← Back to the Introduction to Political Science outline The Course Maker
← Introduction to Political Science outline
Week 6 · Module overview

Week 6 — Constitutions, Constitutionalism & the Rule of Law

Introduction to Political Science Free sample edition

Why this matters

A nursing student reading a professional association's bylaws and a business major whose company charter limits its board both need to know whether a written rulebook actually binds the people in charge.

In plain language

This week is about rulebooks for whole countries: a constitution (the basic rules for how a government is set up) can create offices, hand them power, and, when it works, hold them back. You will compare the U.S. Constitution of 1787, one written document, with the British model, which has no single document, and you will learn what the rule of law (rules that bind the rulers as well as everyone else) asks for. You will also read two short essays from 1787 and 1788 that tried to design a government able to check itself. The big question of the week is a fair one to argue about: can words on paper actually limit people who hold power?

  • Already covered: Week 2 built authority and legitimacy; Week 5 sorted the forms government takes.
  • This week: constitutions and constitutionalism, written versus unwritten, entrenchment, the rule of law, and Federalist No. 51.
  • How they connect: liberal democracy needs rules that bind the rulers.
  • Where we're going next: Week 7, Political Institutions I: Legislatures & Executives.

Focus

Can a written rulebook actually limit the people who hold power?

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

  • [ ] tell a constitution from constitutionalism
  • [ ] count the States Article V needs to ratify or block
  • [ ] check a case against the five elements of the rule of law
  • [ ] quote Federalist No. 51 exactly and credit it to Madison

To-do

Plan your week

  1. Read Chapter 6 (40 minutes), then the lecture and slides.
  2. Do the lecture tutorial (60–90 minutes) and practice set (20 minutes).
  3. Do the Political Analysis Workshop (90 minutes), the discussion, and the assignment.
  4. Take the quiz.

This week's checkpoint: check one rulebook you know against the five elements and say whether it binds the people in charge.

You've got this

Take it in order, and ask your instructor early.

Built with The Course Maker · samples.thecoursemaker.com