Constitutional change in the United States: a comparative study of the role of constitutional amendments, judicial interpretations, and legislative and executive actions

AbstractA constitution is, as Article VI of the United States Constitution declares, the fundamental law of the land, supreme as a legal matter over any other nonconstitutional law. But that almost banal statement raises a number of theoretically vexed issues. What is law? How is constitutional law to be distinguished from nonconstitutional law? How do morality and moral rights fit into the picture? And what are the implications of the answers to these questions for such questions as how and by whom should constitutions be interpreted? These are the issues that I shall address.Alexander proceeds as follows: In section I he takes up law's principal function of settling controversies over what we are morally obligated to do. In section II he then relate law's settlement function to the role of constitutional law. In particular, he discusses how constitutional law is distinguished from ordinary law, and he also discusses the role of constitutions in establishing basic governmental structures and enforcing certain moral rights. In section III he addresses the topic of constitutional interpretation, and in section IV the topic of judicial review. Finally, in section V, he discusses constitutional change, both change that occurs through a constitution's own rules for amendments and change that is the product of constitutional misinterpretations and revolutions.

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State, Representative Government and Revolution

10.20850/9781534203433 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Paccione

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Constitutional Change ◽

Main Theme ◽

Representative Government ◽

Constitutional History ◽

Constitutional Development ◽

Major Aspect ◽

The Relationship

This is a work of comparative political and constitutional history. The main theme of this essay is the relationship between the executive prerogative and the legislative power held by representative institutions. I analyze the constitutional histories of five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, and I consider the location of the supreme lawmaking power within the respective governments. One major aspect of constitutional development which is studied is the role of revolutions. In each account, I trace the major constitutional developments of the revolutions which occurred in each country. One theme of my consideration of revolutions is how they served as a means of constitutional change in each country. Another characteristic of revolutions which is studied was how closely the governments which resulted from the revolutions resembled the old regimes which they replaced. I also briefly analyze the constitutional histories of China, Japan, and Iran, pointing out how they contrast with the European states.

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The Role of Gender and Sensation Seeking in Film Choice

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105.20.3.97 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 97-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Smita C. Banerjee ◽

Kathryn Greene ◽

Marina Krcmar ◽

Zhanna Bagdasarov ◽

Dovile Ruginyte

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Sensation Seeking ◽

Negative Mood ◽

Positive Mood ◽

The United States ◽

High Arousal ◽

Subject Design ◽

Happy Mood

This study demonstrates the significance of individual difference factors, particularly gender and sensation seeking, in predicting media choice (examined through hypothetical descriptions of films that participants anticipated they would view). This study used a 2 (Positive mood/negative mood) × 2 (High arousal/low arousal) within-subject design with 544 undergraduate students recruited from a large northeastern university in the United States. Results showed that happy films and high arousal films were preferred over sad films and low-arousal films, respectively. In terms of gender differences, female viewers reported a greater preference than male viewers for happy-mood films. Also, male viewers reported a greater preference for high-arousal films compared to female viewers, and female viewers reported a greater preference for low-arousal films compared to male viewers. Finally, high sensation seekers reported a preference for high-arousal films. Implications for research design and importance of exploring media characteristics are discussed.

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