Constitutional Republic

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprised of 50 states and several territories. Forty-eight contiguous states lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bounded on land by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific. The United States is a federal constitutional republic and a liberal democracy, with Washington, D.C. as its capital.

—Excerpted from United States on Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government's power over citizens. In a constitutional republic, executive, legislative, and judicial powers are separated into distinct branches and the will of the majority of the population is tempered by protections for individual rights so that no individual or group has absolute power. The fact that a constitution exists that limits the government's power makes the state constitutional. That the head(s) of state and other officials are chosen by election, rather than inheriting their positions, and that their decisions are subject to judicial review makes a state republican; should the judicial review be maximized.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_republic

Please watch the following ten and a half minute video that explains The American Form of Government

 

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Hillsadale College Presentation

Reviving the Constitution

Session I: America's Foundational Principles

Dr. David J. Bobb

This session examines the ten core principles of the American Founding--all of which are as true today as 220 years ago.

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Hillsadale College Presentation

Reviving the Constitution

Session II: The Founders' Constitution

Dr. Matthew Spalding, Adjunct Fellow, Kirby Center; Director, Simon Center for American Studies, Heritage Foundation

This session explores how citizens should understand the plain, written meaning of the Constitution.

 

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Hillsadale College Presentation

Reviving the Constitution

Session III: The Constitution and the Civil War

Dr. Paul Moreno, Senior Fellow, Kirby Center; Dean of Faculty; William and Berniece Grewcock Chair in Constitutional History and Associate Professor of History, Hillsdale College

The Constitution endured its greatest crisis in the Civil War. This session gives an account of Abraham Lincoln's statesmanship and constitutional efforts to preserve the Union.

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Hillsadale College Presentation

Reviving the Constitution

Session IV: The Progressives' Constitution

Dr. Ronald Pestritto, Senior Fellow, Kirby Center; Charles and Lucia Shipley Chair in the American Constitution and Associate Professor of Political Science, Hillsdale College

Rejecting the principles of the American founders, the Progressives advanced political and moral "values" in their place. This session, emphasizing the thought of Woodrow Wilson, examines the Progressive movement and its understanding of the Constitution.

 

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Hillsadale College Presentation

Reviving the Constitution

Session V: The Administrative State and the Duties of the Citizen

Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President, Hillsdale College

The administrative state--more than just "big government"--advances a theory of human nature and the rule of experts. How should citizens think about the Constitution in an age that largely ignores it? And how can they act upon the constitutional principles on which the country was founded?

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