How is the principle of "rule of law" evident in the Constitution?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Well, for one thing it says it is the supreme law of the land (the Supremacy Clause), and also says that any powers not explicitly given to the Federal government are prohibited to it (reserved to the states, or the people, by the Tenth Amendment).  In principle that means the Federal government is limited to the powers written down in the Constitution, and can't just do stuff because the President is popular.  In practice...well, that's kind of been eroded over the past 200 years.

The Constitution is silent on the subject of "ordinary" law, i.e. state law, the law that most affects citizens every day, laws about crime, marriage, business, inheritance, et cetera, except that it says every state has to have a republican form of government, and cannot infringe on civil liberties granted by the Constitution.