One way to understand the differences between the two constitutions is to compare their structure by comparing the buildings that house their respective legislators. In the United States, Congress is located in the Capitol of the British Parliament in the Palace of Westminster. Political sovereignty can be defined as the total power of a country, and in the United States, this responsibility is transferred to the United States Constitution. This means that all American power is in the Constitution, and if something is challenged, it is the Constitution that should be referenced. We see this in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where judges have to decide whether or not a law is constitutional. This process is called judicial review. As a result of developments in America, at the beginning of the 19th century, there was a growing awareness of the situation in America. During the 19th century, two different constitutional models served as the starting point for the emergence of two completely different models of democracy. It wasn`t until the early 20th century that 19th-century dualism gradually gave way to an appreciation on both sides of their community – each side accepting differences in the other variant.
As the United States became a world power and Britain lost its economic, then political and military importance in the world, the two countries re-established a close political relationship in the face of common enemies. At the same time, the conviction arose that their different constitutional and democratic models were based on the same values and common roots. In Europe, on the other hand, political ruptures and developments from the end of the 18th century dissolved political Anglophilia in the long run. In the first half of the 19th century, moderate and conservative liberals maintained their admiration for the British constitution. But by mid-century at the latest, only a minority of progressive liberals regarded the British parliamentary monarchy as a desired political ideal. In contrast, their more conservative contemporaries, some of whom continued to admire Edmund Burke (1729-1797), were dissuaded from democratizing the country, while among German Democrats, the U.S. Constitution became the example, which should be followed.4 While the United States has two major political parties that dominate the country`s politics, British politics has a variety of parties. representing different constituencies. Elections in both countries also vary, with most U.S.
federal elections held regularly: the president is elected every four years, senators every six years, and members of Congress both. Before 2011, the UK general election was not rigged. With the adoption of the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011, Parliament is required to hold elections every five years from 2015. However, elections can be held before the five-year plan if the lower house passes a vote of no confidence. The 13 British colonies on the east coast of North America, between Canada and Florida, had been established between 1607 and 1732, not by direct state intervention – as was the case with the Spanish colonies further south – but by private enterprises with economic, religious or philanthropic objectives. The Dutch colony of Nieuw Nederland, which largely corresponded to the present-day states of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, fell to Britain in 1664. Armed with royal charters, these colonies continued colonization of the territory assigned to them, while Rhode Island and Connecticut emerged when they seceded from Massachusetts and their independence was confirmed by royal charters in London in 1662/1663. While devolution in the UK may seem similar to federalism in the US, the relationship between London and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is very different from the relationship between Washington and the states. Federalism is a separation of powers in a codified and firmly anchored constitution, but decentralization is a transfer of powers from a sovereign parliament to subordinate bodies. May lead to an impasse between key branches of the U.S.
federal government At first glance, there are many similarities in the structure between the two constitutions. Both could be described as representative democracies. Both have national governments divided into three branches – one legislative, one executive and one judicial. Both have a bicameral legislature and both now have a Supreme Court. There are also sub-national governments: state governments in the US and devolved governments for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the UK. The country has fundamentally changed in the turmoil of the meantime. In 1828, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) became the first president who did not come from the elite of the East Coast of Virginia or Massachusetts. More than any other American president, Jackson is associated with the victory of democracy in the country. Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) provided a concise analysis of its effects on political culture in his book of Democracy in America (two volumes 1835/1840), in which he held up a mirror to France in particular.27 «Jacksonian democracy» also became known as the era of the common man, although the latest property qualifications persisted in the electoral laws of some East Coast states. However, modern parties have emerged that have won the support of voters of all classes and included them in the process of nominating candidates for elections.
Many states have adopted new constitutions based on a broader democratic basis – in some cases, popularly elected judges, a measure designed to ensure democratic legitimacy and bring justice closer to the people. American politics has become less elitist – except in the South – although there have been clear limits to this change. It did not extend to women or blacks, not to mention the first inhabitants of the continent, who continued to be excluded from American society and, in many cases, were brutally expelled from their homes or assigned territories if they obstructed the financial interests of whites.28 The first two Hanoverian kings (George I and George II), who ruled from 1714 to 1760, faced a country whose political culture and language posed them a considerable challenge. During his reign, the country was de facto governed not by the King and his Privy Council – as it had been before the Glorious Revolution – but by a committee formed by a majority of Parliament, the Cabinet under the formal leadership of a Prime Minister, whose decisions (as well as parliamentary laws) had to be ratified by the King. Theoretically, the king had the right to refuse them, but in reality this has never happened from 1707 to the present day.7 The result, as it existed around 1770, was not a balance between two distinct forces, as Montesquieu and the Anglophiles in Europe celebrated. On the contrary, at the head of the British constitution was a king whose freedom of political action had become increasingly restricted and who (until the early 1820s) could appoint a prime minister of his choice, but could not hold him long in the face of continued opposition in Parliament. Conversely, Parliament had attained a position of virtually unlimited power. Neither the king nor the courts could legally oppose a valid law of parliament. But Parliament could ignore objections and pass new laws at any time.8 The main differences between the U.S. Constitution and the British Constitution are: Federalism and decentralization are still structural differences that reflect cultural differences. The United States has a federal system of government in which political power is divided between a national government and state governments, each with its own substantive jurisdiction.
Americans consider themselves Floridians, Virginians, New Yorkers or whatever. Federalism is a perfect fit for a country as large and diverse – in terms of race, culture, language and economy – as the United States.
