I
Set of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state.
It may be written (e.g., the Constitution of the United States ) or partly written and uncodified (e.g., Britain's constitution). Its provisions usually specify how the government is to be organized, what rights it shall have, and what rights shall be retained by the people. Modern constitutional ideas developed during the Enlightenment , when philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau , and John Locke proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable, and open, should represent the governed, and should divide power according to its purpose. The oldest constitution still in force is that of the state of Massachusetts (1780). See also social contract .
II
[c mediumvioletred] (as used in expressions)
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Constitution Act
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Constitution USS
Constitution of 1791
Constitution of 1795
Constitution of the United States
Constitution of the Year VIII
Meiji Constitution
Topeka Constitution
{{link=Clarendon Constitutions of">Clarendon Constitutions of
Melfi Constitutions of