CHAPTER 7 SECTION 3
NOTES
The Constitution
I. Roots of the Constitution
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After four months, the delegates created a new
constitution that allowed for a strong central
government of the United States.
Our framers studied other governments, and political
philosophers which influenced our Constitution including
ancient Greece, Magna Carta, John Locke, De
Montesquieu and the Enlightenment period.
Our Constitution is a contract between the government
and the people…it is our plan of government.
James Madison is known as the “Father of the
Constitution.”
II. The Federal System
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Federalism means the sharing of power between the federal
(national) and state governments.
Constitution gave the Federal government broad powers: regulate
trade, control the currency, raise an army and declare war.
Federal gov’t could also pass laws that were “necessary and
proper” for carrying out its responsibilities.
Constitution also gave states powers as well, including pass and
enforce laws (marriage and divorce laws), regulate trade within
their borders, create schools, locate governments and other
institutions that will help their citizens = Reserved powers
Constitution gave both the federal and state governments the power
to tax and build roads = Concurrent powers.
Constitution is the supreme law of the land. No state can make laws
that go against the Constitution. Why?
III. Organization of the Government: Federal
government is divided up into 3 Separate
Branches
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1. Legislative Branch: makes the laws for the Federal
Government. It is made of two houses: House of
Representatives- based off of a state’s population and the
Senate- each state would have two Senators. Both of houses
combined is called Congress. Congress has the power to tax,
coin money, regulate trade, declare war, raise and support
armies, and make laws needed to fulfill the functions of the
Legislative branch stated in the Constitution.
III. Continued
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2. Executive Branch: headed by the President to carry out the nation’s laws
and policies. The president is the Commander in Chief of the Armed
Forces and conducts relations with foreign countries. The president has
several cabinet departments that help him carry out laws and policies. Both
the President and Vice President are elected into office by the Electoral
College. Each state chooses electors to cast their vote for President and
Vice President. How many electors does each state have? It is equal to the
number of House of Representatives and Senators for each State.
(For example: Indiana has 11 Electoral College votes.)
III. Continued
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3. Judicial Branch: Court System. The Federal
government’s judicial power in in “one supreme
court” and the Federal courts. The Supreme Court
is the highest court in the nation.
IV. Checks and Balances: Separation
of powers…Why?
The framers of the Constitution did not want one branch of
government to gain too much power over the other two.
Therefore, they created a system of checks and balances.
Examples of Checks and Balances
 Both the House and the Senate must pass a bill before it
becomes a law and the president can “check” Congress by
vetoing or rejecting the bill….meaning he refuses to sign
the bill into law.
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IV. Continued
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If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can “check”
the President by overriding the veto= Congress re
votes on the bill but must have 2/3 majority in both
House of Representatives and Senate to pass it.
Then the President cannot reject it and it is signed
into law.
Another example: The President can appoint/select
Supreme Court Justices but the Senate must
approve them.
IV. Continued…
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Supreme Court can “check” the Congress and the
President by ruling on the constitutionality of laws
and presidential acts. We call this check: Judicial
Review.
IV. Continued
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Our Constitution was an experiment , a first of its
kind! It proved that people can change their
government through discussion and choice rather
than through war or force!
V. Constitutional Debate:
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While the convention created the Constitution, it had
to be approved by the people (states). Nine of the
thirteen states had to ratify (approved) the
Constitution before it became law.
States set up ratifying conventions where state
legislatures decided to support the Constitution or
not.
V. Constitutional Debate
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Federalists: Supporters of the new Constitution
included G. Washington, B. Franklin, J. Madison,
A. Hamilton, and J. Jay. Madison, Hamilton and
Jay wrote the Federalist Papers to persuade the
public to support the ideas of Federalism and the
Constitution. They supported having a strong
national government.
V. Continued
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Anti-Federalists: People who opposed the Constitution.
They too wrote papers to persuade the public called
the Anti- Federalist Papers. They believed that the new
Constitution would take away the liberties of Americans.
They also believed that the Constitution created a
strong central government. They feared it ignore the
will of the people and would favor the wealthy few
over the common people. Also- no government could
be trusted to the protect the freedoms of the people,
therefore, several state conventions wanted a bill of
rights attached to the Constitution. Abraham Yates,
George Clinton and Richard Henry Lee were Anti
Federalists.
VI. Adopting the Constitution
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December 7th, 1787: Delaware became the first
state to ratify the Constitution .
The 9th state to adopt/ratify was New Hampshire
on June 21st, 1788 = in theory with the 9th state to
adopt then the Constitution would go into effect .
PROBLEM! The two largest states had not ratified itNew York and Virginia. Virginia finally ratified
after being reassured that a bill of rights would be
added to the Constitution (added in 1791).
V. Continued
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New York ratified it in 1788 and then the two
remaining states of North Carolina and Rhode
Island soon followed.
So ALL 13 states ratified/approved the Constitution.
Do you think it was important to just get 9 of the 13
or all 13 states to ratify it? Why?