult franchise was established in England, under which every man and woman who has attained the age of 21 years got the right to vote. In 1969, the age for voting was reduced from 21 years to 18 years. The powers of the House of Lords were reduced by the Parliament Act of 1911 and the House of Commons was made more
powerful. The powers of the House of Lords were further reduced by the Act of 1949, giving complete supremacy to the House of Commons, which represents the people. It was in this era that political parties developed in England, which are very important for running the parliamentary system of government. In this era, the two-party system developed in England, due to which the parliamentary system of government is working successfully there. Thus it is clear that the British Constitution is a developed Constitution and it has developed gradually. √ Sources of the British Constitution The constitution of England is an unwritten constitution which has developed gradually. Unlike the constitutions of India or America, the constitution of England has not been created at any specific time. It was not created by any constituent assembly and neither any emperor has implemented it by announcing it. In the development of the constitution of England, an attempt was made only once during the period of Cromwell to prepare it in written form according to the plan, but this attempt also ended with his death. As a result, many writers have expressed doubts about the existence of the constitution of England. A French writer D. Tocqueville says, "In England the Constitution, there is no such thing." Similarly, an English writer Thomas Paine Paine also once said, “Can Mr. Burke produce an English constitution? If he cannot, we may well conclude that, though it has been much talked about, there is no such thing as a constitution, nor ever was there.” But the views of both these writers are not correct. It seems that they have misinterpreted the word constitution and have not understood the constitution of England properly. According to Gilchrist, "Constitution includes those rules and acts which in written or unwritten form determine the system of governance, distribution of rights among its various organs and the principles according to which the government of a country is run." Thus, constitution is a collection of rules prevalent in a country on the basis of which the governance of that country is run. It is not necessary that these rules be written, these rules can be unwritten as well as written. The only requirement is that the people and the rulers should know those rules and they should follow them. There is no doubt that we do not get the constitution of England in the form in which we get the constitutions of India, America and other countries. If a person goes to a shop or library and asks for a copy of the constitution of England, he will not get it. But this should not mean that England has no constitution. Students of political science know very well that no state can run without a constitution because the constitution itself contains such basic rules and principles which determine the structure of the government and its functioning. Such rules and principles can be written or unwritten. It is not necessary that those rules should be written. If Thomas Paine and D. Tocqueville do not believe in the existence of any constitution in England, then the basic reason for this is that, according to them, the constitution can only be written, it cannot be unwritten. There is no doubt that there is no written document in England which we can call a constitution. In fact, the constitution of England is a constitution which is the result of a very long and systematic development. Most of it is such that it has not been made by any Constituent Assembly sitting at a fixed time nor has it been declared by any
the British government. The Parliament has passed many such laws which have influenced the structure of the British Constitution to a great extent. The Parliament increased the rights of citizens by passing many reform acts of 1832, 1867, 1881, 1918 and 1928. The franchise was expanded and finally the Universal Adult Franchise system was implemented completely. The rights of citizens were protected by passing the Habeas Corpus Act. The powers and rights of the House of Lords were limited by the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 and the House of Commons was made more powerful. The age of citizens to vote was reduced from 21 years to 18 years by a parliamentary law passed in 1969. Apart from these, the Parliament has passed acts like Septennial Act, 1716, Local Government Acts 1888, 1849 and 1929 and 1933, Abdication Act, 1936 and Statute of Westminster, 1931 and The Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937 etc. which have clarified the British constitution and contributed significantly in its development.
- Judicial Decision- The third source of the British Constitution is the decisions given by the judges regarding the explanation of the charters and statutes. These decisions have clarified and developed many things of the Constitution. Seeing their importance, Dicey has even said that the British Constitution is a Constitution made by judges. Some important cases like 'Bainbridge v/s Post Master General' (Bainbridge v/s Post Master General), Wise v/s Dunning (Wise v/s Dunning), Ashby v/s White (Ashby v/s White), Local Government Board v/s Arlidge (Local Government Board v/s Arlidge) and Wilkes v/s Wood (Wilkes v/s Wood) etc. are such cases whose decisions protected the rights and freedoms of the citizens.
- Common Law - Common law is also an important source of the constitution of England. Common law means those rules which were never made by the Parliament, but have been recognized by the courts and the judges have given their decisions according to them. According to Munro, "Common law means those legal rules which came into existence without the efforts of the Parliament and which gained recognition in the entire country with the passage of time." These rules are based on the customs and practices established in the country which were later recognized by the courts. They were applied by them in personal cases and they became an example for such subsequent cases. Many rights and freedoms of British citizens have been protected according to the common law. Laws like right to personal liberty, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and right to hear cases by jury etc. are based on the common law.
