What is Constitutionalism?
'''Constitutionalism''' is a form of [[political philosophy|political thought]] and action that seeks to prevent [[tyranny]] including worst result of [[majority rule]] and to guarantee the [[liberty]] and rights of individuals. Constitutionalism is the conduct of politics in accordance with a [[constitution]]. From the eighteenth century the essential element in modern constitutionalism is the doctrine of limited government under a written fundamental law. [[Limited government]] means that officials cannot act arbitrarily when they make and enforce public decisions. Public officials cannot simply do as they please. The Constitution is the supreme law that guides and limits the exercise of [[power]] by government officials. In 1787 representatives of the people of the United States drafted and ratified a Constitution. Article 6 of the [[United States Constitution ]] states this principle: “The Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” All laws, passed either by Congress or by state legislatures, must conform to the supreme law—the Constitution. As [[Alexander Hamilton]] explained in the [[Federalist Papers]] No. 78: “No legislative act contrary to the Constitution, therefore, can be valid.” Actually, a [[legislative]] or [[executive]] action that violates the Constitution can be declared unconstitutional, or unlawful, by the [[Supreme Court]]. A [[constitutional monarchy]] is a form of government that lies between [[absolutism]] and [[parliamentary republic]]. In absolutism, the monarch is free to do what he likes, and there is no way to control him. A parliamentary republic operates without a monarch. ==Bibliography== *Casper, Gerhard, Changing Concepts of Constitutionalism: 18th to 20th Century, Supreme Court Review (1989): 311–332. *Lutz, Donald S.,The Origins of American Constitutionalism (1988). *Snowiss, Sylvia, From Fundamental Law to Supreme Law of the Land: A Reinterpretation of the Origins of Judicial Revie