從邦聯到聯邦－－美國《邦聯條例》與《聯邦憲法》特點比較

From Confederation to Federation-- The Features Comparison of The Articles of Confederation and The Federal Constitution

《邦聯條例》為美國憲法的成文法形式奠定了基礎。它拒絕君主制，嚴格限制行政權力；借鑒以契約建立殖民地聯合政府組織的經驗，選擇各州互約聯合的形式，仍然維持十三州獨立時的國家形態。《聯邦憲法》的制定反映了當時美國政治精英的智識，規定美國的國家結構形式是聯邦制，它所預設解決的首要問題是安全。憲法由人民制定，而非各州相互約定，開啟了美利堅人民作為一個整體發展的新篇章。中央和州政府之間的平衡，是聯邦制的主要特點，是對制憲領袖致力達到的目標的回應。美國憲法制定的過程及其聯邦制原則的最終確立，顯示出的是憲治的精神。

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 of 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 constitution, 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.