Article I:
The Legislative Branch
Senate
and
House of Representatives
Legislative Powers
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Congress makes laws
Borrows money
Regulates trade
Establishes rules for
citizenship
 Coins money
 Punishes
counterfeiting
 Gives copyrights and
patents
 Establish post offices
 Establish federal
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courts
Punish pirates
Declare war
Raise and support
army and navy
Rule Washington,
D.C.
Elastic clause!
Preamble = Introduction
 We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, 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.
Checks and balances
 House impeaches (accuses) office holders
 Senate tries impeachments
 Congress can override (pass a law
anyway) a president’s veto of laws.
Power to the People
 Age limits on Senators (30) and
Representatives (25)
 Equal opportunities for famous and unknown
 Pay for Senators and Representatives
 Don’t need to be rich to serve
 Census
 Maintains fair representation as population
changes
Elements that strengthen
federal power
 Article I.18: “Congress shall have the
power…to make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into
execution the foregoing powers, and all
other powers vested by this Constitution in
the government of the United States.”
Elements that strengthen
federal power
 Article I.18 is called the Elastic Clause.
Why?
 Elastic Clause: Constitution gives the
national government the power to do
anything “necessary and proper” to
accomplish its tasks.
Slavery Issues
 3/5 Compromise
 Creates overrepresentation of slave state
interests.
 Commerce Compromise
 No regulation of the slave trade for 20 years.
How does a bill become a law?
 Listen to the song and write down the
steps of the process you hear.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
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1) Begins as an idea.
2) Senators or representatives write them
3) The bill is sent to a committee.
4) The bill is presented to the committee’s house
to vote on.
 5) If the bill passes, it is sent to the other house.
 6) The bill goes to the president who either signs
it into law or vetoes it.
 7) If the president vetoes the bill, Congress can
override with a 2/3 majority.
The Hopper
Let’s make a law!
 In your committee, come up with a law
you’d like to pass for our class and write it
down. This is your bill.
 Present your bill to your house, and vote.
If the bill passes, send it to the other
house.
 Vote on the other house’s bills.
 Bills that pass both houses come to your
president  for possible veto.
Article II:
The Executive Branch
The President
“Carries out the laws”
John F. Kennedy
 Our most basic common link is that we all
inhabit this planet. We all breathe the
same air. We all cherish our children's
future. And we are all mortal.
Executive Powers
 Oversees the federal
 Make treaties with
government
 Issue executive
orders
 Nominate judges to
the Supreme Court
 Pardon(forgive)
criminals who have
broken federal law
other countries
 Commander in chief
of military forces
 Can create a cabinet
to help assist them
 Can veto(reject) laws
Current Cabinet
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_the
_United_States#Cabinet_and_Cabinetlevel_officials
Qualifications
 President must be:
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Born in the United States
At least 35 years old
Lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years
22nd amendment limits President to 2 terms
Limits on the Executive
 President can veto but Congress can
override with a 2/3 majority vote
 Impeachment- bring charges against the
president for treason, bribery, or other high
crimes
 House of Reps has power to impeach
 Senate may hold a trial on accusations
Impeachment of Bill Clinton
 Impeached by the
House of Reps on
perjury and
obstruction of justice
 He was acquitted by
the Senate because
2/3 majority did not
find him guilty
Electoral College
 Officially elects the President every 4
years
 Critics argue that a candidate can become
President without securing the largest
percentage of popular votes.
Article III:
The Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court
“Reviews the laws”
Today’s Objective
 How did the expansion of the Judicial
branch of the U.S. Government have a
major effect on the country?
Judiciary Powers
 Supreme Court has
 Marbury v. Madison
authority to hear
(1803) stated that the
cases that arise under
Court had the power
the Constitution,
of judicial review
federal laws, and
 Judicial review was
treaties
the power to declare
 Can hear cases in
laws that Congress
which there is a
passed to be
dispute among the
unconstitutional
states
Limits on the Judicial Branch
 Courts can only
 Judges are appointed
decide cases that
come before them
 Judges have no
power to act on their
own
 “Shall hold their
offices during good
behavior”
for life but can be
impeached by the
Senate
 Congress can amend
the Constitution to
overturn a Supreme
Court decision
Dred Scott v. Sandford
 Dred Scott v.
Sandford (1857)
stated that slaves
were property and not
citizens
 14th amendment
(1868) overruled that
decision and gave
equal protection
under the law
Onondaga Nation Land Claim
 1. What is the Onondaga Nation claiming
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that New York State did?
2. What exactly is a “land claim”?
3. How did the Supreme Court rule? What
was one effect of this ruling?
4. Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s
decision?
5. If the Supreme Court ruled in favor of
Onondaga Nation, what would most likely
be the result?
You can be a justice…right now!
 No age requirements on becoming a
Supreme Court Justice
 Apply today to become a justice…serve
for life! Or you can work a few years…
Tinker vs. Des Moines
 1. Why were the students wearing “black
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armbands”?
2. What was the decision in the local
courts?
3. How did the Supreme Court rule?
4. What did the Iowa school violate?
5. What power did this Supreme Court
case give to individual schools?
Article IV: The States
 States can’t discriminate against citizens
of other states, must treat equally
 Ex. Two people commit a crime in Utah
 Congress can admit new states to the
Union
Article V: Amendments
 Thousands of amendments have been
suggested.
 Congress has only proposed 33
amendments. (Needs 2/3 in both houses)
 Only 27 amendments have been ratified
by the states (3/4 of state legislatures)
Article VI: Supremacy
 Establishes the Constitution as the
“Supreme Law of the
Land”
The Bill of Rights
The First 10 Amendments to the Constitution
1st Amendment
• The 1st Amendment guarantees freedom of
religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition.
•
•
•
•
•
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This means that we all have the right to:
practice any religion we want to
to speak freely
to assemble (meet)
to address the government (petition)
to publish newspapers, TV, radio, Internet (press)
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
2nd Amendment
• The 2nd
Amendment
protects the right
to bear arms, which
means the right to
own a gun.
3rd Amendment
• The 3rd Amendment says “No soldier
shall, in time of peace be quartered in
any house, without the consent of the
owner, nor in time of war, but in a
manner to be prescribed by law.”
• This means that we cannot be forced to
house or quarter soldiers.
4th Amendment
• The 4th Amendment protects the people
from unreasonable searches and seizures.
• This means that the police must have a
warrant to enter our homes. It also means
the government cannot take our property,
papers, or us, without a valid warrant based
on probable cause (good reason).
5th Amendment
• The 5th Amendment protects people from
being held for committing a crime unless
they are properly indicted, (accused)
• You may not be tried twice for the same
crime (double jeopardy)
• You don’t have to testify against yourself
in court. (Self-incrimination)
6th Amendment
• The 6th Amendment
guarantees a speedy trial
(you can’t be kept in jail for
over a year without a trial)
• an impartial jury (doesn’t
already think you are guilty)
• that the accused can
confront witnesses against
them
• the accused must be allowed
to have a lawyer
7th Amendment
• The 7th Amendment guarantees the
right to a speedy civil trial.
• A civil trial differs from a criminal trial. A
civil trial is when someone sues
someone else. A criminal trial is when
the state tries to convict someone of a
crime.
8th Amendment
• The 8th
Amendment
guarantees that
punishments will be
fair and not cruel,
and that
extraordinarily
large fines will not
be set.
9th Amendment
• All rights not stated in the Constitution
and not forbidden by the Constitution
belong to the people.
• This means that the states can do what
they want if the Constitution does not
forbid it.
10th Amendment
• The 10th Amendment states that any
power not granted to the federal
government belongs to the states or
to the people.