- Conventions and Customs- The most important source of the constitution of England are traditions. A large part of the constitution is based on these traditions. They were created by the needs of the time and due to their usefulness, they evolved with the passage of time. Many important aspects of the British system of governance are based on these traditions. The entire cabinet system in England - the king being the nominal head, the actual powers being exercised by the cabinet, the cabinet being responsible to the parliament etc. are based on these traditions, which have evolved with the changing circumstances of time. These traditions are so important in the functioning of the British constitution that, if they are removed from the constitution, it will become very difficult to run the government.
- Commentaries of Eminent Jurists- Many legal scholars or jurists have written comments on the
constitutional law of England. They have made a very important contribution in the clarification and development of the British constitution. Through these comments, one gets an explanation of what kind of constitutional structure England had in the past and along with that, one also gets an explanation of how the constitution should be run in the coming years. In this way, these comments clarified many unclear things of the constitution. These comments are the main ones among these constitutional comments- (i) Law of the Constitution-Dicey (ii) 'Parliamentary Practice' (May) (iii) 'Law and Custom of the Constitution' written by Anson (iv) The Law, the Constitution and the Cabinet Government-Jennings Thus we can say that the British Constitution is not a single document, but it consists of many documents. Its sources are not one but many. British Constitution-"A child of accident and design" or "A child of wisdom and chance." Above we have seen that the British Constitution is not a constructed Constitution but is the result of development. It has been compared to a house which has been changed by the owners later as per their needs and circumstances. Jennings has rightly said, "The British Constitution is like a building which has been constantly added to, repaired and partially rebuilt, with renovations from one century to another, but it has never been completely destroyed and built on a new foundation." Thus we can say that the British Constitution was not made according to any definite plan. Changes have been made in it from time to time. Sometimes these changes were made deliberately and sometimes changes kept happening automatically due to unexpected events. Both chance and design have worked in its creation, which can be clarified by the following things
- Bicameral Nature of Parliament- The bicameral system of the legislature first started in England, but the establishment of two houses of the Parliament there is not the result of a well thought out plan but is the result of coincidence. In 1295, Emperor Edward I called the Model Parliament, in which there were representatives of three classes - (i) big landholders (ii) clergy and (iii) ordinary representatives of the cities. All the representatives of this Model Parliament, whose number was a little more than four hundred, gathered as a single institution, but Emperor Edward held separate meetings of the representatives of the landlords, clergy and common people and prayed for sanctioning the money. At that time it seemed that a three-house legislature would come into existence in England, since the big landlords and clergy started sitting together in one meeting, because there was no conflict in their interests and the representatives of ordinary citizens started sitting together in one meeting. In this way a bicameral system was born there. Later the group of landlords and clergymen was named the House of Lords and the representatives of ordinary citizens was named the House of Commons. This situation was not the result of a plan, but was the result of an incident.
- Origin of the Cabinet- The cabinet system in England is also a result of coincidence. In 1667, Charles II
- Various Acts- The Act of Union with Scotland, 1707 passed in 1707 and the Act of Union with Ireland, 1801 were also made according to the plan.
- Parliament Act of 1911 and 1949- These Acts reduced the powers of the House of Lords and determined its relationship with the House of Commons. The term of the Parliament was also reduced from seven years to five years.
- Laws such as Statutes of Westminster, 1931, Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937 and Indian Independence Act, 1947 etc. are the results of the wisdom and planning of the Parliament.
