Our Constitution
Reviewing the Constitution
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Where was the Constitution written?
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When was it written?
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1788
What were the two groups which battled over its
ratification?
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1787
When was it ratified?
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Philadelphia
Federalists and Anti-Federalists
What were the leading arguments for each group?
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Feds – Articles were too weak
Anti-Feds – Central govt is too strong; no Bill of Rights
Basic Principles of the Constitution
The Basic Principles
1. Popular Sovereignty
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The idea that people are the source of all power held
by the government
2. Limited Government
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Govt possesses only the power the people give it
Govt must obey the Constitution—a principle
known as Constitutionalism
Govt is subject to the rule of law—not above it
The Basic Principles
3. Separation of Powers
 Three basic parts—branches—that share govt power
The Basic Principles
4. Checks and Balances
 A system to ensure that no branch becomes
too powerful
 Each branch has ways to limit the power of
the other two.
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Example:
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The President can veto, or reject, any act of
Congress.
Congress may then override a veto with a two-thirds
vote in each house
Checks and Balances
The Basic Principles
5. Judicial Review
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Power of the courts to decide what the
Constitution means
The courts also have the power to declare a
government action to be against the Constitution,
or unconstitutional
The Basic Principles
6. Federalism
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Division of power between the central
government and the states
Outline of the Constitution
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The Constitution originally consisted of a Preamble
(introduction) and seven sections called Articles
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Preamble
Article I
Article II
Article III
Article IV
Article V
Article VI
[“We the people…”]
[Legislative Branch]
[Executive Branch]
[Judicial Branch]
[Relations among the States]
[Amending the Constitution]
[National debts, supremacy of national law,
and oaths of office]
[Ratifying the Constitution]
Article VII
Signers
Amendments [1789, Bill of Rights-first ten Amendments]
Preamble
“We the People of the United States, in Order to
form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.”
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKhRERqPS4
Preamble
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Outlines six goals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Form a more perfect union
Establish justice
Insure domestic tranquility
Provide for the common defense
Promote the general welfare
Secure the blessings of liberty
Articles in the Constitution
Articles
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Articles I, II, and III (1-3) outline the structure
and function of the government
Articles VI, V, VI, VII (4-7) address more
specific issues
Article I – Legislative
Article I – House of Reps (435 members)
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Outlines the structure of the Legislative Branch
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Section 1: Established a bicameral legislature—two
house system—Senate and House of Representatives
Section 2: House of Representatives
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Elections: every 2 years
Qualifications: 25 yrs old, American citizen for 7 years,
and a resident of that State
Apportionment: # of Reps based on population
Salary: $174,000, $223,500 (Speaker)
Has sole Power to Impeachment – to impeach means to
accuse or to bring accusations
Article I – Senate (100 total members)
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Section 3: Senate
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Elections: every 6 years
Qualifications: 30 yrs old, citizen for 9 yrs, must live
in State
Apportionment: 2 senators per State
Salary: $174,000, (party leaders) $193,400
Vice President presides over Senate, can cast only a
deciding vote—to break tie
President pro tempore presides when VP is absent
Has sole power to try Impeachments
Article I – Powers of Congress
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To levy—or collect—taxes
Borrow money; Coin money; establish penalties for
counterfeiting
Regulate commerce/trade with foreign nations and
among States
Laws for Naturalization – immigrants becoming
citizens
Establish post offices; copyrights and patents
Declare war; raise Army/Navy
General Powers of Congress
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General Welfare Clause: gives power to Congress
to “provide for the common defense and general
welfare (common good) of the US
Necessary and Proper Clause: aka “Elastic
Clause,” allows Congress to make all laws that are
necessary and proper to carry out duties stated for
Congress
What dangers could you see arising out of these two clauses?
Do they give the Federal govt too much power?
