Name ______________________________________
READING
Introduction
Why do we need a government anyway? Well, imagine what a school would be like without any rules. Students would not have to attend their classes, complete assignments, obey teachers, or treat classmates with respect. At first that might not sound all that bad to you, but then think about the idea that a classmate could break into another classmates locker, steal their books, coat, cellphone, and backpack and there would be nothing you could do about it. When teachers gave grades, they would not have to be fair, they could put down whatever grade they felt like giving you. There would constantly be fights and eventually the strongest person would come out on top. Obviously, without rules, schools could not function. The same goes for our country, if there were no laws, there would be chaos and our society would not be able to function. So, people choose to have a government to make and enforce laws and rules and to protect us and punish those who do not follow the rules and to make sure we have our natural rights preserved for us.
The Purpose of Governments
Governments exist to maintain (keep) law and order. They also provide important services that people need. For example, governments build and maintain roads, hospitals, and schools. They construct libraries, parks, playgrounds, collect garbage, provide water and sewer services, and protect us with police, the military, and fire departments.
Our Government, the Constitution
Did you know that the Constitution was not first government in the United States? The first government written and chosen by the states was called the Articles of Confederation. The modern government of our country is found in the Constitution of the United States.
In May of 1787, delegates chosen from twelve of the thirteen states (Rhode Island did not send anyone) met in Philadelphia. Their reason for meeting was to make changes to the United States government, which at that time was the Articles of Confederation. The government of the United States was not working very well and something had to be done about it.
At first, the delegates were only going to amend or change the Articles of Confederation, but in the end, they completely discarded them and wrote a new plan for government. The new plan of government they wrote became the Constitution of the United States.
How the Constitution is Organized
The Constitution has three main parts: The Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments. The
Preamble is an introduction to the Constitution and it tells what the goals of the government will be. The
Articles explain how the government will work, what it will look like, and what the government will and will not be able to do. The Amendments are changes or add-ons to the Constitution that make major changes to some aspect of the government. While the Constitution has been around for well over two hundred years, it has only needed to be changed 27 times.
There are seven Articles in the Constitution. The Articles of the Constitution separate the powers of government into three parts or branches: the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial
Branch. Each of the branches of government has certain duties and certain powers used to accomplish those duties. The Articles say that the states have to respect each other and gives each state (regardless of its size) equal standing in the country. Also included in the Articles is a way to change or add to the government if necessary. The Articles also explain the relationship between the federal (national) government and the

state governments. And finally, the rules for ratifying or passing the Constitution were written right into the document so that people could choose whether or not they wanted this form of government to rule them.
The Preamble
The Preamble is the part of the Constitution that people are the most familiar with. It begins, “We the people…” reminding us that the government is made by people of the United States to govern them. It goes on to tell all of the things the people want to government to do for them.
Article 1 – The Legislative Branch
Article 1 of the Constitution is all about the Legislative Branch. We also know this branch as
Congress. The Legislative Branch has two main jobs. The first is to make laws or rules that the country needs. The second is to decide on and approve the spending of tax money that is collected by the government.
Article 2 – The Executive Branch
Article 2 of the Constitution describes the Executive Branch. This includes the President and the Vice
President. While the president has many jobs, the main purpose of the Executive Branch is to make sure that the laws of the country are being followed and to make sure our country is safe and secure.
Article 3 – The Judicial Branch
Article 3 of the Constitution sets up the Judicial Branch. It creates a Supreme Court and a series of lower courts. The main jobs of the Judicial Branch or the courts is to protect the rights of the citizens, settle disputes in society, and punish those who break the laws of the country.
Article 4 – Relations Among States
Article 4 of the Constitution talks about states respecting each other’s laws and regulations. It talks about how to add a state to the United States and also how the national government will treat all states equally in protection and services.
Article 5 – Provisions for Amendments
Article 5 tells how to change or add to the government if it is necessary. It tells how states and the people can suggest and pass amendments to the Constitution. But, it’s not easy to change the Constitution.
Since the Constitution was signed there have been over 6000 ideas for amending the Constitution written, but only 27 have been passed and the first 10 (the Bill of Rights) were all passed at about the same time as the Constitution.
Article 6 – National Debts / Supremacy of National Law
Article 6 says that the new government will pay back the debts the old governments ran up during the Revolutionary War but more importantly this article explains that the national government is the
“supreme law of the land”, meaning that any laws passed by this government count for every state.
Article 7 – Ratification of the Constitution
Article 7 was included in the Constitution to explain how the people in each state could vote to ratify or pass the Constitution and choose it to be their new national government. Once nine of the thirteen original states voted to pass the new Constitution, it became the new government of the United
States.
The Amendments
The Amendments are major changes to the way the government works, changes in the power of the government, or additions to the rights and protections provided to citizens by the Constitution. The first ten amendments were passed together and are called the Bill of Rights. There are 17 more amendments for a total of 27 amendments to the Constitution.