- Finally, there are the Reform Acts passed by Parliament in 1832, 1867, 1884, 1918, 1924 and 1969, which expanded the right to vote and reformed the electoral system. Thus we can say that the British Constitution is the result of a long and gradual development, in which both chance and design have contributed. All the elements of the Constitution are not only the result of accidental events, but are also the result of plans made after careful consideration. It is the result of both wisdom and chance. √ Main Features of British Political Tradition In every country a political system or constitutional system exists in some form or the other, but there are some political or unconstitutional systems which become almost a permanent part of the political tradition of a country. The political tradition of England also has some characteristics, which are as follows
- Tradition of Evolution- The first and important characteristic of the British tradition is the tradition of evolution. This means that the British political tradition has evolved. No constitution was ever established to form the British constitution nor was it declared by any emperor. This constitution was never created but it has evolved gradually. Things that were needed were taken and the rest were left out. Sometimes changes were made deliberately by people and sometimes changes happened on their own. Therefore, from the beginning till today, this constitution has been continuously evolving. In the words of Munro, “The constitution of England is not a complete thing, rather this development has taken place sometimes by accidental events and sometimes by high-class plans.” This constitution can be compared to a river which keeps changing its course according to need and time and leaves the soil which it does not need and takes away with it the new soil which it needs. It can be compared to a building in which each owner installed windows, pillars and towers as per his needs and made the old building according to the present requirements. This means that this constitution has developed gradually. Supporting this, Freeman has written, "At no time the chain between the present and the past was broken. At no time did the British people try to make a new constitution on the basis of any principle."
- Tradition of Kingship- The second tradition of the political system of England is the tradition of monarchy. The development of political institutions in England definitely begins from the Anglo-Saxon period. England was ruled by the Celts in 54 BC. In 54 BC Julius Caesar took over England, but this did not lead to the establishment of a permanent state. About a century later, Emperor Claudius conquered England and established an empire that lasted till 407 AD. After that, many tribes like the Angles, Danes
and Saxons came there and from then on, the Anglo-Saxon period began in England from the fifth century. There are two major institutions established during this period- Kingship and the system of local self-governance. The oldest institution of England, monarchy, was established during the Anglo- Saxon period. All the powers of governance were in the hands of the king. and a council called Witenagamot was established to advise him in governance. The members of this council included members of the royal family, vassals, priests, important government officials and other wise men, who were appointed by the king. The number of members of this council was not fixed, the king himself called its meeting as per his wish. Generally that council used to advise the king in governance, but it used to influence weak kings and many times even dethroned the king.
- Tradition of Changing Nature of Kingship-The third important tradition of England is that of the changing nature of monarchy. The nature of monarchy in England has been changing with time. The journey of monarchy began with the unlimited powers of the king and ended in the form of a limited monarchy. King William I of Normandy conquered England and with him a new era began in the constitutional development of England. From there the Norman period of the history of England begins. Emperor William I broke the old council and established a new council, which was named 'Magnum Concilium' or 'The Great Council'. This great council later took the form of the Parliament. Big feudal lords, to whom William I had distributed land, high priests (Archbishops), pastors (Bishops) and Abbots etc. used to participate in this council. Its session used to be held three times a year, but to run the work permanently, the king established an intimate council of his permanent officials, which was named 'Curia Regis'. With the passage of time, another small and efficient institution was established in this council, which was named 'Privy Council'. In the 18th and 19th century, the Privy Council was transformed into the Council of Ministers and finally the Cabinet.
- Hereditary and Limited Monarchy- Another feature of the political system in England is the tradition of hereditary and limited monarchy. The head of the state is the king or queen, whose position is hereditary. In ancient times, the king used to exercise the powers of governance in an autocratic manner and his word was the law of the country. In theory, the powers of governance are still with the state, the governance of the country is carried out in its name, but now in practical terms, it does not exercise these powers itself. In reality, the powers of the executive are exercised by the cabinet, which is answerable to the Parliament for all its actions. The king or queen is now only the head of the state, not of the government. He does not exercise any power of governance as per his wish. Thus, in England, although there is hereditary monarchy in theory, but in practice there is complete democracy, which is functioning as a constitutional or limited monarchy.
- Tradition of Parliamentary Government- One of the main features of the British constitution is that there is a provision of parliamentary system of government. In fact, England is the country where the parliamentary system of government developed first and from there this system was adopted by other countries. Although the king or queen is the head of the state, but his powers are nominal. He exercises all these powers on the advice of the cabinet. In fact, the cabinet runs the administration of the country. All the members of the cabinet are usually taken from the Parliament and they are collectively responsible to the Parliament even
another opportunity to end the monarchy in 1688 when James II left England and fled to France, but the people of England did not end the monarchy even then, rather called James II's daughter and her husband from abroad and handed over the throne of Britain to them. The above examples are some examples of the tradition of conservatism.
- Organised Opposition Party- The opposition party in England is organised and powerful. The opposition party is recognised by the government and its leader gets an annual salary of 139355 pounds in addition to the annual parliamentary allowance of 3500 pounds. The opposition party in England is called His/Her Majesty Opposition and its leader is also given a government office to do his work. When the king or queen gives a speech in the parliament, the prime minister stands on one side and the leader of the opposition party stands on the other side.
