Lesson C–1: The Seven
Principles of the Constitution
Today we will define and discuss the
seven principles of the Constitution.
Vocabulary
• The Framers – those men who first wrote the
Constitution
• sovereignty – the ability and authority to
make your own decisions and control your
own life
• check – a limitation or control of someone
else’s power
The Framers of the Constitution
constructed a new system of government
based on seven principles.
Together they form the foundation of the
United States Constitution.
Popular Sovereignty
• The Constitution begins with these words:
“We the people of the United States . . .
establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.”
• These words clearly spell out the source of
the government’s power.
• The American form of government comes
from a school of political thought called
classical liberalism, which emphasizes
freedom, democracy, and the importance of
the individual.
Popular Sovereignty
By blending ideas from classic liberalism and
civic republicanism, the Constitution formed a
government that is responsible to the people
and works for their benefit.
By blending ideas from classic
liberalism and civic republicanism, the
Constitution formed a government that
A. can be changed very easily.
B. is responsible to the people and
works for their benefit.
C. should be the model for the
governments of other nations.
D. resembles that of ancient Greece
and Rome.
Popular Sovereignty
• The Constitution rests on the idea of popular
sovereignty – a government in which the
people rule.
• As the nation changed and grew, a broader
range of Americans shared in the power to
govern themselves.
Popular sovereignty is the idea that the
government’s authority comes from the
people and reflects the people’s will.
• This philosophy had its roots
in classical Greece and the
Roman republic.
• It was expressed again during
the Enlightenment by such
political writers as John
Locke and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau.
• The Framers were deeply
influenced by these ideas.
Republicanism
• The Framers of the Constitution
wanted the people to have a
voice in government.
• Yet the Framers also doubted
that the people would always
make sound decisions.
• To solve this problem, they
looked to republicanism as a
model of government.
Republicanism
• Republicanism is the belief that the people rule
by electing their political representatives.
• For this reason, republicanism is sometimes
called representative democracy.
• According to the Framers, these elected
lawmakers play the key role in making a
republican government work.
• Civic Republicanism is the idea that citizens
stay informed about politics and participate in
the process.
Federalism
• The Framers wanted the states and the
nation to become partners in governing, so
they turned to federalism.
• Federalism is a system of government in
which power is divided between a central
government and the states.
• In the early years of the United States,
federalism was closely related to dual
sovereignty, the idea that the powers of the
federal government and the states were
clearly defined, and each had exclusive
power over their own spheres with little
overlap.
Federalism
• In the early years of the United States,
federalism was closely related to dual
sovereignty, the idea that the powers of
the federal government and the states
were clearly defined, and each had
exclusive power over their own spheres
with little overlap.
A tell B
• Under dual sovereignty, what two
groups have their powers clearly
defined with little overlap?
• Be sure to re-state the question in
your response!
Federalism
• Under federalism, the Constitution assigns
certain powers to the national government.
• These are delegated powers.
• Powers kept by the states are reserved
powers.
• Powers shared or exercised by national and
state governments are known as concurrent
powers.
Federalism
Separation of Powers
• To prevent too much power falling into the
hands of a single group, the Framers built
the idea of separation of powers into the
Constitution.
• The Constitution divides the basic roles of
government into branches.
Checks and Balances
• Baron de Montesquieu, a
French thinker of the
Enlightenment, first wrote
about the principle of checks
and balances.
• The Framers included a
system of checks and
balances in the Constitution
to help make sure that the
power of government is
limited and that the branches
work together fairly.
Checks and Balances
• Each branch of
government can
exercise checks, or
controls, over the
other branches.
• Though the
branches of
government are
separate, they work
together to perform
the work of
government.
Limited Government
• The Framers limited the power of govern–
ment by denying specific powers to the
Congress.
• The Constitution also forbids the states to
take certain actions.
• These were the delegated and reserved
powers discussed earlier.
Limited Government
• The principle of limited government is also
closely related to the “rule of law.”
• In the American government, everyone must
obey the law, even the president.
• This principle of government prevents the
abuse of power by powerful people.
Individual Rights
• The first ten amendments to the
Constitution protect people from an
overly powerful government.
• These amendments are called the Bill
of Rights, and they guarantee certain
individual rights, or personal liberties
and privileges.
Individual Rights
• For example, the
government cannot
control what people
believe, think, write, or
say.
• People also have the
right to gather
peacefully and to ask
the government to
correct a problem.
• Later amendments to
the Constitution also
advanced the cause of
individual rights.