The Constitution

1
The Constitution

• We the People of the United States, in Order to
  form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
  insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
  common defence, promote the general Welfare, and
  secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and
  our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
  Constitution for the United States of America

2
PARTS

1. PREAMBLE Introduction to the Constitution it
   lists the six basic principles for our government
2. ARTICLES The articles laying out the framework
   for our government (seven)
3. AMENDMENTS Changes made to the Constitution
   after the initial ratification

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Basic Principles

• These six principles are the ideas and standards
  that our government is based on and functions
  according to.
• Popular Sovereignty
• Limited Government
• Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
• Judicial Review
• Federalism
• With these in mind, why did the framers include
  the Preamble in the Constitution?

4
Popular Sovereignty

• People are the ONLY source of governments power
• We the Peopledo ordain and establish
• Governments power comes from the people, and the
  people have given government permission to govern
  by the constitution

5
Checks and Balances

• Checks and balances is a way for the government
  to give each branch power over the other two
• The idea is to keep one branch from becoming more
  powerful than the others and controlling
  government
• Why would the framers want to ensure one branch
  did not become too powerful?

6
Limited Government

• The idea that government is not all powerful and
  can be limited
• Government can do only those things the PEOPLE
  have given it the power to do
• States that government must obey the law
• The entire Constitution is a statement of Limited
  Government

When did the idea of Limited Government begin?
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Judicial Review

• Has the power of the courts to determine whether
  what government does is in compliance with what
  the Constitution says
• Basically, if a case is brought to the courts
  questioning a law or some other government
  action, the court must look at the law and
  determine if it violates the Constitution

• If it does, the courts declare it
  unconstitutional, and the law or action is thrown
  out and no longer in effect (Null and Void)

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The Articles

• There are 7 articles in the second section of the
  Constitution, each accomplishing different things
• Article 1 The legislative article lays out the
  structure and powers of the legislative branch
• Article 2 The executive article lays out the
  structure and powers of the executive branch
• Article 3 The judicial article establishes a
  national judiciary and gives Congress the power
  to create additional court systems
• Article 4 Deals with the relationships between
  states
• Article 5 Provides methods for amending the
  Constitution
• Article 6 Deals with the National Debt
• Article 7 Provides provisions for ratification
  of the Constitution

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Amending the Constitution

• Article V provided four methods to amend the
  Constitution
• An amendment is a change to the Constitution or
  clarification of something in the Constitution

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The Four Methods

• Method 1
• Proposed by a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress
• Ratified by ¾ of the state legislatures
• Method 2
• Proposed by a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress
• Ratified by conventions in ¾ of the states

• Method 3
• Proposed by a national convention called by
  Congress at the request of 2/3 of the states
• Ratified by ¾ of the state legislatures
• Method 4
• Proposed by national convention called by
  Congress at the request of 2/3 of the states
• Ratified by conventions in ¾ of the states

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Amendments, continued

• There is no time limit for ratification of an
  amendment once it is proposed
• Congress may set a time limit if they so choose
• Example The 27th amendment was proposed in 1789
  as part of the Bill of Rights, however it was not
  ratified until 1992, 203 years later!!!

• 26 of the 27 amendments have been added through
  method 1
• The 21st amendment was added through method 2 in
  1933
• This 21st amendment is the only amendment that
  cancels out another
• It repealed the 18th amendment, which outlawed
  the sale and consumption of alcohol

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Amendments, continued

• The amendments are divided into three groups
  (click the group below to see the amendments in
  each group)
• BILL OF RIGHTS Amendments 1 through 10
• CIVIL WAR AMENDMENTS Amendments 13 through 15
• LATER AMENDMENTS Amendments 16 through 27
• (Amendments 11 and 12 are generally considered to
  be an extension of the Bill of Rights, and
  therefore not included in any of the three groups)

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Informal Amendments

• The Constitution can be informally changed
  through 5 methods
• Basic Legislation of Congress
• Actions of the President
• Supreme Court Decisions
• Activities of the Political Parties
• Custom

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Basic Legislation

• Congress may pass laws that spell out or add
  detail to one of the Constitutions brief
  provisions
• Ex. 25th Amendment provides for Presidential
  succession beyond what the original Constitution
  stated
• Congress can add to the Constitution through the
  way it uses its powers
• Ex. Constitution says Congress has the power to
  regulate foreign and interstate commerce, but
  does not define what that is. Congress has
  passed thousands of laws dealing with all
  different aspects of trade.