- Tradition of Independence of Judiciary- One of the main features of the British constitution is the independence of the judiciary in that country. The honesty and impartiality of British judges is famous all over the world. They never discriminate between a rich or poor or an ordinary citizen and a high official and provide justice to all equally and impartially. The judges there are completely free from the control of the executive. They are the guardians of the rights of all British citizens.
- Tradition of Two-Party System- England has usually had a two-party system. From the 17th century to the end of the 19th century, there were two major political parties in Britain Conservative Party and Liberal Party. In the beginning of the 20th century, another political party-Labour Party was born in England and it seemed that the two-party system would end there, but as the Labour Party grew, the Liberal Party started declining. At present, although the Liberal Party and the Communist Party are also present in England, but both these parties do not play any important role in the politics of the country. They have no effect in the formation of the government or in bringing down the government. In the present situation, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party are the two major political parties of England, out of which sometimes the government is formed by one party and sometimes the power remains in the hands of the other. Nowadays the Conservative Party government is in power in England.
- Tradition of Rule of Law- In England there is rule of law, which is called the ordinary law. In words it means that no person or institution of the country is supreme, but the law is supreme and the source of power of every institution or officer is law. No person or institution is above the law and powers cannot be exercised by anyone outside the scope of law. 'Rule of law' also means that everyone is equal in the eyes of law and everyone enjoys equal protection of law. No person can escape punishment for violating the law. 14. Consensus on Certain Basic Issues- Another characteristic of the British political tradition is that there is consensus on certain basic issues among the major political parties and major sections of the society. For example, monarchy, parliamentary democracy, opposition to communism, support for the American bloc, etc. are some of the subjects about which there is no particular disagreement among the political parties. Conclusion- After discussing the traditions of the political system of England, it becomes clear that every political system has its own traditions, so it is a difficult task to prepare a definite list of political traditions of any political system. It can definitely be said about the political traditions of England that
they have not changed as much with time as they could have. The reason for this is the conservative nature of the people there. Their conservative nature does not allow them to easily accept reforms. √ Constitutional Evolution and Legacy of United States of America The United States of America, which is today the most powerful, prosperous and rich country in the world, was divided into 13 different colonies before the declaration of independence in 1776, all of which were under England. The first settlement of America, James Town Va, was established in 1607. This process continued gradually and the 13th settlement named Georgia was established in 1732. The main reason for the establishment of these colonies was that people from many European countries left their respective countries due to economic crises. Although the English, French and Dutch etc. participated in establishing these colonies, but after some time England established its authority over all of them. During the colonization, three types of colonies were established by England (i) Crown Colonies
- These were the colonies which were established by private individuals and later were granted charter by the British monarch. The administration of each such colony was run by a governor appointed by the British monarch with the help of a council,(ii) In second place were the 'Proprietary Colonies'. These were the colonies' own property which were given the right to exercise all the powers of the government through the charter. (iii) The third type of colonies were the 'Charter Colonies', whose governance was left in the hands of the people of each colony. Among these, the number of Crown Colonies was the highest. Although these colonies had some degree of independence in their internal affairs, but in matters of important subjects like foreign affairs, war and army, they were under the British government. In other words, it can be said that the governance of these colonies was based on the supremacy of the British Crown. √ Development of the Constitution The current Constitution of the United States of America, which came into force on March 4, 1789, is the oldest written constitution in the world. The development of this constitution began in 1776, when 13 colonies raised the war flag against England and declared war against it. After winning this war of independence, the Union of the United States of America was established. The period from 1607 to 1776 was a period of continuous conflict between the representatives of the British government, i.e., the governors and the colonies. The governors always worked according to the orders given by the British government, which were completely against the interests of the people of the colonies. In 1756, the Seven Years War broke out between England and France, which continued till 1763. England won this war. It had two main consequences. Firstly, after the war, the influence of France and Spain in North America ended completely and secondly, England planned to impose new taxes on these colonies to improve the financial condition. The colonists strongly opposed this. After the fear of attack from France and Spain was over, the colonies became ready to adopt a tough policy towards England. They raised the slogan 'No Taxation without Representation'- this meant that since they had no role in the functioning of the British government and did not have the right to send any representative to the British Parliament, it could not impose any tax on them. In such a situation, all the colonists refused to pay the taxes imposed by the British Parliament. On this, the British
