Worldwide influence of the Constitution of the United States
The
National constitutions
The historian
The American experience of fundamental law with amendments and
Generally the influence of the Constitution appears in trans-national
American historian George Athan Billias wrote "the influence of American constitutionalism abroad was profound in the past and remains a remarkable contribution to humankind's search for freedom under a system of laws."[4] Billias describes six waves of influence:
- From 1776 to 1811, after the American Revolution began, it influenced northwestern Europe and its colonial connections.
- 1811–1848, after the decline of Napoleon's reputation, it was referenced by Latin American, Caribbean, and European nationalists.
- 1898–1918, after the Spanish–American War, nationalist movements borrowed from the U.S. Constitution in Asia and Latin America.
- 1918–1945, after World War I, its influence spread with movements for decolonization of Africa, Mid-east and Asia.
- 1945–1974, after World War II, independence movements consulted it.
- 1974–1989, after United Nations expansion, once nondemocratic regimes, including European ones, transitioned towards constitutional democracies incorporating elements of the U.S. Constitution.[4]
Over its history, the influence of American constitutionalism has waxed and waned. Internationally it appears that those of Confucian and Islamic cultures do not readily adopt some of its premises.
Australian constitutional law was influenced by the US Constitution as well as the Canadian and Swiss constitutions, while at the same time preserving Westminster parliamentary traditions and the British monarchy (see Westminster system § "Washminster system"). It adopted a federal system similar to the US, with a senate that represented the states (direct election to both Houses was a new concept). It also adopted the concepts of a formal separation of power and judicial review but did not adopt guarantees of personal rights into the constitution.[15][16]
According to a 2012 study by David Law of Washington University in St. Louis published in the New York University Law Review, the influence of the U.S. Constitution may be waning. The study examined more than 700 federal constitutions from nearly 200 countries. "Rather than leading the way for global constitutionalism, the U.S. Constitution appears instead to be losing its appeal as a model for constitutional drafters elsewhere," the researchers write. "The idea of adopting a constitution may still trace its inspiration to the United States, but the manner in which constitutions are written increasingly does not."[17][18] In particular, the study found that the U.S. Constitution guarantees relatively few rights compared to the constitutions of other countries and contains less than half (26 of 60) of the provisions listed in the average bill of rights. It is also one of the few in the world today that still features the right to keep and bear arms; the only others are the constitutions of Guatemala and Mexico. Overall, the research suggests that the Constitution of Canada, revised in 1982, is now a leading international model rather than that of the United States.[17][18]
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg viewed the United States Constitution as more of a relic of the 18th century rather than as a model for new constitutions. She suggested in 2012 that a nation seeking a new constitution might find a better model by examining the Constitution of South Africa (1997), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950):[19]
I would not look to the United States Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012.
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 2012[19]
Translations
The Federal Judicial Center links to translations of the U.S. Constitution in nine languages.[20] The site offers other materials in eighteen languages besides English, such as Dari, Indonesian, Malay, Serb, and Turkish.[21] The center's statutory mission[22] includes working with judges and court officials of the U.S. and other nations to improve the administration of justice.[23]
The Constitution Finder of the University of Richmond has links to translations into ten different languages.[24] The Historical Society of Pennsylvania lists a translation into Armenian.[25]
Professor James Chen has annotated the Spanish translation prepared by the U.S. State Department. His notes focus on the problems and nuances of this translation.[26] Elizabeth Claire has rewritten the Constitution into simplified English.[27] Some of the many translations of the Constitution are listed below.
The Bill of Rights
The U.S. State Department lists translations of the Bill of Rights into fifty-one languages:[53]
A second site[54] links to the following translations: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese (simplified), French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish. The Bill of Rights has been translated into Hawaiian.[55]
Commemorative stamps
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In 1937 the U.S. Post Office released a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The engraving shown on this issue is after an 1856 painting by Junius Brutus Stearns of Washington and shows delegates signing the Constitution at the 1787 Convention. George Washington is on dais with an open document in hand; James Madison sits at the table, taking his famous notes on the convention.
One commemorative of the 19th Amendment (permitting women the right to vote) was celebrated in a commemorative in 1950 and again in 1970. The woman is voting in a curtained mechanical voting booth. She chooses levers to punch or mark her votes on a paper roll. The Model T has a male driver with a banner "Votes for women" on the car, women riders and marchers as though in a parade.
The Second Polish Republic issued a commemorative of the U.S. and Polish Constitutions in 1938 under the government of Prime Minister, Major General Składkowski The stamp features George Washington in military regalia, holding a 48-star American flag and a drawn sword. Thomas Paine holds a book on a rod, and Kosciuszko poses with a cross and saber. The next scene shows a line of infantry flying a Polish flag. The right panel shows the Statue of Liberty imposed in front of the New York 1930s skyline.
