In view of Constitution Week, September 17-23, it seems a good time for a simple review of perhaps the most important document in the history of our country aside from the Declaration of Independence.

To this end, I selected a few quotes on the subject matter and added a few comments of my own.

It begins with “We The People” but for the past several years it seems the basic principles have been under attack.

The executive branch and judiciary seem to have deliberately over stepped bounds on matters of obeying Constitutional constraints.

There are limitations to each branch of government specifically built into the Constitution as a means of checks and balances.

A good basic definition of the Constitution is found in Justice William Paterson‘s 1795 Supreme Court opinion written in VanHorne’s Lessee V. Dorrance in which he stated: “What is a Constitution? It is the form of government, delineated by the mighty hand of the people, in which certain first principles of fundamental law are established.”

“The Constitution is certain and fixed; it contains the permanent will of the people, and is the supreme law of the land; it is paramount to the power of the Legislature, and can be revoked or altered only by the authority that made it.”

As a review, Article I states: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.” Article II states: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Article III: provides for a “judicial Power of the United States.”

Thus, the three separate branches of government with a set of checks and balances set forth limiting the powers of each branch.

In 1791, Thomas Paine writing in the “Rights of Man” said: “A Constitution is not the act of a Government, but of a people constituting a government, and a government without a constitution is a power without right.”

Furthermore, Patrick Henry (1736-1799) said: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”

We need to get back to the basics of the Constitution in which “We The People” rule rather than allowing the executive and judicial branches encroaching on the peoples representatives in the Legislative Branch.