Do Now:
Why
is it important to know the traffic rules before you are allowed to
drive?
Explain the basic principles, or rules of driving? Why are they important
and why should they be followed?
In
this section, students will learn about the basic principles of the
Constitution.
prin·ci·ple
a fundamental truth or proposition
that serves as the foundation for a
system of belief or behavior or for a
chain of reasoning.
• The Constitution is a fairly brief document, around 4500 words
without amendments. This brief document has successfully guided
this nation through two centuries of tremendous growth and change.
• It begins with a short, noteworthy introduction, the Preamble, and the
balance of the original document is divided into seven numbered
sections called articles.
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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Article 1: Legislative Branch
Article 2: Executive Branch
Article 3: Judicial Branch
Article 4: State Relationships (Federalism)
Article 5: Amending the Constitution
Article 6: Establishes Constitution as Supreme Law of the Land
Article 7: Ratification Requirements
27 Amendments
Popular Sovereignty
* In the United States, all
political power resides in the
people.
* The people are
Sovereign.
* Government can govern
only with the consent of the
governed
Limited Government
No government is allpowerful, that a
government may do
only those things that
the people have given it
the power to do.
* Basic American powers
are distributed, separated
among 3 distinct and
independent branches of
Government.
* The Constitution
distributes the powers of
the National Government
among the Congress (the
legislative branch), the
President (the executive
branch), and the courts (the
judicial branch).
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
* Each branch is subject to a number of constitutional
checks (restraints) by the other branches.
* In other words, each branch has certain powers with
which it can check the operations of the other two
Judicial Review
* The power of courts to
determine whether what
government does is in accord
with what the Constitution
provides.
* It is the power of a court to
determine the
constitutionality of a
governmental action.
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Federalism
The division of power among a central government and
several regional governments.
In groups, identify the following 6 basic principles
in the constitution. List by Article, section and
paragraph. You must have at least two per
principle.
• Popular Sovereignty- Authority is created by the consent of
the governed
• Limited Government- Authority is limited by written rules
• Separation of Powers- Separate entities within government
that struggle against each other
• Checks and Balances- Explicit rules which allow branches of
government to control each other’s power
• Judicial Review- The power of the judicial branch to declare
acts unconstitutional
• Federalism- States and National government share power
• Assign the class into groups of 6. Each person in the
group will look in the book to define one of the six
basic principles. Provide each group with 5-6 index
cards. Have group members write the definition of their
principle on one card, and examples of the principle or
terms associated with it on the rest of the cards. Put
what principle it is on the back. Cards from all of the
groups should be placed in a box and shuffled. After
the teacher has listed the six principles on the
whiteboard, students should alternate turns picking a
card and placing it under the appropriate principle on
the board. Groups earn one point for each member’s
correct response.
Name: _________________
U.S. Government
Date: ___________________
Mr. Cavazos
Period: ______________
Judicial Review
Checks & Balances
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Popular Sovereignty
Limited Government
• Translate the Preamble to the Constitution into
today’s common language. Hint: Try breaking
the text into chunks or phrases and focus on
one at a time.
• Underline any words that you don’t know what
they mean/are not comfortable with.