Citizenship Handbook &
The U.S. Constitution
Section 1:
A Lasting Plan of Government
Terms to know
1. Preamble: the first part or introduction
of a document.
2. Article: a section of a document.
3. Checks and balances: a system set up in
the Constitution where each branch of the
government has some authority over the
other.
Terms to know
4. Amendment: an alteration or a
written change to a document.
5. Federalism: a system of government in
which power is distributed between
national and state governments.
6 Goals of our government as
stated in the Preamble…
1. “To form a more perfect union” (to
function as a single nation for the benefit of
all).
2. “To establish justice” (to make sure all
are treated fairly).
3. “To ensure domestic tranquility” (to
keep peace among the people).
6 Goals of our government as
stated in the Preamble…
4. “To provide for the common defense” (maintain
armed forces to protect country and citizens from
attack).
5. “To promote the general welfare” (to ensure that
citizens will be free from poverty, hunger, and
disease).
6. “To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and
to our posterity” (to guarantee that NO American’s
basic rights will be taken away now or in the future).
Articles
Following the Preamble, the Constitution
is broken into seven parts, or articles. The
founders saw the Constitution as a
contract between people and their
government. The first three articles
describe the powers and responsibilities of
the three branches of government.
Article I
Article I states that a Congress made
up of two houses, Senate and the
House of Representatives
Article I
Powers of Congress:
 Power
to
 Power to
 Power to
 Power to
tax
regulate trade
coin money
declare war
Article II
Article II deals with the Executive
branch and provides for a President
and Vice President to carry out the
duties of this branch. It explains how
these two leaders are to be chosen
and it also lists powers of the U.S.
President.
Article II
U.S. President’s powers include:
Power to
 Power to
nations
 Power to
 Power to
officials

command armed forces
make treaties with other
pardon criminals
appoint certain government
Article III
Article III gives the judicial powers of
government to a Supreme Court and other
federal courts. U.S. President appoints the
judges of these courts. These judges serve
for life, or according to the Constitution,
“during good behavior.”
Article III
Article III states that federal courts will
have the power to judge
“all cases…arising under the
Constitution”
This allows the Supreme Court to prevent
the other two branches from violating the
Constitution
Articles IV - VII
Article IV: explains the relationship between the
states and the national government.
Article V: explains how the constitution can be
changed.
Article VI: explains general provisions
about the government.
Article VII: states that Constitution will go
into effect after nine states ratify it
Bill of Rights
The first 10 Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution are called the Bill of Rights.
1st Amendment: Freedom of speech,
religion, the press, assembly and to petition
the government.
Bill of Rights
2nd Amendment: The right to bear arms.
3rd Amendment: No quartering or housing
of soldiers during times of peace or war.
4th Amendment: No unreasonable searches
and seizures.
Bill of Rights
5th Amendment:





No one can be tried for a serious crime unless
indicted (accused) by a grand jury.
No one can be forced to testify against herself or
himself.
No one can be punished without due process of law.
No one can be tried twice for the same crime
(double jeopardy)
People must be paid for property taken for public
use (eminent domain)
Bill of Rights
6th Amendment: People have a right to a
speedy trial, to legal counsel, and to
confront their accusers.
7th Amendment: People have the right to a
jury trial in civil suits exceeding $20.
Bill of Rights
8th Amendment:
Protection against excessive bail
(money to release a person from jail), stiff
fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.
Bill of Rights
9th Amendment:
Because there are so many basic human
rights, not all of them could be listed in the
Constitution. This amendment means that
the rights that are enumerated cannot
infringe upon rights that are not listed in
the Constitution.
Bill of Rights
10th Amendment:
Powers not given to the federal government
by the Constitution belong to the states or
the people. Example: Common Core (state)
Citizenship Handbook &
The U.S. Constitution
Section 2: Five Principles of the
Constitution
Five Principals of the Constitution





Popular Sovereignty
Limited Government
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
1. Popular Sovereignty
Declaration of Independence says
government gets its power from the
“consent of the governed.”
Sovereignty = “authority”
Popular
= “of the people”
2. Limited Government
Limited government means that…
… a government that “does NOT
have absolute authority.”
3. Federalism
Federalism is the division of powers
between the “national” government
and the “state” government.
Note: in any conflict between the
national and state laws, the national
law has the higher authority.
4. Separation of Powers
To prevent the national government from
abusing its power, framers of the
Constitution divided it into 3 branches:
Legislative, Executive, & Judicial
branches
Branches of Government
5. Checks and Balances
The main goal of setting up system of
Checks and Balances is to allow each
branch of government (legislative,
executive, judicial) to check or limit the
power of the other branches.
Terms to know
1.
Liberty: freedom of the people to live as
they choose.
2.
Popular sovereignty: the belief that
people should have the right to rule
themselves.
Terms to know
3. Representative democracy: government
in which people elect leaders or officials to
make decisions for them.
4. Electoral college: representatives of
voters in each state who select the President
and the Vice President.
Terms to know
5. Tyranny: cruel and unjust rule.
6. Veto: action in which an executive
rejects a bill submitted by a legislature.
3 Types of Power
Delegated powers: powers that belong to
the federal government
Reserved powers: powers that belong to
the states.
Concurrent powers: shared powers of
both the federal and states
Citizenship Handbook &
The U.S. Constitution
Section 3:
Government in Action
Terms to know
1.
Precedent: a model to be used as a
guide for future actions.
2.
Bureaucracy: an organization of
government workers.
Terms to know
3. Diplomacy: relations with foreign
countries.
4. Impeach: to bring formal charges
against a federal or state public official
with the intent of removing the official
from office.
Elastic Clause
Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 is known
as the “elastic clause, or necessary and proper
clause” given to Congress. Basically, it says that
Congress has a lot of freedom
to act. As a result, many laws have
been passed since 1787.
Commerce Clause
Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 says that
Congress has the power to “regulate
Commerce with foreign nations, and
among several states.” This clause has
been used in different ways including the
banning of discrimination, or unfair
treatment, of different races.
Judicial Review
This is the power of the Supreme Court
to review government acts and possibly
declare them unconstitutional.
Roles of the President
As defined by the
Constitution, the
president has 4 main
duties:
1. Chief Executive:
manages the
government by
carrying out its laws.
Roles of the President
Chief of State:
directs national
diplomacy or
relations with
foreign countries.
2.
Roles of the President
3.
Commander in
Chief:
serves as the highest
ranking officer in
the armed forces.
Roles of the President
Chief legislator:
influences the
passage of laws in
two ways:
4.
Suggests laws to
Congress for passage
or…
2) Can use “veto”
power to prevent a
law from passage
1)
Citizenship Handbook &
The U.S. Constitution
Section 4:
Duties & Responsibilities
of Citizens
Terms to know
1.
Duties: tasks that citizens are
required by law to perform.
2.
Responsibilities: tasks that citizens
are expected to perform.
3.
Tolerance: the acceptance of
different beliefs.
Duties
 Obey
laws: (example: obey traffic laws)
 Pay taxes: (7% state sales tax)
 Defend the nation: (draft for men)
 Serve in court: (jury duty)
 Attend school: (drop out age 17)
Responsibilities
(things that we as citizens should do)
 Be
informed: (know what the government is
doing, example, effective July 1, 2015, car inspection
stickers are no longer required for vehicle owners)
 Vote:
(voters choose the officials to run
the government)
 Participate
in Government:
to help out your community)
(volunteer
Responsibilities
(things that we as citizens should do)
Respect
rights of others:
(not being a loud neighbor or writing on desks)
Respect
diversity: (respecting and
accepting others regardless of their background, beliefs,
and/or practices)