The Constitution

1
The Constitution

• Magruder Chapter Three

2
The Six Basic Principles

• Section One

3
Basic Principles

• Popular Sovereignty
• Government can govern only with the consent of
  the governed
• Sovereign people created the Constitution and the
  government

4
Basic Principles

• Limited Government
• Government may do only those things that the
  people have given it the power to do
• The government and its officers are always
  subject to the law

5
Basic Principles

• Separation of Powers
• The Constitution distributes the powers of the
  National government among Congress (legislative
  branch), the President (executive branch), and
  the courts (judicial branch).

6
Basic Principles

• Separation of Powers (con)
• The Framers of the Constitution created a
  separation of powers in order to limit the powers
  of the government and to prevent tyrannytoo much
  power in the hands of one person or a few people.

7
Basic Principles

• Checks and Balances
• Each branch of government was subject to a number
  of constitutional restraints by the other
  branches.
• Veto power, judicial review, nomination and
  confirmation, etc.

8
Basic Principles

• Checks and Balances (con)
• Although there have been instances of spectacular
  clashes between branches, usually the branches of
  government restrain themselves as they attempt to
  achieve their goals.

9
Basic Principles

• Judicial Review
• Through the landmark case Marbury v. Madison
  (1803), the judicial branch possesses the power
  to determine the constitutionality of an action
  of the government.

10
Basic Principles

• Judicial Review (con)
• In most cases the judiciary has supported the
  constitutionality of government acts but in more
  than 130 cases, the courts have found
  congressional acts to be unconstitutional, and
  they have voided thousands of acts of States and
  local governments

11
Basic Principles

• Federalism
• Federalism is the division of political power
  among a central government and several regional
  governments
• United States federalism originated in American
  rebellion against the edicts of a distant central
  government in England

12
Basic Principles

• Federalism (con)
• Federalism is a compromise between a strict
  central government and a loose confederation,
  such as that provided for in the Articles of
  Confederation.

13
Formally Amending the Constitution

• Section Two

14
Formal Amendment Process

• First Method
• Amendment is proposed by Congress by a two-thirds
  vote in both houses, then ratified by
  three-fourths of the State legislatures.

15
Formal Amendment Process

• Second Method
• Amendment is proposed by Congress by a two-thirds
  vote in both houses, then ratified by special
  conventions in three-fourths of the States

16
Formal Amendment Process

• Third Method
• Amendment is proposed at a national convention
  called by Congress when requested by two-thirds
  of the State legislatures, then ratified by
  three-fourths of the State legislatures.

17
Formal Amendment Process

• Fourth Method
• Amendment is proposed at a national convention
  called by Congress when requested by two-thirds
  of the State legislatures, then ratified by
  special conventions held in three-fourths of the
  States.

18
Formal Amendment Process

• Cannot amend the Constitution to changed a
  States representation in the Senate without that
  States consent.

19
The 27 Amendments

• The first 10 amendments are called the Bill of
  Rights because they set out the great
  constitutional guarantees of freedoms for the
  American people.

20
The 27 Amendments

• The Civil War Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th)
  combined to end slavery, define citizenship,
  proclaim the rights to due process and equal
  protection of the law, and outlaw restrictions on
  the right to vote based on race, color, or
  previous condition of servitude.

21
The 27 Amendments

• Other amendments further define the workings of
  government, empower the government in certain
  ways, or deal with important social issues.

22
Informal Amendments

• Section Three

23
Informal Amendments

• Basic Legislation
• Congress can pass laws that spell out some of the
  Constitutions brief provisions
• Congress can pass laws defining and interpreting
  the meaning of constitutional provisions.

24
Informal Amendments

• Executive Action
• Presidents have used their powers to delineate
  unclear constitutional provisions, for example,
  making a difference between Congresss power to
  declare war and the Presidents power to wage war.

25
Informal Amendments

• Executive Action (con)
• Presidents have extended their authority over
  foreign policy by making informal executive
  agreements with representatives of foreign
  governments, avoiding the constitutional
  requirement for the Senate to approve formal
  treaties.

26
Informal Amendments

• Court Decisions
• The nations courts interpret and apply the
  Constitution as they see fit, as in Marbury v.
  Madison.
• The Supreme Court has been called a
  constitutional convention in continuous session.

27
Informal Amendments

• Party Practices
• Political parties have been a major source of
  informal amendments.
• Political parties have shaped government and its
  processes by holding political conventions,
  organizing Congress along party lines, and
  injecting party politics in the process of
  presidential appointments.

28
Informal Amendments

• Custom
• Each branch of government has developed
  traditions that fall outside the provisions of
  the Constitution.
• An example is the executive advisory body known
  as the Presidents cabinet.

29
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