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SpencerMartin
KnowledgePaper:TheUnitedStatesConstitution
To be an active and powerful member of American democracy a citizen must have a
thorough understanding of essential aspectsofthecountryspoliticalsystemsandabackgrounds
to allow for proper application of that understanding. The most essential aspect of the United
States government that are important to understand are the interpretations, applications of, and,
to some extent, history of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Constitution is what set up
the United States government and established the powers of the different parts of the
government.

It is important for the citizens of the country to know what powers and

responsibilities they have as well as the powers politicians have. SincetheConstitutionisoften

the final say on the powers that are given to various members of the government, the
Constitution is the direct sourceforcitizensto begintheirunderstandingofthegovernment.And
oldsayingsaysthatknowledgeispowerandthisisespeciallytrueintheAmericandemocracy.
The essential information in the Constitution starts with the Preamble. The Preamble
describes very carefully the virtues and ideas that the government of the United States should
hold most dear. It is important for civic minded citizens to understand the ideas that the
Constitution protect because interpreting the Constitution is a large part of governing.
Understanding what the goals of the Constitution were can help citizens exerttheirpowerwhen
it comes to knowing how the Constitution should be interpreted. The most essential ideas that
the Constitution describes that a citizen should understand is the hope to form a more perfect

union, to promote the general welfare and to secure the Blessings of Liberty1. These
phrases are the most connected with the ways the average individual can exert power on the
democracy. The Constitution is pointing out that individuals as well as groups make important
decisions in thecountryspoliticsanditisimportantthatthey continuetodoso.ThePreambleis
unavoidable for any citizen because it givesthemanunderstandingofwhattheyaresupposedto
bepushingforwhentheyexerttheirpoweringovernment.
It is essential for citizens oftheUnited Statestohaveadeeperknowledgeof thespecific
roles of the various leaders in the government. It is essential that citizens who wish to get
involved understand the job descriptions of the major players in national politics and this
information is readily available in the Constitution. For example the President is elected by
people all across the country, voters require an understanding of the Presidents responsibilities
so they can make more informed decisions about how to exert their power when voting for
President. The Constitution explains that the President has thepowerto,appointambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other offices of the
United States.2 It is important that citizens know all of the Presidents duties when voting
otherwisetheywillnotbeabletoexerttheirpowerinaninformedmanner.
The Constitution also explains the duties of the membersofCongressandhowCongress
functions. For a citizen to get involved in the governmentthoroughlysheorheneedstobeable
to exert his or her power on every branch of the government and have a basic understanding of
what Congress does and what representatives do specifically. The citizens need to know how

1
2

PeterWoll,ed.,
AmericanGovernment:ReadingsandCases,
(PearsonEducationInc,2012),407
Woll,
AmericanGovernment,
413

they are going toget thechangestheywantand,bydoingso,whotheyshouldvotefor. Because

voting is one of the primary parts of power in democracy it is incredibly important thatcitizens
know how their votes are counting when they elect arepresentative. TheConstitutiondescribes
the responsibilities of the Congress in a section called theEnumeratedPowers.TheEnumerated
Powers is a list of all the powers that Congress holds. They have the power to declare war, to
collect taxes, to promote the arts and sciences, and To make allLawswhichshallbenecessary
and proper for carrying into ExecutiontheforegoingPowers,andallotherPowers vestedbythis
Constitution in the Government of the United States.3 The citizens of theUnitedStatesneedto
know that if they want tax reform, they have to vote for a certain member of Congress in their
district and this information is available if citizens know who to go to by having knowledge of
theConstitution.
Another essential pieceofinformationavailableintheConstitutionthatacitizenneedsto
understand are the rights they are granted by both the Constitution and by the Bill of Rights.
Without knowing their rights the people will not be aware of the ways they are guaranteed
participation in the government. The first example of rights in the ConstitutionisinArticleIV,
Section 2. It states that The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several States.4 This is essential for effectiveparticipationinthe
government because if citizens understand this concept then they will know about other rights
theyve been granted. Its also essentialbecauseitonceagainallows citizenstounderstandhow
theirpoweraffectsthewholecountryandhowtheycanmakedecisionswiththatinformation.

