Unit 2
• The document that creates our nations government.
• Creates 3 branches of government and gives directions on how
the federal (national) government works.
• Legislative
• Executive
• Judicial
• What is Democracy?
• “free and equal representation of people: the free and equal rights of
every person to participate in a system of government, often practiced by
electing representatives of the people by the majority of the people.”
• Are governments “by the people”
• Give citizens the right to vote
• Not all democratic governments are organized the same way
• Main difference;
• where the power sits- some keep it all in one place, while others
spread it out among states.
• Like a set of chairs around a
table.
• The states and central
government must work together
and balance out each other.
• Splits powers between
independent states and central
government
• ex) USA - power rests in both
places and each gets its
authority from a governing
document, like the Constitution..
• Independent branches inside the
central government may also
share power.
• There is national unity, but local governments can act as
needed.
• Citizens have more opportunities to be heard.
• Services can be duplicated by different levels of government.
• Disputes occur between national power and states’ rights.
• Many different chairs
• A confederation of states is like a bunch of different chairs
grouped together.
• Hold power independently but work collectively.
• An association of independent states.
• Central government gets it authority from the independent
states.
• Central government tends to get very little power.
• Power rests in each individual state, whose representatives meet
to address the needs of the group.
• Ex) the Confederate States during the Civil War
• Keeps the power of government at the local level
• States cooperate without losing their independence
• Central government may be too weak to effectively help the
group.
• Laws may differ from state to state; no uniformity
• One BIG chair
• All the power of the government sitting in one place, the central
government.
• Country may be divided into states or other sub-units, but they
have no power of their own.
• Ex) England, France.
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Uniform laws, policies, and enforcement across the country
Little conflict between state and national governments
Governments may be slow to meet local problems
Difficult to meet all the needs of all the citizens
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md2ZHlyYOsc
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Introduces the Constitution
Explains what the Constitution is meant to do
Describes the purpose of the new government
First three words- “We the people”- contains the important
idea of Self-government.
• First and longest part of the Constitution
• Legislative (law-making) branch
• Most important because it represents the people
• Responsible for turning the wants and needs of the people into laws.
• Makes us a representative democracy
• Citizens elect people to represent their needs and concerns to
Congress
• Divided into 2 parts:
• Senate
• House of Representatives
• Qualifications:
• At least 30 yrs old
• US citizen for at least 9 years
• Must live in the state that you represent.
• SIZE:
• 2 senators per state = 100 total
• Represent:
• the interests of the citizens in the entire states for 6yrs per term.
• Special duties:
• acts as a court during impeachments
• Role in lawmaking:
• a bill must be approved by BOTH houses of Congress before it can go to
the President to become a law.
• Qualifications:
• must be at least 25
• Been a US citizen for at least 7 years
• Live in the state you represent
• SIZE:
• Number per state depends on population= 435
• Represent:
• interests of the citizens who live in the district they represent within the
state for 2 yr terms
• Special Duties:
• All bills that raise money must start in the House of Representatives
• Role in lawmaking:
• A bill must be approved by BOTH houses of Congress before it can go to
the President to become a law.
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Collect Taxes
Borrow money to pay debts
Make rules for how to become a citizen
Regulate commerce (trade) with other nations, between states, and
with Indian tribes
Coin money and punish counterfeiters
Establish post offices
Give patents to new inventions
Create the lower federal courts
Punish pirates
Declare war and support an army and navy
Make any other laws that are “necessary and proper” to carry out
the powers on this list.
• By giving Congress these powers, the framers wanted the new
government to be more influential than its predecessor, the
Articles.
• Also, the framers sought to promote popular acceptance of this
critical change of the powers to reassure the citizens that their
views would be fully represented when the new government
exercised its new powers.
• Necessary and Proper clause or elastic clause- signifies that the
enumerated powers are meant to be a source of strength to the
national government, not a limitation. It is to implement the
expressed powers (the Constitution implies that any powers not
listed are not granted at all) that no new powers can be added
without a Constitutional amendment.
• Executive branch
• President- head
• Includes: Vice President, the cabinet, many civilian and military employees
• Qualifications:
• Natural born citizen/ a citizen of the US
• 35 years old
• Resident for 14 years within the US
• Act as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• Maintain a cabinet of advisors who run the 14 executive
departments like the State Department and the Treasury
• Grant pardons in all federal criminal offenses, and reprieves
(postpone punishments like executions)
• Negotiate treaties with other countries
• Appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court Justices and federal
court judges, and Cabinet members
• Make a state of the Union address to Congress
• Represent the United States when dealing with foreign countries.
• Make sure that laws are carried out (executed)
• The President does have the power to negotiate treaties, but
the Senate has to approve it.
• President can also Veto congressional enactments, but Congress
can override it with a 2/3 vote.
• Judicial branch- The Courts
• Interpret the laws to decide what they mean
• Shortest article of the three because it only creates one court- the
Supreme Court
• Gives direction on what court cases the Supreme Court will hear
• Guarantees trial by jury in criminal court and explains what the crime of
treason is.
• Judges are appointed for life.
• Powers
Power to resolve any conflicts that might emerge between federal and
state laws.
• The States
• Describes how the states interact with one another:
• Each state has to respect the laws and court decisions of the other
states
• If a criminal flees one state for another, the state where the crime was
committed can request the criminal be returned to face criminal
charges. This is called extradition.
• New states can be admitted to the Union with the authorization of
Congress and the President.
• All states must have a republican, or representative, type of
government.
• Supremacy clause: National laws and treaties “ shall be the
supreme law of the land.”
• This is to keep the states from dealing separately with foreign nations or
businesses.
