从邦联到联邦——美国《邦联条例》与《联邦宪法》特点比较

《邦联条例》为美国宪法的成文法形式奠定了基础。它拒绝君主制,严格限制行政权力;借鉴以契约建立殖民地联合政府组织的经验,选择各州互约联合的形式,仍然维持十三州独立时的国家形态。《联邦宪法》的制定反映了当时美国政治精英的智识,规定美国的国家结构形式是联邦制,它所预设解决的首要问题是安全。宪法由人民制定,而非各州相互约定,开启了美利坚人民作为一个整体发展的新篇章。中央和州政府之间的平衡,是联邦制的主要特点,是对制宪领袖致力达到的目标的回应。美国宪法制定的过程及其联邦制原则的最终确立,显示出的是宪治的精神。

The Articles of Confederation has laid the foundation for the written form of U.S.constitution.It rejected the monarchy,strictly limited the executive power,and by choosing the form of contracted-union from the experience of the establishment of colonial union of government organization,it still maintained the status of the polity just as 13 states were independent.The Federal Constitution o f the United States regulates federalism as the principle for the polity of the States,and it puts security to the first place,which reflects the wisdom of the framers.The people,not state governments,make the constiution,which start a brand-new chapter for the development of the United States as a whole.The main characteristic of the federal system is checks and balances between the federal government and states,which is the response to the goal that the framers wished to achieve.What demonstrates from the process of the establishment of U?S?Constitution and the principle of federalism it possesses is the spirit of constitutionality.