ABSTRACT
Almost all governments pay formal allegiance to a written or (more rarely) unwritten constitution, but in few countries is the constitution a real and continuing constraint on the exercise of power. Even more rarely do constitutions survive political and social changes, invasions, and wars. The American Constitution is unusual, both because it has remained almost unaltered since its ratification in 1789, and because it continues as a major source of authority in the political system. Indeed, even the most cursory examination of America’s basic political institutions-Congress, the presidency, federalism, the electoral system-instantly shows the influence of the Constitution. To most observers, the apparent resilience of the Constitution and constitutionalism is one of the most remarkable features of American politics, and one that requires some explanation. Several important questions are raised by this phenomenon: Why has the Constitution been amended so little through history? What real influence does it have
today? In particular, by limiting the power of central government, has it served to aggravate the tension between the public’s expectations of government and the ability of political institutions to satisfy those expectations? Prerequisite to answering these questions is the crucial issue of why the Constitution took the shape it did.
