What are the main purposes
of the Constitution?
Six Basic Principles of the
Constitution
1. Popular Sovereignty
A. People want to be governed
2. Limited Government
A. Government is not all powerful
B. Rule of Law: Government and
its officers are subject to, never
above, the law (i.e. the Clinton
scandal)
3. Separation of Powers
A. Article One = Legislative Powers
of the National Government
B. Article Two = Executive Powers
of the National Government
C. Article Three = Judicial Powers
of the National Government
4. Checks and Balances
A. Each branch is subjected to
checks by the other branches
5. Judicial Review
A. Government works within the
parameters of the Constitution
B. Unconstitutional: to declare illegal
/ a government action found to
violate some provision in the
Constitution
6. Federalism
A. Division of power between
central and regional
governments
Question – The Constitution reflects the
framers beliefs about people and their
need for government. Based on the six
basic principles of the Constitution, what
can you conclude about the Framers’ view
of human nature?
Alternate Intelligence
What makes my left hand, my
right?
A mirror.
A man drove all the way from
New York to San Francisco
only to discover at the end of
the trip that he had a flat tire
from the very start. Yet his car
was completely unaffected by
it? How is this possible?
It was his spare tire that was flat.
Name three consecutive days
without using the words
Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, or Sunday.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
I am made of the stuff around
me, but lighter than it. More of
me is hidden than seen.
What am I?
An iceberg.
There is a word in the English
language in which the first two
letters signify a man, the first
three signify a woman, the first
four signify a great man, and
the whole word represents a
great woman. What is the
word?
Heroine
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
How do we classify
governments?
1. Geographic distribution of power
i.e. There are no State
governments: all governmental
authority rests with the National
Government in Washington,
D.C.
Geographic Distribution of
power
• Unitary government – a centralized
government (all powers held by the
gov’t belong to a central agency
Geographic Distribution of
power
• Federal government – the powers of
government are divided between a
central government and several local
governments.
Geographic Distribution of
power
• Confederation – an alliance of
independent states that has power to
handle only those matters that the
member states have assigned to it.
How do we classify
governments?
2. Relationship between the
legislative and executive
branches
i.e. the President is elected by the
Senate, not by the people
Relationship between
Legislative and Executive
Branches
• Presidential government –
separation of powers between the
executive and legislative branches of
the government. (they are
independent and coequal)
Relationship between
Legislative and Executive
Branches
• Parliamentary government – exec.
is chosen by the legislative branch.
This makes the Prime Minister
directly responsive to the Leg.
Branch, instead of the people.
Presidential and Parliamentary:
•
Pres. = voters vote on legislature
and chief executive. (Those
branches choose the judicial branch.)
Parl. = voters choose legislatures,
who in-turn choose the exec. –
(together they choose the judicial
branch.)
How do we classify
governments?
3. Number of people who
participate in governing
i.e. One self-appointed legislative
body rules the country.
Number who can participate
• Dictatorship – those who rule cannot
be held responsible to the will of the
people. (Oldest and most common
form of government)
Number who can participate
• Democracy – supreme political
authority rests with the people. (gov’t
is conducted only by and with the
consent of the people)
Number who can participate
• Direct democracy v. representative
democracy (+/-)
Dir.: people vote directly on every
issue
Rep.: people vote on the people
who vote on every issue