Constantinople honour second only to that of the pope. Only Eastern bish¬ ops were summoned to the council, but the Greeks claimed that it was ecumenical. It did come to be so regarded, though the Western church did not accept the ranking of Constantinople as second to Rome until the 13th century. The Second Council of Constantinople, held in 553, was called by Justinian I; by endorsing an edict of Justinian’s, it lent support to Mono- physitism and diminished the earlier Council of Chalcedon. The Third Council of Constantinople, held in 680, condemned the Monothelites, who claimed that Christ had a single will despite his two natures. The Fourth Council of Constantinople, held in 869-870 at the suggestion of Basil I, resulted in the excommunication of St. Photius and increased the animosity between the Eastern and Western churches.
Constantius I Chlorus Vkon-'stan-che-os-'klor-osV orig. Flavius Valerius Constantius Latin "the Pale" (b. c. 250, Dacia Ripensis—d. summer 306, Ebo- racum, Britain) Roman emperor and father of Constantine I. A member of the tetrarchy (four-person ruling body) with his adoptive father Max- imian, Diocletian, and Galerius, he was made caesar (subemperor) in the West (293-305) and later caesar augustus (senior emperor) (305- 306). As ruler of Gaul, he subdued rebellion in Britain (296), ended piracy, restored the frontier, and largely ignored edicts against Chris¬ tians.
constellation Any of certain groupings of stars that were imag¬ ined by those who named them to form images of objects, mythologi¬ cal figures, or creatures in the sky.
They are useful in helping sky gaz¬ ers and navigators locate certain stars. A constellation’s stars are often designated by its name and letters of the Greek alphabet in order of brightness. Of 88 named constellations in Western astronomy, about half retain the names Ptolemy gave the 48 he identified in his Almagest. See also ZODIAC.
constitution Set of doctrines and practices that form the fundamental organizing principle of a political state. It may be written (e.g., the Con¬ stitution of the United States) or partly written and uncodified (e.g., Brit¬ ain’s constitution). Its provisions usually specify how the government is to be organized, what rights it shall have, and what rights shall be retained by the people. Modem constitutional ideas developed during the Enlight¬ enment, when philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke proposed that constitutional governments should be stable, adaptable, accountable, and open, should represent the governed, and should divide power according to its purpose. The oldest constitution still in force is that of the state of Massachusetts (1780). See also social con¬ tract.
Constitution, USS known as Old Ironsides One of the first frigates built for the U.S. Navy. Launched in 1797, it was 204 ft (62 m) long and usually carried more than 50 guns and a crew of over 450. It was the successful flagship of the Tripolitan War (1801-05), and in the War of 1812 it vanquished the British frigate Guerriere\ tradition holds that it was nicknamed by sailors who saw the British shot failing to penetrate its oak sides. It was condemned as unseaworthy in 1828, but Oliver Wen¬ dell Holmes’s poem “Old Ironsides” sparked a public preservation cam¬ paign. Restored in 1927-31, it is now berthed in Boston and open to the public.
Constitution Act See Canada Act (1982)
Constitution of 1791 French constitution created by the National Assembly during the French Revolution. It retained the monarchy, but sov¬ ereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a system of indirect voting. The franchise was restricted to “active” citizens who paid a minimal sum in taxes; about two-thirds of adult men had the right to vote for electors and to choose certain local officials directly. The constitution lasted less than a year.
Constantius I Chlorus, marble bust; in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.
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456 I Constitution of 1795 ► consumer credit
Constitution of 1795 (Year III) French constitution established dur¬ ing the Thermidorian Reaction in the French Revolution. Known as the Con¬ stitution of Year III in the French republican calendar, it was prepared by the Thermidorian Convention. It was more conservative than the abortive democratic Constitution of 1793. The Constitution of 1795 established a liberal republic with a franchise based on the payment of taxes, similar to that of the Constitution of 1791 ; a bicameral legislature to slow down the legislative process; and a five-man Directory. The central government retained great power, including emergency powers to curb freedom of the press and freedom of association.
Constitution of the Third Republic See Constitutional Laws of
1875
Constitution of the United States Fundamental law of the U.S. federal system of government and a landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in operation, completed in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention of 55 delegates who met in Philadelphia, ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation. The Con¬ stitution was ratified in June 1788, but because ratification in many states was contingent on the promised addition of a Bill of Rights, Congress pro¬ posed 12 amendments in September 1789; 10 were ratified by the states, and their adoption was certified on Dec. 15, 1791. The framers were espe¬ cially concerned with limiting the power of the government and securing the liberty of citizens. The Constitution’s separation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, the checks and baances of each branch against the other, and the explicit guarantees of individual liberty were all designed to strike a balance between authority and liberty. Article I vests all legislative powers in the Congress —the House of Rep¬ resentatives and the Senate. Article II vests executive power in the presi¬ dent. Article III places judicial power in the hands of the courts. Article IV deals, in part, with relations among the states and with the privileges of the citizens. Article V with amendment procedure, and Article VI with public debts and the supremacy of the Constitution. Article VII stipulates that the Constitution would become operational after being ratified by nine states. The 10th Amendment limits the national government’s powers to those expressly listed in the Constitution; the states, unless otherwise restricted, possess all the remaining (or “residual”) powers of government. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states. (All subsequent amendments have been initiated by Congress.) Amendments proposed by Congress must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or by conventions in as many states. Twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1789. In addition to the Bill of Rights, these include the 13th (1865), abolishing slavery; the 14th (1868), requir¬ ing due process and equal protection under the law; the 15th (1870), guar¬ anteeing the right to vote regardless of race; the 17th (1913), providing for the direct election of U.S. senators; the 19th (1920), instituting wom¬ en’s suffrage, and the 22nd (1951), limiting the presidency to two terms. See also civil liberty; commerce cause; Equal Rights Amendment; establishment cause; freedom of speech; judiciary; states' rights.
Constitution of the Year VIII (1799) French constitution established after the Coup of 18-19 Brumaire during the French Revolution. Drafted by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, it disguised the true character of the military dic¬ tatorship created by Napoleon, reassuring the partisans of the Revolution by proclaiming the irrevocability of the sale of national property and by upholding the legislation against the emigre nobility. It created the regime known as the Consuate, which concentrated all real power in the hands of Napoleon. Submitted to a plebiscite, it won overwhelmingly in 1800.