Rule of Law

The phrase “rule of law” is often repeated—but rarely examined.

Does it simply mean that laws must be obeyed?

Or does it mean something deeper: that the law itself must be just, knowable, and above all—sovereign over power?

The U.S. Constitution embraces a radical idea for its time:

that government itself must obey rules.

Presidents cannot imprison critics.

Courts cannot invent guilt.

Congress cannot legislate away liberty—

unless they first silence the Constitution.

Under this principle, no person—elected or unelected—stands above the law.

Even those who execute or interpret the law are bound by it.

Power does not sanctify itself.

But the rule of law does not mean blind obedience.

Unjust laws have existed—and been resisted.

Jim Crow was law. Internment was law. Slavery was law.

Resistance was not lawless. It was loyal—to a higher law.

So the rule of law depends not just on enforcement,

but on moral clarity.

The courts must interpret.

The people must judge.

And when the law fails justice, it must be amended—not worshipped.

Law, in this vision, is not merely control.

It is covenant.

A shared promise that all—high and low—must answer to the same standards,

and that injustice, even when legal, is never legitimate.

Thus, the Constitution declares not that the law is always right,

but that power must never be above it.

Summarize

The Rule of Law: No One Above It

In America, the highest power is not a person.

It is not the President, Congress, or any court.

It is the law.

The law rules over everyone —

citizens and officials,

police and politicians,

even the President of the United States.

This idea is simple, but powerful:

The government must follow the law, too.

No secret orders.

No personal revenge.

No jail without cause.

No search without reason.

When the government breaks the law,

the people can challenge it in court.

And the Constitution stands with the people.

This is what makes a republic different from a kingdom.

In a kingdom, the king is the law.

In a republic, the law is king.

And in the American republic,

the Constitution is the crown —

and the people are its guardians.