UNDERSTANDING
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 01
THE BASICS
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The United States Constitution is the highest law in our country.
All of our laws come from the Constitution.
It says how the government works.
Article 1 creates the Congress (Legislative Branch).
Article 2 creates the Presidency (Executive Branch).
Article 3 creates the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch).
Article 4 defines states’ powers, they must recognize each others laws.
Article 5 describes the amendment process.
Article 6 Federal laws are above all others.
Article 7 Ratification; how to approve it.
Each state also has a constitution, they are the highest laws for that state — but the
United States Constitution is the highest law of the land.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 02
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A “LIVING” DOCUMENT
The Constitution is a living document because it can be changed. It is changed by an
amendment.
The first 10 amendments are called The Bill of Rights. By defining these rights in the
Constitution, they are federally guaranteed to all.
There have been 27 amendments. Not all of them involve rights, but many do.
Article 5 describes the amendment process; two-thirds or 66% of each house of Congress
(House of Representatives & Senate) must approve, then ratified by three-fourths or 75%
of the legislatures of the states.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 03
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION
• The Constitution was written in 1787 by a group of men known as the
Framers. They fiercely debated what should be in the Constitution of our
brand new country.
• The Articles of Confederation did not work very well. Shays’ Rebellion
showed the Framers the need to find a new way to run the country.
• Delegates of The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia, they
included: James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, & George Washington.
• Anti-federalists insisted on a Bill of Rights which became the first 10
amendments to the original Constitution.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 04
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION (cont.)
• In 1787, there were only 13 states. All states, except Rhode Island, sent
delegates to the convention. Each state had its own ideas for the new
government.
• There was the New Jersey Plan, The Virginia Plan, The Great
Compromise, The 3/5ths Compromise, many opinions and issues had to
be accommodated to unite the States. The key to becoming united was
compromise!
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 05
THE PREAMBLE
• The Preamble to the Constitution has no force in law; instead, it
establishes the "Why" of the Constitution, explaining why this document
exists.
• It reflects the desires of the Framers to improve on the government they
currently had (to be "more perfect" than the Articles of Confederation), to
ensure that our government would be just, and would protect its citizens
from internal strife and from attack from the outside.
• It would be of benefit to the people, rather than to their detriment. And,
perhaps more importantly, it intended to do the same for the future
generations of Americans.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 06
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 07
AMENDMENTS
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When the Constitution was written, the Framers knew their creation was not perfect. They
knew that other people would have good ideas for the Constitution and wanted to be sure that it
wasn't too hard to make changes or, for that matter, too easy.
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The Framers created an amendment process. An amendment to the Constitution is a change
that can add to the Constitution or change an older part of it.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 08
AMENDMENTS (cont.)
• The original Constitution had no bill of rights. Many of the Framers did not think
it was needed (Federalists), others disagreed (Anti-federalists), so promises were
made to add one using the amendment process.
• Soon, the new government started meeting. Congress proposed The Bill of
Rights. A list of twelve changes was sent to the states. In 1791, ten of those
changes were agreed to by the states. The ten changes were added to the
Constitution.
• These first ten amendments are known as ”The Bill of Rights."
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 09
THE BILL OF RIGHTS
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The Bill of Rights identifies 10 specific freedoms. The First Amendment deals with…
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 10
HOW THE CONSTITUTION WORKS
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 11
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
• The Legislature, called Congress,
makes laws. It is bicameral or
composed of two parts. The
upper house is the Senate, & the
lower house is the House of
Representatives.
• In the Senate all states are
equally represented (2 senators
per state) in the House of
Representatives, states are
represented proportionally based
upon their population.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 12
THE SENATE
• The are two Senators from each
state. Since we have 50 states there
are 100 Senators. The people elect
Senators in public elections.
Senators must…
• Be 30 years old
• Be a US citizen for 9 years
• Be a citizen of the state they
represent
• Serve a 6 year term
Current Arizona Senators
John McCain
Jeff Flake
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 13
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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Representatives are from a district within a state and represent the people in that district.
The people have the right to tell them how they feel about issues. Currently there are 435
Representatives. Their number is based on population. Both states & territories ( i.e.
Puerto Rico, Guam, & American Samoa) are represented. Arizona currently has 9
representatives in the House of Representatives.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 14
THE UNITED STATES CAPITAL BUILDING
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 15
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
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When the Congress wants to pass a law, both the House and the Senate must agree to the
exact same law. If they cannot agree, then the law cannot pass.
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A proposed law is called a bill and is given a number. Either house can propose a bill but
both must agree on it. Senate Bill 98703 and House Bill 98758 might be two versions of the
same bill.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 16
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
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The role of the Executive Branch is mainly to make sure the law is carried out &
includes all forms of law enforcement. The President heads the executive which
includes his cabinet.
Under the president are all cabinet members and department heads (called
Secretaries) who report directly to the president.
The cabinet includes the vice president and 15 departments, plus the attorney
general.
The Secretaries of all the departments report to the Executive such as: Homeland
Security, Education, EPA, Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Justice, Labor,
Transportation, & others.
The Directors of the FBI and the CIA report to the president, but they are not a part
of the president’s cabinet.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 17
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 18
THE WHITE HOUSE
The White House is the official residence & office of The
President. Cabinet members & the VP work there too.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 19
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
• The third branch is the Judiciary. Its role is to interpret the law. The
federal court system is headed up by the Supreme Court because it is the
highest court in the land. Supreme Court Judges are nominated by the
President and approved by the Senate. They serve for life but can
choose to retire at any age. States have their own court systems
including their own Supreme Courts which have final say on state laws,
except for the federal courts and of course The Supreme Court.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 20
THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 21
THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES - 2015
The Courts term begins the first Monday of October and ends the first Monday of
October of the following year. They observe holidays and take vacation during
recesses.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 22
JUDICIAL REVIEW
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It is the ability of a court to examine & decide if a statute, treaty or administrative regulation
contradicts or violates the provisions of existing law, a State Constitution, or ultimately The
United States Constitution.
While The Constitution does not explicitly define a power of judicial review, the authority for
judicial review has been inferred from the structure, provisions, and history of The Constitution.
Judges examine a law or government activity and decide if it violates the constitution.
Established 1803, Marbury v. Madison was the first Supreme Court case where the Court
asserted its authority for judicial review to strike down a law as unconstitutional.
Unit III – The Constitution – Understanding The United States Constitution – Slide 23