• Describes what has to be done to amend the Constitution
• 2 steps:
• Amendment-a change or addition to the Constitution
• needs to be introduced
• Needs to be ratified (passed)
• First 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights and
these happened just a year after the Constitution was written.
http://www.howcast.com/videos/262766-how-to-amend-the-u-sconstitution/
• This is a very difficult process and has only happened 17 times
since 1791, when the first 10 amendments were added.
• Federalism- the idea that the national government shares power
with the state government.
• Limits the power of both the state and the national
• The laws and treaties of US government are “the supreme law
of the land”.
• Requires officials working in the state and federal governments
to take an oath to support the Constitution no matter what.
• So, if a state law disagrees with a federal law, the federal law
wins.
• Ratification
• The framers had to decide the best way to get the American people to
support it. Article VII calls for at least 9 of the 13 states had to ratify
(approve) the Constitution.
• Each state had to hold a convention to discuss and vote on the new
government plan.
• The biggest debate was the need for a Bill of Rights that would list
specific rights that were not already listed in the constitution.
• March 1789 the Constitution became the law of the land.
• Ratify- approve or pass an amendment
• Execute- carry out a law
• Federalism- system where the national government shares
power with state governments
• Republican- a representative form of government
• Propose- introduce a new amendment
• Federalists: wanted a strong central government and supported
the Constitution.
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Who were they?
Property owners, creditors, and merchants
What did they believe?
Elites are the best fit to govern and “ excessive democracy” is dangerous
What system of government did they favor?
Strong national government; believed in the “filtration” so that only elites
would obtain governmental power
• Who were their leaders?
• Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, George Washington
• Antifederalists: wanted a decentralized government and opposed the
Constitution. And didn’t have an alternate to the Constitution.
• Who were they?
• Small farmers, frontiersmen, debtors, shopkeepers
• What did they believe?
• Government should be close to the people and the concentration of
power in the hands of the elite is dangerous
• What system of government did they favor?
• Retention of power by state governments and protection of individual
rights
• Who were they?
• Patrick Henry, George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, George Clinton
• During this process, there were lots of essays, speeches,
pamphlets, and letters that were written to support or oppose
the Constitution.
• The most famous that was written were the 85 essays written by
Publius ( Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay)
They are called the Federalist Papers.
• Defend the principles of the Constitution
• Sought to dispel fears of national authority
• Antifederalist also wrote essays and New York Supreme Court
Justice Robert Yates wrote them under the name of Brutus.
Published in the New York Journal.
• Said the new Constitution betrayed the Revolution and was a
step towards monarchy.
• Letters and pamphlets were written by Senator Richard Henry
Lee under the name of Federal Farmer. They highlighted the
major differences of opinion between the Federalists and
Antifederalists.
• This can be called the very first nation wide campaign.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnDh9-X12Gc
• To safeguard against the misuse of power, the framers
incorporated 2 key principles:
• Separation of powers• Federalism
• Bill of Rights
• Separation of powers- even though these are not stated in the
Constitution, the entire structure of the national government was
built on Article I, Article II, and Article III.
• Checks and balances- each branch was given its own power but
also power over the other 2 branches.
• Most know about the Presidents veto as a power over Congress and
Congress’s power over the president is through control appointments to
high executive posts and to the judiciary.
• Congress also has the power over the President with its control of
appropriations and (by the Senate) the right of approval of treaties.
• Judiciary has the power of judicial review- power of the courts to render
the final decision when a conflict of interpretation of the Constitution of
law arises between the courts and Congress, over the other 2 branches.
• Important feature: the principle of giving each of the branches
a distinctly different constituency.
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Meaning the President is chosen by electors
House by popular vote
Senate (originally) by state legislature
Judiciary by Presidential appointment
• Each branch would develop different outlooks on how to govern, different
definitions of public interest, and different alliances with private interests.
• 27
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYG_f-y8-VY
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1st- Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition
2nd- right to bear arms
3rd- no quartering of soldiers
4th- right to privacy; no unwarrantable search and seizure
• 5th- right to remain silent, trial by grand jury, double jeopardy,
due process
• 6th- right to a speedy trial, jury by peers, face accusers, and
have a lawyer
• 7th- civil trials- $20
• 8th- no cruel and unusual punishment, no excessive bail (innocent
until proven guilty)
• 9th- if it’s not mentioned in the Constitution; it is reserved for the
people.
• 10th- reserved powers- if it is not in the Constitution, it is
reserved for the states.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epuwfzEJ4PU
• 11th- restrictions of federal lawsuits. Citizens cannot sue states
and states cannot sue other states.
• 12th- meant to fix the problems of the electoral college.
Electors vote separately for President and Vice President. No
Ties
• Reconstruction amendments:
• 13th- abolished slavery. FREE
• 14th- made ‘all persons born or naturalized in the United States’
citizens of the country. = CITIZENS
• 15th- voting rights for black males. VOTE
• 16th- permits congress to levy income taxes.
• 17th- direct election of Senators.
• 18th- prohibited the manufacture, sale and distribution of
alcoholic beverages
• 19th- women given the right to vote.
• 20th- “lame duck”. Moved the inauguration date from March
4th to January 20th for the President/VP. And March 4th to
January 3rd for Senators and Reps. It discusses what happens in
the President dies.
• 21sts- repealed prohibition
• 22nd- 2 term limits for the President.
• 23rd- rights of voting to citizens in Washington DC and that they
get votes in electoral college.
• 24th- prohibits poll tax in federal elections. State poll tax went
on until 1966.
• 25th- creates a line of succession for Presidency. Pres, VP,
Speaker of House, Senator Pro Tempore, Sec of State
• 26th- lowered the voting age to 18
• 27th- banned Congress from raising its member salaries right
before the next election.