American Constitutional and Administrative Systems in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Some cautions must be kept in mind when American constitutional and administrative systems are examined from a comparative perspective. The most important is that to a remarkable extent the course of political development in the United States has been influenced by internal rather than external factors. The resulting constitutional and administrative amalgam is a product which is uniquely American, even though it can be traced historically to diverse origins and more recently has furnished a pattern influential in political choices made by other countries scattered around the globe. A focus on comparative aspects means that these indigenous forces can be treated only incidentally, despite their overall significance in shaping American politics. Other contributors to this symposium will be able to concentrate on the impact of such factors as geographical distance from Europe; a colonial population made up largely of individuals who had made a personal choice to cut their ties with the Old World and were determined to resist governmental intrusions affecting their lives; the opportunity to move from frontier to frontier in settling most of a continent; the surge of growth during the American industrial revolution resulting from westward expansion, the influx of immigrants, improved communication and transportation, the spread of manufacturing, and increasing urbanization; and the consequent social and economic crises which demanded governmental responses. 1 Another caveat is that in making comparisons it must be recognized that during the whole course of American history neither the constitutional nor the administrative system has ever been based on the existence of full consensus. Although basic characteristics can be identified, these mask a welter of differences in objectives sought, in understandings as to the intent of choices formally agreed upon, and in subsequent interpretations as to the meaning of these choices. A further complication is that constitutional and administrative systems are dynamic, not static. In the American case, each system existed in embryonic form before taking definite shape, has subsequently gone through a series of changes, and will continue to evolve. To make comparative analysis manageable, it helps to have only a limited number of chronological check-