In summary, the Constitution guarantees We the People protection of our fundamental inalienable rights, provides that government will be limited in size and in scope, and promises that jurisdiction will be divided carefully between the States and a federal government to ensure the first two. If an answer or issue is not contained, even remotely, in the Constitution, then it is left to the judgment of the state and its legislators. The Constitution was never meant to restrict the people's power to govern themselves over the full range of policy area that the Constitution left available to them.
Other regimes got into trouble when it doubted the people's ability to govern themselves properly and allowed the government to grow accordingly. Our Founders took great steps to prevent any ruler or representative from making such a judgment call.
Every American should read the Constitution and read comments and documentary from the drafters as to why the Constitution was written as it was. A good start are Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, and the debates in the various state ratifying conventions (especially New York, Virginia, and North Carolina, the last three states to ratify). To paraphrase something that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once wrote, we should never apply a "fuzzy" meaning to the Constitution but rather, we should simply take the time to read it.
References:
"Your Hamburger: 41000 Regulations" U.S. News and World Report, Feb. 11, 1980, pg. 64.
Anti-Federalist Papers, Brutus I, from TeachingAmericanHistory.org. http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=849
Elroy McKendree Avery and William Abbatt, A History of the United States and its People: From Their Earliest Records to the Present Time (Vol. 5), Harvard College Library, 1908 (Burrows Brothers Company).
Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention. http://nexuslearning.net/books/elements_of_lit_course5/speech_virginia.htm
National Archives. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/
Diane Rufino, "Voter Reform: Progressive Voting Rights," March 12, 2011. http://forloveofgodandcountry.wordpress.com
Thomas Paine, Common Sense. http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html
Declaration of Independence. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html
Dick Arneson, John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, Chapters 1-4. http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/faculty/rarneson/Courses/IntroLocke.pdf
The Magna Carta. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.html
The Petition of Right of 1628. http://www.constitution.org/eng/petright.htm
The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. http://www.constitution.org/eng/habcorpa.htm
The English Bill of Rights of 1689. http://bessel.org/billrts.htm
The History Place: The American Revolution. http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/revwar-75.htm
The Lee Resolution (1776). http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=1&page=transcript
Scribe, "Richard Henry Lee: The Architect of Independence Must be Turning in His Grave," My Fair Point, Sept. 5, 2003. Referenced at: http://home.myfairpoint.net/vzeo1z2a/RHL.htm
"Constitutional Topic: The Federalists and Anti-Federalists," US Constitution Online. Referenced at: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_faf.html
Skousen, Cleon, The 5000-Year Leap. American Documents Publishing, 1981.
Beck, Glenn, Broke. Threshold Editions, 2010.
"American War Deaths Through History," Military History. Referenced at: http://www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp
Barefoot Bob, "The Constitution For The United States: Its Sources and Its Application," Baresfoot World. Referenced at: http://www.barefootsworld.net/constit1.html
"July 14, 1826: Requiem for an American President," Home of Heroes. Referenced at: http://www.homeofheroes.com/profiles/profiles_jeffadams.html
Jim Powell, "John Locke: Natural Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property," The Freeman, Volume 46, Issue 8, August 1996. Referenced at: http://thefreemanonline.org/featured/john-locke-natural-rights-to-life-liberty-and-property
Dwight R. Lee, "Liberty and Individual Responsibility," The Freeman, Volume 37, Issue 4, April 1987. Referenced at: http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/liberty-and-individual-responsibility/
Stanley Kober, "The Spirit of Humility," The Cato Institute, Volume 17, Issue 2, 1995. Referenced at: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj17n2-8.html
Joe Wolverton, "Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and State Sovereignty," The New American, April 18, 2011. Referenced at: http://www.thenewamerican.com/history/america/7154-federalists-anti-federalists-and-state-sovereignty
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826. A Summary of the Rights of British America, University of Virginia Library. Referenced at: http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?
Lewis Lehrman, "Mr. Lincoln and the Declaration," Mr. Lincoln and The Founders. Referenced at: http://www.mrlincolnandthefounders.org/inside.asp?ID=1&subjectID=1
Roy P. Basler, editor. (1858). The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume II.
Bond v. United States, 564 U. S. ____ (2011). Retrieved at: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-1227.pdf
"The Meaning of Liberty," Breed's Hill Institute. Referenced at: http://www.breedshill.org/meaning_of_liberty.htm
F. A. Hayek (1960). The Constitution of Liberty, The University of Chicago Press.
Joe Wolverton II, "Time Magazine cover Story Asks: Does the Constitution Still Matter," The New American, June 24, 2011. Referenced at: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/7989-time-magazine-cover-story-asks-does-the-constitution-still-matter
Diane Rufino has her own blog For Love of God and Country. Come and visit her. She'd love your company.
