The Illusion of Constitutional Restraint in Modern American Politics

Read time: 6 minutes
By Caleb Minson, The Suburban Country Boy™

​Many people feel confused about politics today, not because they are uninformed, but because the system no longer works the way it claims to. Rules do not lead to clear results anymore. Decisions are reversed all the time, and nothing feels settled. This confusion comes from watching a system that no longer turns rules into predictable outcomes.

What we still call “law” still exists, but it no longer works as a shared set of limits that apply to everyone equally. It does not reliably stop those in power before they act. Instead, decisions are made first, and legal explanations come later. The real question is no longer “Is this legal?” but “Who will this apply to, and who will enforce it?”

This is why everything feels subjective. Subjective does not mean chaotic or lawless. It means decisions are made based on who has authority and influence rather than on clear rules. Enforcement still exists. Punishment still exists. What has changed is the belief that the same rules apply no matter who you are.

Because the system feels unstable, many people turn to the Constitution for comfort, assuming it still restrains power the way it once did. From the very start, the Constitution was not applied evenly or absolutely. Political deals, power struggles, and selective enforcement shaped how it worked in practice. From day one, its force depended more on what leaders were willing to respect than on what the text said.

Over more than 250 years, the Constitution was amended, reinterpreted, and worked around so many times that its limits became unclear. Early compromises and unresolved contradictions piled up rather than being fixed. These tensions eventually helped lead to the Civil War, which settled who would control the country through force rather than through constitutional agreement.

The Civil War decided who would prevail, but it did not clearly define how power should be restrained afterward. Federal authority was no longer just an idea; it had been proven by victory. What followed was not a clear or stable system, but a long period of uncertainty about where power belonged and how it should be used.

Today, the Constitution is often used more as an argument than as a guide for governing.

This helps explain the constant anger and confusion among the public. Many people still believe leaders are restrained by the Constitution in the same way they once were. When a leader does something that feels clearly unconstitutional, people react with shock and outrage. But in reality, the systems that once prevented those actions no longer work the same way. Actions happen first, power decides whether they stand, and constitutional arguments come afterward. People are not crazy, they are reacting to a system that no longer matches what they were taught.

This uncertainty did not disappear on its own. In the early 1900s, it passed through an important turning point with President Woodrow Wilson. Wilson believed the Constitution was outdated and could not handle modern industrial society. He argued that experts and administrators should manage government instead of strict constitutional limits.

Under Wilson, these ideas began to take shape. The federal government gained control over money through the Federal Reserve, secured steady funding through the income tax, and expanded federal power during World War I. Emergency powers, censorship, and federal control over industries became normal. Much of this power remained even after the war ended.

These ideas later expanded under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the Great Depression, the New Deal created large federal programs and agencies to manage the economy and society. These programs were meant to solve real problems, but they also greatly increased federal power beyond what the Constitution clearly described.

Over time, this led to the rise of what many call a “fourth branch” of government. Unelected agencies and bureaucracies now write rules, enforce them, and judge disputes. These institutions remain in place no matter who wins elections. Power flows through them not because of secret plots, but because managing a complex society made them seem necessary.

Congress has not stopped this growth. Instead, it has allowed it. Laws are often passed in massive bills that no single lawmaker can fully read or understand. Responsibility is spread out so no one is clearly accountable. Voting becomes a formality rather than a careful decision.

Presidents face the same problem. Because passing lasting laws is so difficult, they rely on executive orders. Each new president reverses many of the last president’s actions. Nothing lasts, because neither side trusts the other with permanent power. Short-term control replaces stable rules.

All of this leads to a deeper problem. Legitimacy itself is now contested. Losing an election is no longer accepted as final, and winning does not settle disputes. Every decision is challenged, and power must be constantly used to hold ground.

This creates constant conflict among the public. When one side’s leader does something that feels wrong or unconstitutional, people turn on each other. Media outlets amplify outrage and frame every action as either a disaster or a victory. People fight over actions that no longer violate a working constitutional limit, but an older expectation of one.

At this point, the only real anchor left is power. Power decides what happens, which rules are enforced, and when they apply. This does not mean power is right. It simply means power acts first.

Understanding this does not require giving up or revolting. It requires seeing the system as it is, not as we wish it still were. The rules no longer explain outcomes. Power does.

​Might does not make right. Might makes action. Those who rule do so because they have power, not because they are morally correct. Confusing power with legitimacy is the central mistake of our time. Seeing that clearly is not surrender. It is orientation.