The US Constitution

1
The US Constitution

• Origins
• The Articles of Confederation
• The Philadelphia Convention
• Adopting the Constitution
• Principles of the Constitution
• Structure of the Constitution
• The Bill of Rights

2
Origins of the Constitution

• The US Constitution was created at the end of the
  War of Independence (1781), when the 13 American
  colonies became independent from Britain.
• The War of Independence (or American Revolution)
  was a conflict between the 13 American colonies
  and Britain.
• The colonies complained to Britain mainly about
  taxation and the lack of political
  representation.

3
The Articles of Confederation

• The 13 independent states had to create a new
  constitution and a new system of government.
• The first Constitution was adopted in 1781 and
  was called the Articles of Confederation.
• However, this first Constitution was subject to
  much criticism.

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Why was the first Constitution subject to
criticism?

• The first Constitution established a system of
  government where
• the national (federal) government had only
  limited powers
• the individual states had still too much power
• there wasnt a separate executive branch
• legislation required the approval of 9 of the 13
  states.

5
The Philadelphia Convention

• Some states believed that the Constitution (the
  Articles of Confederation) had to be modified in
  some way.
• THUS
• there was a Convention in Philadelphia, in 1787,
  where 55 delegates (known as the Founding
  Fathers, the Framers or the Founders) found a
  compromise between the different political forces
  at the convention.

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The Great Compromise

• The result of the Philadelphia Convention was a
  compromise between two models of government
• a strong national government
• a weak national government with strong individual
  states

7
Adopting the Constitution

• The new Constitution was accepted (or ratified)
  in 1789.
• At the beginning only 9 out of 13 states ratified
  the document
• the supporters of the new Constitution were
  called the Federalists, while its opponents the
  Antifederalists.
• In order to satisfy the opponents of the
  Constitution, in 1791, ten amendments (the Bill
  of Rights) were added.

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• The Federalists (Madison, Hamilton, etc.) wrote a
  series of newspaper articles in defence of the
  new Constitution known as the Federalist Papers.
• The Antifederalists feared an overcentralisation
  of power in the hands of the federal government.

9
Principles of the Constitution

• The six defining principles of the Constitution
  are
• The representation of the people (peoples
  consent) as the base for government
• A form of representation taking into
  consideration the rights of minorities as well
• The separation of powers (legislative, executive
  and judicial)
• Checks and balances between the branches of
  government
• Federalism the division of the powers of
  government between national state and individual
  states
• The acknowledgement of the rights of both the
  people and the states.

10
Structure of the Constitution

• The Constitution is made up of sections or
  Articles.
• The Articles describe the powers,
  responsibilities and character of the three
  branches of government.

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Preamble

• The two key features of the Preamble are
• We the People which emphasises the role of the
  people who wrote the new Constitution
• the broad purpose of the new federal government
  (establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,
  provide for common defence, etc.)

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Article I Congress

• Article I is about the Congress and its
  legislative powers.
• The Congress is divided into two chambers
  (bicameral structure)
• the Senate (elected every six years)
• the House of Representatives (elected every two
  years)
• The powers of the Congress are to collect taxes,
  borrow money, regulate commerce among the
  individual states, declare war, maintain an army
  and navy and run the post office.

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Article II the President

• Article II is about the President.
• The President is elected every four years. He can
  be re-elected for two terms of office.
• The President has important defence and foreign
  policy powers
• (for ex. he is the commander-in-chief of the
  armed forces and negotiate treaties with other
  countries).
• The President has limited domestic powers
• (he has to ensure that the laws are carried out,
  he has the right to veto bills).
• A vice-president can substitute the President in
  case of death or incapacity.

14
Article III the Supreme Court

• Article III is about the Supreme Court (judicial
  power).
• It can declare a law or action undertaken by the
  federal or state government unconstitutional.

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The Bill of Rights

• It is made up of 10 Amendments which were adopted
  four years after the Constitution was written.
• The Bill of Rights sets limits to the actions of
  the Congress, the Executive, the Judiciary and
  the National Government.
• It was intended to offer greater protection to
  individual citizens and the states against the
  power of the federal government.