words of Wilson, “It was like a rope of sand which could not bind anyone.” The little powers that were given to the Congress were not real and it depended on the states even for small matters. It could not collect money through taxes and it had no right to regulate trade between different states. It could not impose its wishes on the states by force and could not take any action against those states which refused to give it military or economic assistance. This weakness of the Congress remained hidden during the war, but in 1783 when the British accepted the independence of these states through the 'Treaty of Versailles' and the war ended, its weaknesses became clearly visible. Almost all the states stopped recognizing it and most of the members started keeping themselves absent from its meetings. Since the presence of at least 9 states was necessary to run the proceedings of the Congress, all its work came to a halt and this institution became completely useless. Describing the weakness of the Congress, Wilson writes, “Congress could ask for money from the states, but could not force them to fulfill its demand. It could make a collection, but had to depend on the states to fulfill it. It could take loans, but had to rely on the states to run it. This was an institution which had many rights, but very little power. Congress was only an advisory institution.” Due to this weakness of the Congress, people lost faith in it and anarchy spread. In such a situation, the idea of a powerful union started gaining momentum. A conference was called in 1786 and it was decided that a conference of all the states should be called in Philadelphia the next year to amend this confederation and establish a strong union. Philadelphia Convention, 1787- The great convention of Philadelphia began on May 25, 1787. 55 delegates from 12 states participated in it. The state of Rhodes Island did not participate in it. In the words of Beard, “In the history of assemblies, there has not been any such convention whose members have more political experience and practical knowledge and insight regarding human affairs and elements of governance than the members participating in this convention.” This convention included intelligent and experienced persons like Washington, Franklin, Madison, Wilson, Hamilton and Roger Sherman. There were a large number of lawyers in it and most of the members were those who had previously participated in making constitutions or had been members of the legislature, executive or judiciary, that is, they were very high class politicians. The oldest among them was Franklin, who was 82 years old at the time. When the conference began, several proposals were put before it. A proposal which was in favour of the interests of the big states was named the 'Virginia Plan'. On the other hand, another proposal, which was presented by the small states to safeguard their interests, is famous as the 'New Jersey Plan'. There were many things similar in both these plans, but the main difference between them was on giving representation to small and big states in the legislature. At one point, this question became so complicated that the work of the conference came to a halt and there was a fear of it breaking up, but in the end, the "Connecticut Compromise" was signed through which this deadlock was ended. Through this, it was decided that different states in the lower house of the federal legislature should be represented on the
basis of population and every state should be given equal representation in the upper house. Thus, after much debate, the main sections of the Constitution were finalised by 27 July 1787 and a 'Committee of Style' was set up to finalise it. By 15 September 1787, 39 representatives had signed and accepted it. It was decided in the conference that this constitution would be implemented when 9 out of 13 states would ratify it. People like Madison and Washington had to make a lot of efforts for this task, because this task was not so easy. By the end of 1787, only three states had approved it. There was a lot of debate on the position of the federal government in the new constitution. One view was that the federal government has been given too many powers. On the basis of this debate, people got divided into two groups. One group was of those who were in favor of keeping the union strong, who were called "Federalists" and the other group was of those who opposed the powerful union and were in favor of giving more freedom to the states. They were called "Anti-Federalists". The first state to ratify it was Delaware, which ratified it on September 7, 1787 and the last state to do so was New Hampshire, which ratified it on June 21, 1788. But by the time the Constitution came into force on March 4, 1789, two more states - Virginia on June 26, 1788 and New York on July 26, 1788 - had ratified it. The remaining two states had also accepted it by 1790. A few days after the Constitution came into force, that is, on April 2, the House of Representatives was formed and on April 5, the Senate was formed and George Washington was elected the first President of the United States of America. Thus, the old confederation was abolished and the modern Constitution of America was implemented. √ POLITICAL TRADITIONS
- Tradition of Liberalism and Democratic Government- Some of the characteristics of the American political system are as follows- (i) Elections are held from time to time on the basis of adult suffrage. The President is elected every four years. The term of the House of Representatives is 2 years and the members of the Senate are elected for 6 years. In these elections, every citizen, whose age is 18 years or above, has the right to vote. (ii) All citizens of the country are free to form political parties. Apart from the two major parties of America- Republican Party and Democratic Party, there are many small parties. Prominent among them are Socialist Labour Party etc. (iii) Many pressure groups have been formed in America, which try to influence government decisions in their favour. (iv) Citizens have many rights and freedoms, which they exercise without any hindrance. (v) The government has no direct control over the means of public relations- newspapers, radio and television etc. (vi) The three organs of the central government- the legislature, the executive and the judiciary have limited powers. The doctrine of checks and balances has been applied there according to which the power of the three should remain balanced.
military bases in America. Efforts are also made to dominate many countries by giving them military weapons and other materials. For example, the incidents in Afghanistan and Iraq are clear examples of US imperialism. Thus the United States is engaged in establishing a new type of imperialism in the world.