In 1937 the Second Spanish Republic commemorated the 150th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, under the government of Prime Minister Juan Negrín of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The Statue of Liberty is the central focus, flanked by flags of Spain and the United States. The Spanish Republic Flag of red, yellow and purple, as battle flag or civil ensign, lacks the coat of arms.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Secession was indeed unconstitutional...military resistance to secession was not only constitutional but also morally justified.[5] "the primary purpose of the Constitution was … to create a more perfect union’... the Constitution was an exercise in nation-building.[6]
- ^ Juarez regarded the United States as a model of republican democracy and consistently supported Abraham Lincoln.[7]
- ^ The institutions of the two countries which have most influenced constitutional development are Spain and the United States." One of the reforms, "sine quibus non", to use the words of Rizal and Mabini, always insisted upon by the Filipinos, was Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortez, the promulgation in the Islands of the Spanish Constitution, and the complete assimilation equal to that of any in the Spanish provinces on the continent.[8]
- ^ In the modern history of China, there were many revolutionaries who tried to seek the truth from the West in order to overthrow the feudal system of the Qing dynasty. Sun Yat-sen for example was much influenced by American democracy, especially the U.S. Constitution.[9]
References
- ^ Liptak, Adam (2012-02-15). "'We the People' Loses Appeal With People Around the World - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- SSRN 1923556.
- ^ a b c d e Billias 2009, xi–xv.
- ^ Farber 2003, p. 3.
- ^ Farber 2003, p. 198.
- ^ Stacy 2003, p. 436.
- ^ Malcolm 1920, p. 109.
- ^ Qing Yu 1988, p. 193.
- ISBN 978-9004151741.
- ISBN 978-9047423935.
- ISBN 978-0-313-27326-1.
- ISBN 9780773525085.
- ^ "How the Westminster Parliamentary System was exported around the World". University of Cambridge. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-86287-918-8.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ Harvard Kennedy School of Government Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. April 9, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ SSRN 1923556.
- ^ a b Staff reporters and Steven Sweeney, March 4, 2012, Massachusetts Daily Collegian, A Second Constitutional Convention, Accessed April 7, 2014, "...As Justice Ginsburg's comments suggest, the U.S. Constitution is more a relic of the 18th century than a workable plan for government in the 21st. A recent study conducted by David Law ... concluded that our Constitution's global appeal has diminished markedly. ... "
- ^ "International Judicial Relations | FJC Online". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-09-16.
- ^ a b "International Judicial Relations — Translated Material". Fjc.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ [United States Code, Title 28, sections 620-629]
- ^ The Federal Judicial Center Archived 2011-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, viewed 07/27/2011.
- ^ Constitution Finder, viewed 09/16/2015.
- ^ Search Results – united states constitution
- SSRN 925271– via SSRN.
- ^ The Constitution of the United States With a Side-by-Side Translation in Simple English Archived July 21, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Arabic Constitution" (PDF) (in Arabic). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
- ^ "The Constitution of the United States" [美利坚合众国宪法] (PDF) (in Chinese). 1789. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Constitution of the United States of America" [美利堅合眾國憲法]. Judicial Yuan (in Chinese). April 30, 1789. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ A.U.C, Active USA Center. "Grondwet Verenigde Staten van Amerika (NL) | Bestuur en samenleving".
- ^ "French Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "French Constitution" (PDF). www.constitutionfacts.com. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Verfassung" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ "German Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "U.S. Constitution". Israel.usembassy.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
- ^ "Hungarian translation of the U.S. Constitution". Hungarian.hungary.usembassy.gov. Archived from the original on 2016-06-18. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ "Italian Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Japanese translation of the U.S. Constitution". Aboutusa.japan.usembassy.gov. 2009-03-13. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ "Japan Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Korea Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ U.S. Constitution: English-Latin
- ^ "Portugal Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Russia Constitution" (PDF). constitutioncenter.org. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "U.S. Constitution (Slovak)".
- ^ "The Constitution of the United States: En Espanol - National Constitution Center". National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org.
- ^ "Spanish translation of the U.S. Constitution". Cato.org. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ "United States of America: Constitución de 1787 en español". Pdba.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ "Constitución de los Estados Unidos de América — The U.S. Constitution Online". USConstitution.net. 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ US Constitution Thai
- ^ Ukrainian translation Archived November 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Vietnam Constitution" (PDF). photos.state.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "GPA Publications -". GPA Publications. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
- ^ "Bill of Rights in 15 Different Languages!". Archived from the original on 2017-03-17. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
- ^ "Hawaiian Bill of Rights" (PDF). jpfo.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2022. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
Works cited
- ISBN 978-0-8147-9107-3.
- ISBN 978-0-226-23793-0.
- Malcolm, George A. (1920). "Constitutional History of the Philippines". American Bar Association Journal. 6.
- Qing Yu, Li (1988). "Dr. Sun Yat Sen and the U.S. Constitution". In Starr, Joseph Barton (ed.). The United States Constitution: Its Birth, Growth, and Influence in Asia. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-962-209-201-3.
- Stacy, Lee, ed. (2003). Mexico and the United States. Vol. 2. London: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-7402-9.