3
4

Woll,
AmericanGovernment,

411
Ibid.,415

The significance of the First Amendment to the Constitution is incredibly important

information for citizens and active participants in the United States government to be aware of.
Similar to earlier in the Constitution it is effectively a job description except in this case its
describing what the citizens of the United States should do to exert influence on the country.
Basically, the First Amendment describes what people shouldbeabletodoiftheydisagreewith
the government and want to exert power over the government. Other than freedom of religion,
the entire First Amendment has to do withexertingpoweroverthegovernment. Themostbasic
use of power available to citizens is the ability to speak out against the government when they
disagree with the decisions being made. This mayonlyseemlikeatinyamountofinfluencebut
it has changed over time to become much more than just explaining opinions. The Supreme
Court decided that money was equivalent to speech when it came to influencing politics.5
Understanding this part of the Constitution shows citizens how they can exert power on the
government,bypetitioning,writing,speakingandevenspendingmoney.
The First Amendment also gives the citizens of the United States the Right of thePress.
This is very similar to speech in that it involves the opinions of individual citizens and the way
this can influence policy. However it has some key differences. A written document can
influence more people around the country then a simple speech. Often the press is far more
influential than individual speakers and they areallowedtousetheirpoweroverthegovernment
because of the First Amendment. The Freedom of thePressallowsforallkindsofknowledgeto
be passed to voters so they can be informed. ThisisespeciallytruenowbecauseFreedomofthe
Press has taken on a symbolic meaning of the freedomtoreportnewsandspreadinfo.Knowing
5

Buckleyv.Valeo<law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/424/1#writingUSSC_CR_0424_0001_ZS>
(11/15/15)

that the citizens of the United States are guaranteed this right helps citizens exert their own
powerandisthereforeessentialknowledge.
The Right of Assembly is also incredibly important for allowing citizens to exercise
power over the government. The right to assemble peacefully allows for the creation of many
forms of political groups that allow individuals with similar goals or ideals to work together to
exert power over the government.ThecitizensoftheUnitedStatesneedtobe awareofthisright
to gather as it is likely the most powerful a citizen can be without running for election
themselves. Groups of peopleareincrediblypowerfulintheUnitedStatesandtheymakeplenty
of decisions for the government as special interest groups. Knowing how to properly assemble
and exert power as a group is probably the most important information forcitizenswhowantto
be active participants in the governing system because large groups of people have the most
powerinademocracy.
The right to petition the government is the last right guaranteedbytheFirstAmendment
and it unifies the previous rights defined earlier in the First Amendment. It states that citizens
have the right to, petition the Government for a redress of grievances.6 This means that not
only can citizens of the United States speak out to their peers about their issues with the
government, but alsospeakout directlytotheGovernmentandexpectananswer.Activecitizens
can directly message the government and request that they address current issues. This is an
important form of power that almost any individual can take advantage of. Almost anyone can

Woll,
AmericanGovernment,4
16

send a message to their Congress person proposing an idea that could affect the major decision
makingprocessofthegovernment.
While the other amendments to the Constitution are unnecessary for knowing and
understanding direct participation in the government, they can still be necessary for making
informed decisions on current issues. The most obvious example of this is the Second
Amendment. Proper understanding of the second amendment allows citizens to form opinions
and affect the political decision making regarding gun control in an educated manner. This is
just one example, many current issues aredeeplyrootedintheConstitutionandamendments. A
proper understanding oftheConstitutionseffectoncurrentdebateswoulddefinitelyassistinthe
powerwieldingabilityofcitizens.
The Constitution has useful information that can help citizens be active and informed
members of the government. However the documentalsorequiresahistoricalbackgroundtobe
understood properly. In several cases it is important to understand what culture informed the
writing of the Constitution. This is a case of Cultural Literacy. An understanding of what
caused the wording on the Second Amendment to be the way it is greatlyaffects thewayissues
are discussed right now. An understanding of how the Presidents duty was designed for in
historical context could help people understand the role of the President more thoroughly and
helps citizens adjust their political decision making. It is essential that citizens of the United
States understandtheConstitutionandusetheinformationit holdstobemoreeffectiveandmore
powerfulcitizens.