- Faith in Popular Sovereignty- Americans believe in the principle of popular sovereignty. In their Declaration of Independence, it was also recognized that people can make changes in it as per their wish. In the preamble of the Constitution, it is said, "We the people of the United States...... establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
- Dual Citizenship- Another feature of the American political tradition is the principle of dual citizenship. This means that every citizen of America, in addition to being a citizen of the United States of America, is also a citizen of the state in which he resides. In India, on the contrary, the principle of single citizenship has been adopted. Every person living in India is a citizen of India only and is not a citizen of any state.
- Tradition of Bicameral Legislature - Another feature of the American political tradition is the establishment of a bicameral legislature. Congress (federal legislature) has two houses (i) House of Representatives and (ii) Senate. Members of the House of Representatives (435) are elected for two years and members of the Senate (100) are elected for six years. States are given representation in the House of Representatives on the basis of their population, while in the Senate, each state has the right to send two members on the basis of equality. It has also been arranged in the Constitution that equal representation of any state will not be abolished without its consent. This tradition of the American Constitution still continues.
- Tradition of Presidential- Form of Government In the United States of America, the President is the real executive of the country and he exercises his powers in real form. He is elected for a fixed period i.e. 4 years and before the completion of his fixed term, he can be removed from the post only by impeachment by the Congress. All the members of the cabinet are appointed by the President only. The ministers are not members of any house of the Congress and they are not answerable to the Congress but to the President. They can be removed from the post only by the President. The no-confidence motion of the Congress against a minister has no effect on that minister. Thus, the presidential form of government is a main feature of the American political tradition.
- Tradition of Limited Government - The makers of the American Constitution were influenced by the 'Theory of Limited Government' propounded by John Locke. Hence, they decided to adopt this tradition. According to this theory, the government is an institution which should be given limited powers. According to this theory, the makers of the Constitution bound the central and state governments within the limits of their respective powers. In this way, the principle of division and balance of powers was adopted so that no part of the government could act arbitrarily. In this regard, Monroe says that, "Every department of the American government is limited."
- Tradition of Separate Constitution of the States - Generally, in a federal system, a single constitution
is made for the centre and the states. But the situation is different in America. Here, every state has the right to make its own constitution, but the form of their constitution should be republican and the constitution should not violate the central constitution. The American federation was established by the states. While establishing the federation, the states handed over some of their rights to the centre and kept the rest with themselves. In such a situation, it became necessary for the states to make their own separate constitutions, otherwise the states would have to survive on the mercy of the centre.
- Tradition of Bi-Party System- It was the heartfelt desire of the makers of the American Constitution that political parties should neither be formed nor developed in America. But contrary to the wishes of the makers of the Constitution, political parties started developing in America and after some time, they became the basis of two main political systems there. At present, there are two parties in America- Democratic Party and Republican Party. Although there are other parties in America, they have no role in the fight for political power. There is competition between these two parties to attain political power. Sometimes one party and sometimes another party occupies the post of President. The political agenda of these two parties is also almost the same, like both the parties are in favour of democracy and both the parties are against communist ideas. Both the parties are in favour of personal freedom and national freedom. Conclusion - After studying the political traditions of America in detail, we come to the conclusion that America is a liberal democratic country. However, Marxist ideology does not accept this idea because they believe that capitalist governments exploit workers and common people and they believe that “racial bitterness” is also seen in America. Marrian Irisk believes that, “Black people in America are still victims of many such compulsions, which were found in the era of slavery.” But despite all this, we cannot deny the fact that liberal democratic traditions are respected in America as much as they are respected in any other country in the world. This is why today America's liberal tradition remains an ideal for other countries. Apart from this, we also know that- (i) America is the first country in the world which started the tradition of written constitution, (ii) incorporated rights in written form in the constitution, (iii) gave the world a model of successful presidential government, (iv) declared the constitution as the supreme law of the state and (v) the federal system is also an important contribution of America to the world.
