State constitution (United States)

State constitution (United States)

Every state in the United States possesses its own constitution. Historically, state constitutions have been longer than the 7,500-word U.S. Constitution and more detailed regarding the day-to-day relationships between government and the people. For instance, the New York state constitution is 51,700 words long while Alabama's sixth and most recent constitution, ratified in 1901, is 310,296 words long. Differences in length and detail can be attributed to the different purposes of the documents as well as to the different approaches to constitutional uses between the federal and state governments. Both the federal and state constitutions are organic texts: they are the fundamental blueprints for the legal and political organizations of their respective sovereign entities. But both state and federal constitutions go beyond this. While the U.S. Constitution prescribes the limits of federal power, state constitutions describe the details of structure and process of those governmental powers not delegated to the federal government. Many state constitutions also address very specific issues deemed by the states to be of sufficient importance to be included in the constitution rather than in an ordinary statute.

List of U.S. state constitutions

U.S. Territory Constitutions

The major populated island territories of the United States also have constitutions of their own. These constitutions are subject to Congressional approval and oversight, which is not the case with state constitutions, and do not qualify the territories for statehood. Upon an Enabling Act, the affected territory may draft a state constitution that will succeed upon statehood.

"Constitution" for Washington, D.C.

Washington, DC has a charter similar to charters of major cities, instead of having a constitution like the states and territories. The District of Columbia Home Rule Act establishes the Council of the District of Columbia which governs the entire district and has certain devolved powers similar to those of major cities. Congress has full authority over the district and may amend the charter and any legislation enacted by the Council.Attempts at statehood for the District of Columbia have included the drafting of two constitutions in 1982 [http://dccode.westgroup.com/toc/default.wl?oFindType=V&oDocName=DC&oDB=DC%2DST%2DWEB%3BSTADC&DocName=DC010463193&FindType=X&DB=DC-TOC-WEB%3BSTADCTOC&RS=WLW2%2E07&VR=2%2E0] and 1987 [http://dccode.westgroup.com/Find/Default.wl?DocName=DCHINEWCOLUMBIACONSTITUTIONENACTED1987&FindType=W&DB=DC-TOC-WEB%3BSTADCTOC&RS=WLW2%2E07&VR=2%2E0] respectively referring to the district as the State of New Columbia.

ee also

*List of constitutions of the United States

References

* Hammons, Christopher W. (1999). Was James Madison wrong? Rethinking the American preference for short, framework-oriented constitutions. "American Political Science Review." Dec. 1999.
** "The appendices to this article contain substantial data on state constitutions."

External links

* [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/constitution.phtml The Green Papers: Constitutions of the states]
* [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/explanation-constitution.phtml The Green Papers: State constitutions, an explanation]
* [http://www.thegreenpapers.com/slg/links.phtml The Green Papers: Links to state constitutions]
* [http://www.americangenesis.com Citings of Religious Influence in First State Constitutions]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • State legislature (United States) — In the United States of America, a state legislature is a generic term referring to the legislative body of any of the country s 50 states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 24 states, the legislature is simply called the Legislature …   Wikipedia

  • United States federal courts — United States This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United States …   Wikipedia

  • United States passport — United States passports are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. [22 U.S.C. sec. 211a; [http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport 1738.html Passports] .] These passports, which are booklets, are valid for travel by Americans… …   Wikipedia

  • United States (disambiguation) — United States usually refers to the United States of America.It may also mean any of the following:CountriesCurrent* The United Mexican States, also the Mexican United States [ [http://historical.ha.com/common/view item.php?Sale No=661 Lot… …   Wikipedia

  • United States of America non-profit laws — relate to taxation, the special problems of an organization which does not have profit as its primary motivation, and prevention of charitable fraud. Some non profit organizations can broadly be described as charities like the American Red Cross …   Wikipedia

  • Constitution Party (United States) — Constitution Party Chairman Jim Clymer Senate Leader None …   Wikipedia

  • Constitution Day (United States) — Constitution Day Photograph of Jefferson High School Marching Colonials Performing on the Steps of the National Archives Building on Constitution Day, 1974 …   Wikipedia

  • United States — This article is about the United States of America. For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation). United States of America …   Wikipedia

  • United States nationality law — This article is about laws regarding US citizenship. For citizenship in general, see Citizenship in the United States. Physicist Albert Einstein receiving his certificate of American citizenship from Judge Phillip Forman in 1940. He also retained …   Wikipedia

  • United States v. Wheeler — SCOTUSCase Litigants=United States v. Wheeler ArgueDate=April 28 ArgueYear=1920 DecideDate=December 13 DecideYear=1920 FullName=United States v. Wheeler, et al. USVol=254 USPage=281 Citation=41 S. Ct. 133; 65 L. Ed. 270; 1920 U.S. LEXIS 1159… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”