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What Is a Constitution

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What is a Constitution?

A constitution is a set of rules, written or unwritten, relating to how states are run and organised depicting the functions, powers and composition of the major institutions of government as well as their relationship between each other and the population. This means that anybody who agrees to withhold a citizenship of the country must agree to the constitution. “The Constitution is colour-blind ad neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens” -John Marshall. This quote by Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States portrays the fact that once you are a citizen, no matter what race, colour , size or background you come from, the rules of the constitution apply to you. There are two types of constitution, codified and uncodiefied. Codified being the provisions of the constitution set out in a single written document. These constitutions normally result from political upheavals and trauma, such as the Grant of Independence by Colonial Power in India in 1948. These constitutions tend to be more rigid in nature as there is a limited reliance on unwritten rules (conventions). However, uncodified constitutions are not set out in a single written document, thus they tend to be more flexible and consist of a greater amount of unwritten conventions.
Constitutions must exist for a reason, therefore there are functions to them, and the five functions of a constitution are, to distribute power, to provide legitimacy to those in power, to define the limits of governmental power, to protect the individual rights and freedoms of the people and to set out the goals and values which characterise the state. “Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.” - Abraham Lincoln. This quote by Lincon suggests that the constitution plays a huge

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