The United States Constitution
The Separation of Powers
Unlike the Articles of Confederation, the United States
Constitution provides for a national government having three
branches: a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial
branch. By adopting the resolution presented at the Constitutional
Convention that the “national government ought to be established
consisting of a Supreme Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive,” the
framers of the Constitution upheld their belief in the idea of the
separation of powers. (1)
Article I: The Powers of Congress (Legislative Branch)
Composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
Congress comprises the legislative branch (make laws) of the United
States government. Influenced by the Enlightenment, the framers of
the Constitution founded the United States government on the
principle of the consent of the governed. This is most evident in the
fact that the Constitution provides for a democratically selected
House of Representatives whose members were elected directly by
the people. The requirement to conduct a census every ten years
was included in the Constitution to determine the number of
members from each state in the House.
Unlike the House of Representatives, the Senate is not affected
by the census because the Constitution provides each state with two
representatives in the Senate, regardless of population.
Article II: The Powers of the President (Executive Branch)
The president is the head of the executive branch (enforce the
laws) of the United States government. The president has the power
to sign or veto legislation passed by Congress, to negotiate treaties,
and to nominate federal judges. Because the justices that a president
nominates serve for life, a president’s interpretation of the
Constitution may continue long after he or he leaves office. The
United States Constitution requires that from time to time the
president must inform Congress and the nation about the state of the
union. In addition, as commander in chief, the president has the
authority to order American troops into a foreign country. As a
result, the executive branch of the United States government has
traditionally
gained power during periods when there has been serious domestic
or international problems facing the nation.
The authors of the Constitution created the Electoral College
system to select the president and vice president because they did not
trust the judgement of the common people. Under this system,
special electors named by the legislature of each state cast their votes
for president and vice president. One impact of the Electoral
College system on the election process is that this system encourages
candidates to concentrate their major campaign efforts in the most
populous states. A major criticism of the system has been that a
president may be elected without receiving the majority of the
popular vote. The solution most often proposed to correct the
problems associated with Electoral College is to adopt a
constitutional amendment to elect the president by popular vote. This
has not happened.
Article III: The Power of the Supreme Court (Judicial Branch)
The nation’s judicial power (interpret the law) resides in the
Supreme Court and any other lower federal courts that Congress
might establish. The Supreme Court has the power to determine the
constitutionality of state and federal laws. This power of judicial
review, which was first established by Chief Justice John Marshall
in the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison (1803), allows the
Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution (is it unconstitutional?)
System of Checks and Balances
In order to prevent one branch of the United States government
from becoming too strong and dominating the other two, the authors of
the Constitution provided for a system of checks and balances. For
example, a president can veto a bill of Congress, but Congress can
override a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in both houses. The
Senate can also check (stop) the president’s power to nominate federal
judges by its power to reject the nominees. The Senate ratifying
(approving) a peace treaty is another governmental action that
illustrates the system of checks and balances. Although the
Constitution grants the president the power to negotiate treaties, they
cannot become law if the Senate fails to ratify them by a two-thirds
majority.
UNIT 6: The United States Constitution
The Bill of Rights: First Ten Amendments to Constitution
The Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution contains
several provisions that protect the civil liberties of United States
citizens and the right of individuals to have justice before the law.
1.
2.
Congress can't make any law about your religion, or stop you from
practicing your religion, or keep you from saying whatever you
want…sort of, or publishing whatever you want (like in a
newspaper or a book)...sort of. And Congress can't stop you from
meeting peacefully for a demonstration to ask the government to
change something.
Congress can't stop people from having and carrying weapons,
because we need to be able to defend ourselves.
3.
You don't have to let soldiers live in your house, except if there is a
war, and even then only if Congress has passed a law about it.
4.
No one can search your body, or your house, or your papers and
things, unless they can prove to a judge that they have a good
reason to think you have committed a crime.
5.
You can't be tried for any serious crime without a Grand Jury
meeting first to decide whether there's enough evidence for a trial.
And if the jury decides you are innocent, the government can't try
you again with another jury (Double Jeopardy). You don't have to
say anything at your trial. You can't be killed, or put in jail, or
fined, unless you were convicted of a crime by a jury. And the
government can't take your house or your farm or anything that is
yours, unless the government pays for it.
6.
If you're arrested, you have a right to have your trial very soon, and
the government can't keep you in jail without trying you. The trial
has to be public, so everyone knows what is happening. The case
has to be decided by a jury of ordinary people from your area.
You have the right to know what you are accused of, to see and
hear the people who are witnesses against you, to have the
government help you get witnesses on your side, and you have
the right to a lawyer to help you.
7. You also have the right to a jury when it is a civil case (a
law case between two people rather than between you and
the government).
8. The government can't make you pay more than is
reasonable in bail or in fines, and the government can't
order you to have cruel or unusual punishments (like
torture) even if you are convicted of a crime.
9. Just because these rights are listed in the Constitution
doesn't mean that you don't have other rights too.
10. Anything that the Constitution doesn't say that Congress
can do should be left up to the states, or to the people.