The questions that observers of Congress have posed throughout U.S. history continue to confront citizens: how have the constitutional powers of Congress adapted to new conditions, and how has this affected Congress's relations with the other branches of government. Congress, in its constitutional design, is part of the remedy for the problems of…

Article III of the U.S. Constitution called for a federal judiciary that would dispense and administer justice in accordance with the principles on which the United States was founded. There was considerable ambivalence among the Founding Fathers as to what was the appropriate role for the judiciary, an ambivalence that has continued to the…

Even though the first citizens of the United States were skeptical about singular authority, the Constitution gave the president independent authority and strong powers. But as chief executive, he would be responsible to the people for the exercise of those powers. The modern presidency is a product of 200 years of growth and experience, yet much…

The fourth in a special series of handbooks dealing with constitutional themes, this document looks at power in the context of the U.S. Constitution. "The Constitution's Prescription for Freedom" (L. Peach) examines the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution. "The Concept of Power" (C. Roach) is a series of…

The paper discusses the political events and issues that affected North Carolina and the nation between 1776 and 1789. Attitudes and philosophies on government and its centralization form the foundation for North Carolina's traditional and firm opposition to centralization of power and changes in government structure. North Carolina's…

Asserts that the representative form of government and the public schools in the United States are not supportive of democracy. Argues that the democratic features of representative government envisioned by the writers of the Constitution were undermined by the growth of the nation's population. Recommends some political and educational…