Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
• Popular
Sovereignty
Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
1. Popular
Sovereignty
2. Limited
Government
Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
1. Popular
Sovereignty
2. Limited
Government
3. Separation of
Powers
Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
1. Popular
Sovereignty
2. Limited
Government
3. Separation of
Powers
4. Checks and
Balances
Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
1. Popular
Sovereignty
2. Limited
Government
3. Separation of
Powers
4. Checks and
Balances
5. Federalism
Six Key Constitutional
Principles:
1. Popular
Sovereignty
2. Limited
Government
3. Separation of
Powers
4. Checks and
Balances
5. Judicial Review
6. Federalism
Popular Sovereignty
• Power rests with the people
• People create government
• Government of the people,
by the people, and for the
people
Separation of Powers
•Legislative
•Executive
•Judicial
Limited Government
The Rule of Law:
No one is above the law!
Constitutionalism:
The Constitution is the highest law in the
land!
The Supremacy Clause
The U.S. Constitution
It’s #1 – It Rules!!!
Acts of Congress
Treaties
State Constitutions
State Statutes (Laws)
City, Village, and County Charter
City, Village, and County Statues (Laws)
Checks and Balances
• Congress makes the laws but Presidents
may veto laws passed by Congress.
• Presidents may veto laws but Congress may
over-ride a veto by a 2/3’s vote of both
Houses.
• The Courts may find a law passed by
Congress and signed by the President
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
Judicial review
• The power of the Courts to
determine Constitutionality
• Written by John Marshall
• Marbury vs. Madison
John Marshall
The fourth Chief Justice of the
United States, John Marshall
helped to elevate the status
and power of the Supreme
Court. Recommended by
Washington. President John
Adams appointed Marshall to
the high Court in 1801. He
held the office until his death
in 1835. The most famous
case heard by Marshall,
perhaps, was the 1803
Marbury v. Madison case,
which resulted in the
fortification of the Court’s
power of judicial review.
America’s
st
1
Marshall died in
Philadelphia on
July 6, 1835.
According to
tradition, the
Liberty Bell
cracked while
being tolled in
mourning for him.
Great Justice!
Federalism
• The sharing of power
between the states and the
Federal Government
• With the Federal
government supreme
Powers Under Federalism:
•
•
•
•
•
Delegated Powers
Concurrent Powers
Reserved Powers
Implied Powers
Inherent Powers
Division of Governmental Powers
Federal Only
Concurrent/Shared
States Only
Declare war
Tax!
Issue licenses
Make peace
Borrow money
Provide local:
Army, Navy
Establish courts
Regulate trade
Arrest people
Issue money
Treaties
Government
Schools
Delegated Powers
Powers under Federalism that include:
• Coin money and issue currency
• Create the armed forces
• Tax imports
• Settle disputes between states
• Negotiate Peace Treaties
• Declare War
The
Power
to
Tax
LICENSES:
MARRIAGE
FISHING
TEACHING
HUNTING
Article 1
Section 8
Subsection 18
The necessary
and proper
clause.
McCulloch vs Maryland
Necessary & Proper Clause
• Justice John Marshall
rules!!!
• Reserved Powers of the
state of Maryland
• AGAINST
• Implied Powers of the
Federal Government
• IMPLIED POWERS WIN
McCulloch vs Maryland -- Marshall Rules
Supreme power of the Federal Government established!!!
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) was one of the most
important cases in United States history because it
helped establish how powers are distributed between
the federal government and the states. The case
arose when the state of Maryland attempted to
impose a tax on the Bank of the United States. Critics
of the bank argued that the Constitution of the United
States did not specifically grant Congress the power
to charter a bank. In striking down the Maryland tax
by a vote of 7 to 0, the court decided two issues.
First, Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion concluded
that the bank was legitimate because it was chartered
under the constitutional clause empowering Congress
to enact laws that are “necessary and proper” for
governing the country. Second, Marshall ruled that
the Maryland tax violated the“supremacy clause” of
the Constitution’s Article VI, which provides that
federal law takes precedence over state law.
Amending the Constitution
• Method #1 – used 26 times
– Proposed by 2/3’s vote of Congress
– Ratified by ¾’s of the States
• Method #2 – used 1 time
– Proposed by 2/3’s vote of Congress
– Ratified by Conventions in ¾’s of the States
Informally Amending the
Constitution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Acts of Congress
Actions of the President
Decisions of the Courts
Practices of the Political Parties
Customs
Changing the Constitution by
Custom
• Created a cabinet to
serve as advisors to
the President.
• Each President since
Washington has had a
Cabinet.
When Informal Change becomes
Formal Change!
• Washington
established the
precedent of only
serving two terms.
• FDR was elected
President 4 times.
• The 22nd Amendment
now limits Presidents
to two terms!