Definition is always difficult; it may be tiresome. But when a term has
come to have many different meanings, then no one who seriously desires
to be understood can use it in the title of a text without at least
attempting a definition. This is true of the word "Constitution," which
in the literature of Political Science alone has at least three distinct
meanings corresponding to the three points of view, that is, the
philosophical, the historical, and the legal.
From the view-point of Political Philosophy the word "Constitution,"
stands for the fundamental principles of government. It is the sum
(1) of the general and basic principles of all political organization by
which the form, competence, and limitations of governmental authorities
are fixed and determined, and (2) of the general and basic principles of
liberty, in accordance with which the rights of men living in a social
state are ascertained and guaranteed. In short, it is the sum of the
ultimate principles of government.
But from the view-point of Historical Politics this word has a different
connotation. Consider, for example, the political literature that
appears under such headlines as "Constitutional History" or the "History
of Constitutional Government." Here Constitution means not abstract
philosophic principles of Government, but concrete political phenomena,
that is, political facts. Our constitutional historians do not as a
rule deal directly with the ultimate principles of government; but they
are concerned rather with their progressive phenomenal manifestations in
the assembly, the court, the office, the caucus, the convention, the
platform, the election, and the like. Thus Constitutional History is
simply a record of concrete political facts.
It is, however, in the literature of Jurisprudence that the term
"Constitution" is used in accordance with an exact definition.
Constitutional Law, or the Law of the Constitution, means a very
definite thing to the Jurist. It stands (at least in America) for a
written instrument which is looked upon "as the absolute rule of action
and decision for all departments and officers of government . . . and in
opposition to which any act or regulation of any such department or
officer, or even of the people themselves, will be altogether void." In
this sense a Constitution is a code of that which is fundamental in the
Law. To be sure, this code or text, as everybody knows, does not provide
for all that is fundamental in government. It usually contains much that
is temporary and unimportant. But to the American Jurist all that finds
expression in the written document labeled "Constitution" is
Constitutional Law. Accordingly, he defines the Constitution as the
written or codified body of fundamental law in accordance with which
government is instituted and administered.
It is as a code or text of fundamental law that the word "Constitution"
is used in the title of these pages. This is not a philosophical
discussion of the ultimate principles of our government, nor an outline
of our constitutional history, but simply a narrative touching the
written texts or codes that have served the people of Iowa as
fundamental law during the past sixty years.