Who does the Constitution get its' authority from?

Answer 1

The Constitution of the United States gets its authority from the people of the United States. It's preamble begins with these words; "We the people..." That authority his then reinforced by the establishment of the three branches of government.

Answer 2

The Constitution is just the mechanism by which We, the American People, allow the federal government to have any power or authority: in short, it derives its powers from the "consent of the governed." That means that every president, vice-president, Senator, and Congressional Representative is answerable to Us, the People. If there comes a time when Congress passes laws giving advantages to the government at our expense or one group of people at the expense of the others, We, the People, have the right - indeed, the responsibility - to demand their repeal and call for the impeachment of Congress. That's because Congress has exercised power or authority that We, the People, did not allow it to have (by writing it in the Constitution).

If there comes a time when any president presumes that he or she may change, create, or arbitrarily enforce laws without following the legislative process written down in the Constitution, We, the People, have the right and the responsibility to demand his or her impeachment. That's because he or she has exercised power or authority that We, the People, did not allow the president to have.

If it should happen that the Supreme Court declares an unjust federal law to be constitutional and legally enforceable based on what it thinks the law meant to say or shouldhave said (rather than what it actually says), We, the People, have the right and the responsibility to demand the Supreme Court's impeachment. That's because it has exercised power or authority that We, the People, did not allow it to have.

Impeachment is the process by which We, the People, force corrupt federal officials out of office. For example, if a president repeatedly acts outside the bounds of his or her authority (which is a criminal act in itself), the House of Representatives may vote to impeach him or her. If the vote passes, the Senate is required to hold an impeachment trial. If the trial proves that such a criminal act occurred, the Senate must convict the president. If that happens, the president will very likely be removed from office (although lesser punishments are possible).

If the Senate fails to hold the trial or votes to acquit in the face of undeniable evidence, it has betrayed the trust of the American People and its members may themselves be impeached. If the House fails to call for a vote on impeaching a president, despite undeniable evidence of wrongdoing, then its members may themselves be impeached.

If none of those actions remedy the government's abuse of the authority that We, the People, gave it, there remains but one one decision to make. And We, the People, are duty-bound and obligated to make it.

And that is what the Second Amendment is for.

Answer 3

The Constitution derives its authority from the consent of the governed.

This is a principle idea of the philosopher john Locke, and arguably the entire basis for the American Revolution. It means that the only way a government can have power is if the people want it to. The only reason the Constitution has any authority at all is that people are willing to obey it. Although this may seem self-explanatory, it was a big difference from older ideas of a king's god-given right to rule. Locke was radical in his idea that people were not sinning if they revolted against corruption.

Answer 4

The Constitution gets its power from the people.