The Constitution of The United States Of America
Preamble- The Purpose of The Constitution
The Constitution is divided into 7 Articles which are then divided into Sections
I. Article I- The Legislature- Congress
a. Congress is made up of two Houses- The Senate and House of Representatives
b. Senators = 100
House of Representatives = 435
c. Term of Office – 2 years for Representative, 6 years for Senator
d. Qualifications – 25 years old for Rep, 30 years old for Senator
7 years citizenship for Rep, 9 years citizenship for Senator
e. The main job of Congress is to make the laws (Study – Bill to Law Process)
f. Other powers of Congress – Declare War, Taxation, Coin Money, Raise an
army and navy
II. Article II- The Executive- President, Vice-President, Cabinet
a. The main job of the branch is to enforce the laws
b. The President commands the military, makes treaties, appoints judges, and can
pardon criminals.
c. Must be 35, a natural born citizen, a resident for 14 years
d. Term of office = 4 years
e. Electoral College - # of Representatives + Senators = # of electors for a state (270
to win)
III. Article III- The Judiciary- Supreme Court and other federal courts
a. The main job of the judicial is to interpret the law
b. Judicial Review grants them the power to declare laws unconstitutional
c. 9 Supreme Court Justices
d. Serve for life
IV.
Article IV- Relations Among States
a. States must recognize other state’s laws, records, and court rulings
V.
Article V- Amending the Constitution
a. The Constitution can be changed or amended
b. The Constitution has been amended 27 times
VI.
Article VI- Supremacy of the National Government
a. The Constitution is the SUPREME LAW of the land
VII.
Article VII- Ratification
a. 9 of 13 original states had to ratify to make the Constitution official