The Collapse of Constitutional Loyalty: Civic Fidelity and Constitutional Responsibility in the United States

This paper examines the moral and institutional disintegration of constitutional loyalty in the United States. Once regarded as the ethical foundation of public service and civic virtue, loyalty to the Constitution has gradually been displaced by allegiance to power, party, and personality. The study traces this transformation across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, arguing that constitutional responsibility has been repurposed from a moral commitment to a rhetorical instrument of authority.Through analysis of historical precedents, Supreme Court jurisprudence, and civic philosophy, the paper demonstrates how the collapse of fidelity to constitutional principles has enabled a subtle yet profound form of institutional decay. The executive’s assertion of necessity, Congress’s silence, and the courts’ retreat into procedural neutrality together mark the erosion of the Republic’s ethical core.Ultimately, the study contends that the preservation of American constitutionalism requires more than legal compliance—it demands the renewal of civic conscience. Without the restoration of moral fidelity to the constitutional order, the rule of law risks devolving into a rule of obedience, and citizenship itself becomes an act of submission rather than stewardship.