Article I – Powers denied to States
They cannot:
 Enter into any treaties or alliances
 Coin $
 Tax foreign imports or exports
 Keep a standing army—they can however
keep and support a militia (2nd Amendment)
which today means support for the National
Guard
Article II – Executive
Article II – Executive Branch
President and VP are chosen in same term; 22nd Amendment
establishes the term length
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Term: two 4-year terms; 10 years total
Qualifications: must be a natural-born US citizen, at least 35
yrs old, and lived in US for at least 14 yrs
Salary: $400,000/year + $50,000 expense account
Electoral College-the people who actually choose the
President or Vice President
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Sum of State Senators and Representative
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PA: 2 senators + 18 Representatives = 20 electoral votes
538 total electoral votes = 100 (S) + 435 (HR) + 3 (DC)
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Need a simple majority — 270 electoral votes (50% + 1 vote)
Electoral votes by State (and DC), for the elections of 2012, 2016
and 2020, with changes from the 2010 Census
Article II – Executive Branch
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National elections: the Tuesday after the first
Monday in November
2
8
Article II – Executive Branch
Q. If a President
dies, gets killed,
or deemed unfit
for the Office,
how is the
vacancy filled?
A.
Article II – Powers and Duties
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Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces
Make treaties (becomes effective with a 2/3
approval in Congress)
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An example of…
Can create and keep a Cabinet: close advisor
on important issues—currently 15 total
Appoints all federal judges (must be approved
by Congress)
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An example of…
Article II – Powers and Duties
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Delivers a State of the Union address
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A speech where he urges Congress to take action
on key issues
Can call Congress to a special session;
adjourn Congress if the two houses can’t
agree
Receive foreign representatives, leaders, or
diplomats
Article III – Judicial
Article III – Judicial Branch
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Creation of only the US Supreme Court but it allows
Congress to create lesser courts if needed
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Term: Life, or until they choose to step down
Election: appointed by President, confirmed by Congress
Can hear cases for the first time (original jurisdiction)
or on appeal (appellate jurisdiction)
Federal crimes and serious criminal cases are heard in a
federal court
Only crime defined by Constitution: Treason
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During a time of war—fighting against the US, joining an
enemy, or giving an enemy comfort or aid
Constitutional
Amendments
Culture in America in 1787
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No cars, few cities, no phones/tv/internet
Agrarian life—farmers
Problems that faced that America are in no way the
ones that face America today
The people who wrote the Constitution wrote it with
the needs and concerns of their time in mind
Framers knew they could not make a government for
all time
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There needed to be room for adaptation to meet the needs
of future generations
A Living Document
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The Constitution IS and IS NOT the same one which
was originally written
Written in 1787 through 2011
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Constitutional change via formal and informal
amendments
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223 years…and counting
To amend = to change
This allows the Constitution to grow and change with
time – often referred to as a living document
Formal Amendments
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Changes that become part of the written
language of the Constitution. There are
currently 27 formal amendments.
The first ten Amendments are called the
Bill of Rights (proposed in 1789; ratified
1791)
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Sets out Constitutional guarantees for all
citizens
Formal Amendments
Q. How does the
formal amendment
process illustrate
federalism?
A. It involves both
the Federal Govt
and the States
Formal Amendments
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Note the emphasis on Federalism
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Note the Popular Sovereignty
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The proposal takes place at the national level but
ratification takes place on a State-by-State matter
Because of popular sovereignty, the ultimate
decision to formally pass any amendment is given
to the people
More than 10,000 amendment proposals have
been sent to Congress since 1789, only 33
have reached the States; 27 have been ratified
Informal Amendments
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They are changes to the Constitution’s meaning
or interpretation
No actual change occurs to the document itself
and there is no actual way that an informal
amendment takes place
Instead, it is the ways we look at the Constitution
that changes
There changes come from 5 sources…
1. Passage of basic legislation by
Congress
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Passing laws that explain certain parts of the
Constitution
Passing laws that fill in details about the specific
ways the government operates
Constitution = “skeleton”
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Article II—Creation of the Presidential executive
departments, agencies, and offices
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FBI, CIA, NSA, EPA, Press Secretary…
Help President fulfill duties as executive
2. Actions taken by the President
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President may choose to make an executive
agreement or pact with another country
instead of a treaty (which requires
congressional approval)
As commander-in-chief the President has
entered war without formal declaration by
Congress
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Iraq (2003), Libya (2011)
3. Key decisions of the Supreme Court
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The way they explain parts of the Constitution
when ruling on cases—INTERPRETATION!
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“The Supreme Court is a Constitutional
Convention in continuous session.” –Woodrow
Wilson
4. Political Parties
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No mention of parties in Constitution
Parties have decreased the importance of the
electoral college—the group that formally
selects the nation’s President
5. Custom
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Establishment of Cabinet
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15 executive depts. that advise the President,
developed out of custom, not because the
Constitution created it