15
Executive Action

• The manner in which various Presidents have used
  their power has also contributed to the growth of
  the Constitution
• Ex. Congress can declare war, but President is
  Commander in Chief and can send military where he
  chooses.

16
Court Decisions

• Part of the job of the courts is to interpret the
  Constitution. These interpretations have changed
  the Constitution over the years.

• Ex. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the courts ruled that
  separate facilities for different races were
  Constitutional. Later in Brown v. Board of
  Education, the court struck down this ruling and
  stated that separate facilities are
  Unconstitutional.

17
Party Practices

• The Constitution makes no mention of political
  parties, yet they have changed the way politics
  are handled in this country for as long as the
  country has been around.
• Ex. The Constitution makes no mention of how
  candidates would be chosen to run for President,
  yet parties have been nominating candidates since
  the 1796 election.

18
Custom

• Various customs and traditions have contributed
  to the Constitution over the years, many thanks
  to George Washington himself.
• Ex. The Constitution makes no mention of the
  Presidents cabinet, but Washington had one, so
  every President since him has had one.
• Ex. Washington stated that Presidents should
  serve no more than 2 terms, so none did until FDR
  in the 1930s and 1940s.

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Review

• What are the three parts of the Constitution.
• The ________ lists the six basic principles.
• According to popular sovereignty, who is the
  source of governments power?
• Judicial Review gives the courts power to?
• Why do we have checks and balances?
• How can we amend the Constitution? Which one has
  been used most often?
• Which amendments are included in the Bill of
  Rights? The Civil War Amendments? The Later
  Amendments?
• Give an example of the President informally
  changing the Constitution through executive
  action
• Give an example of an informal change through
  custom

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Later amendments

• The later amendments include all those passed
  since the 3 civil war amendments
• 16th Amendment Income Tax
• 17th Amendment Popular Election of Senators
• 18th Amendment Prohibition of Alcohol
• 19th amendment Voting rights for women
• 20th Amendment Set dates/times for end of
  terms, sets conditions in case of the death of a
  President-elect
• 21st Amendment Repeal of the 18th amendment
  (prohibition)
• 22nd amendment Set limit at two terms maximum
  for a president

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Civil War Amendments

• The Civil War Amendments were passed as a direct
  response to the outcome of The Civil war. They
  all deal with slavery in one way or another.
• 13th Amendment Outlawed slavery and Involuntary
  servitude in the United States of America
• 14th Amendment Helped make former slaves
  citizens of the U.S. and gave them all the rights
  that being a citizen entails
• 15th Amendment Written to give former slaves
  the right to vote, however was not entirely
  successful in doing so for nearly 100 years

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22
Bill of Rights

• The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to list out
  the basic rights of all Americans so these rights
  could not be violated as they were in the years
  of British rule under King George III
• Amendment 1 Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion,
  Assembly, and Petition
• Amendment 2 The right to bear arms
• Amendment 3 Protects against the Quartering of
  Troops
• Amendment 4 Protects against illegal search and
  seizure of personal property
• Amendment 5 Insures due process, protects
  against eminent domain, provides rules for
  criminal hearings, and protects against
  self-incrimination
• Amendment 6 Right to a speedy and public trial
  and right to trial by jury
• Amendment 7 Provides stipulations for civil
  trials
• Amendment 8 Protects against excessive bail and
  cruel and unusual punishment
• Amendment 9 States that the rights listed in
  the Constitution are not all the rights given to
  the American people
• Amendment 10 States that all powers not granted
  to the National government or forbidden to the
  states, belong to the states

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