The Constitution and National Security: A Bicentennial View

The founders of our republic were determined to establish a government that protected the rights of the individual within a free society, a system that improved upon European designs. Newly independent, the Americans formed a government under the Articles of Confederation. As a loose confederation of states, however, the growing nation had a weak national voice and little international status. After only ten years under this system, the states recognized the need for more national power and drafted the U. S. Constitution.The goal, again, was to protect the individual's natural rights through the creation of an energetic national government. Thus the U. S. Constitution was written, with compromises, and submitted to the people for their ratification. After vigorous public debate, this document became the fundamental law of the land.The Constitution has endured with few additional amendments for more than two centuries - but not without continuing debate. In this newest contribution to the writings of constitutional scholars, papers address the President's war powers, the role of Congress in foreign policy, and other questions of interpreting the Constitution in the modern era. These current issues have at their core the same fundamental questions that animated debate during the Constitutional Convention in 1787: how best to protect society while guarding the rights of the individual, how best to give sufficient power to the executive while guarding against abuse of power. But even as we debate, we celebrate our Constitution, a document forged of ingrained American beliefs that our republic can be secured and the rights of the individual safeguarded. Vice Admiral J. A. Baldwin, United States Navy President, National Defense University