On the Constitution of a Compound Republic

is a series of distinguished essays on political economy and public policy. The Cato Institute takes its name from an earlier series of Cato's Letters, essays on political liberty written by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon in the 18th century, which were widely read in the American colonies and played a major role in laying the philosophical foundation for the American Revolution. Additional copies of this booklet can be purchased by calling toll-free 1-800-767-1241 (noon-9:00 p.m. eastern time). Single copies are $1. Ten to 100 copies are 50¢ each, and more than 100 copies are 40¢ each. A compound republic presents the unique opportunity for each level of government to check abuses of the constitution by the other level. This essay summarizes why judicial review has not proved to be sufficient to maintain a constitution and the changes to the U.S. Constitution needed to make the structure of this compound republic more effective. INTRODUCTION The Constitution of the United States established the basic structure of a compound republic, a federal structure in which there are two or more levels of government each of which has the primary if not sole authority for a specific set of collective decisions. The U.S. federal structure is characterized by a separation of powers within the federal government and between the federal and state governments but without any explicit provision for resolving constitutional disputes. Early in U.S. history under the Constitution, however, in several important decisions by Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court asserted its authority to adjudicate these disputes, and this role has been accepted, albeit not without controversy, since that time. This essay makes the following major points: