AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 3
EL DORADO
MR. RUIZ
FALL, 2015
The Constitution
“The Six Basic Principles”
OBJECTIVES
 Outline
the
important elements of the
Constitution.
 List
the six basic principles
of the Constitution and
evaluate constitutional
principles for limiting the
role of government.
WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA’S CONSTITUTION ABOUT?

Why was it created?

Who was it meant
to protect and
represent?

Is everyone equal
under the
Constitution of
our country?
Citizens?
Immigrants?
Foreigners?

Why do people
sometimes refer to
The Constitution as
a living document ?
THE CONSTITUTION

Written in 1787 and
effected in 1789.

Termed,” The supreme Law
of the Land.”


Establishes the basic
framework of our
government.
Based on the rule of law
and the idea that all power
resides in the people.



Begins with a memorable
intro. (“ We the people…”)
or Preamble that states the
purpose of the
Constitution.
It is broken down into
seven (7) sections know as
articles.
It is followed by 27
Amendments outlined in
order of adoption

What are the First ten (10)
Amendments also know as?

BILL OF RIGHTS
ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION

Preamble:

States the purpose of the Constitution

Article I:

Legislative Branch

Article II:

Executive Branch

Article III:

Judicial Branch

Article IV:

Relations among the States
and with the National
government

Article V:

Amending the Constitution

Article VI:

National debt, Supremacy of national law,
and oaths of the office

Article VII:

Ratifying the Constitution
THE BASIC PRINCIPLES
The Constitution is build around
(6) basic principles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Popular Sovereignty
Limited Government
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Federalism
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY:
This principle declares that the National Government draws its
powers from the people of the United States and that people
have given their government power and consent through the
Constitution.
Can the government act without the consent of the people?
LIMITED GOVERNMENT

This principle holds that a government can only do those things that the people
have given it the power to do.

Sometimes referred to as constitutionalism, this principle declares that the
government and its officers are not above the law but
subject to it; government must obey the rule of law.
SEPARATION OF POWERS
This principle expresses that the
National Government’s
distribution of powers shall exist
between three separate entities:
Article One:
Declares that all legislative powers
shall be granted to the Congress,
(making Congress the law-making
branch of the National
Government).
Article Two:
Declares that the executive power
shall be granted to the President
of the United States, (Giving the
President the law-enforcing and
administering powers of the
National Government).
Article Three:
Declares that the national judicial
powers shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and several
inferior courts, as established by
Congress, (The Supreme Court
interprets and applies the laws of
the United States.
CHECKS AND BALANCES



Our National Government is structured within the three previous
separate branches: Legislative (Congress), Executive (President),
and the Judicial (Federal Courts).
This structure allows for each branch of government to posses
certain powers that allow them to oversee what the other two are
doing.
For Example:

Congress creates laws---The President may veto or approve these bills.

The President may appoint judges---Congress may deny appointments.

The Congress and the President may pass laws– The Federal Courts may find
them unconstitutional.
JUDICIAL REVIEW


This principle holds that the
(federal) courts hold the power
to determine the
constitutionality of a
government action, (i.e., The
Federal Courts may declare as
unconstitutional any
government action (federal,
state, or local) found to violate
the provisions set forth in the
Constitution.
Example:
You are detained by a police officer for
speeding and asked to empty the contents
of your pockets. Upon doing so, a piece of
paper detailing how you robbed the
convenience store yesterday falls out.
Can this little piece of information be
held against you?
FEDERALISM

This principle holds that
governmental powers would be
distributed between the National
Government and the state
governments.

In short, the states may exercise
those governmental powers that are
not expressly assigned to the
National Government or that do not
infringe or violate any provisions of
the Constitution.

Question:
The states may determine the use of capital
punishment (death penalty) for their individual
states. Would you say that this situation may
violate the 8th Amendment’s provision on cruel
and unusual punishment?
CHAPTER THREE
SECTION TWO:
Formal Amendment
THE CONSTITUTION: PAST
VS.
PRESENT

Effected in 1789

Still effective 2011
( 222 years later )

13 states with less
than 4 million people
combined

50 states with just over
300 million people

Still a political and
economics world
power

A nation struggling
to obtain world
recognition as a
sovereign state
OBJECTIVES
 Analyze
the process by which
the U.S. Constitution can be
changed and evaluate their
effectiveness.
 Understand
the history of
the 27 amendments to the
Constitution.
CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION
Constitutional changes can occur in
(2) ways:



Formal amendment
Informal Procedures
This section will focus on the formal
amendments of the
Constitution.
Our Constitution provides for
changes (amendments) in the
written words of our
Constitution.
There are (4) possible methods to
amend or change provisions or
segments of our Constitution.
THE (4) METHODS
OF
FORMAL AMENDMENT
(ARTICLE V PROVIDES FOR (2) METHODS FOR THE PROPOSAL
AND (2) METHODS FOR THE RATIFICATION OF
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS)
1.

2.
First method: Proposal may be
proposed by 2/3 vote in each house of
Congress and ratified by 3/4 of the State
legislatures.
38 State legislatures must approve an
amendment before it becomes part of
the Constitution(26 of your 27
amendments were adopted this way).
Second Method: Congress may
propose an amendment to be ratified by
conventions in 3/4 of the States. (Ex. 21
amendment regarding prohibition)
3.
Third method: The
3.
Fourth method: The
proposal of an amendment by
a national convention (called
upon by the Congress at the
request of 2/3 of the States
(Today that would require 34
states).
proposal of an amendment by
a national convention
and ratified in
3/4 of the
States.
FEDERALISM



AND
Formal amendment process:
This process exemplifies how
the will of the people is truly
considered when a
Constitutional amendment is
deemed necessary.
I.E., The proposal is done at the
national level, but the ultimate
outcome rests with the States.
Question:
Why do you believe people
criticize the method of ratifying
an amendment through a State
legislature?
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
BILL OF
RIGHTS

Proposed by the first
Congress in 1789.
1st: Freedom of religion, speech, press,
assembly, and petition.

Ratified by the States in
1791.
2nd: Bearing arms
3rd: Quartering of troops

Arose out of the general
discontent that the initial
constitution did not have a
list of the basic rights the
citizens of this new country
would have.
4th: Searches and seizure
5th: Criminal proceedings; Due process; Eminent Domain
6th: Criminal proceedings
7th: Civil trials
8th: Punishment for crimes
9th: Un-enumerated rights

What are the 10
amendments?
10th: Powers reserved to the States
LATER
AMENDMENTS

Added to the Constitution
throughout the span of the last 200
years.

AMENDMENTS 11-27:
Amendment 11 (1798) - Judicial limits
Amendment 12 (1804) - Method for choosing the President, Vice President
Amendment 13 (1865) - Abolished slavery
Amendment 14 (1868) - Rights of citizenship to all people born in USA or naturalized
Amendment 15 (1870) - Gives the right to vote to all citizens, regardless of color or race, but
women are not mentioned

Normally, a result of unique
circumstances not addressed by the
Articles or other Amendments.
Amendment 16 (1913) - Income tax authorized
Amendment 17 (1913) - Senators elected by the popular vote
Amendment 18 (1919) - Prohibition - Liquor prohibited

Which amendment took a little over
200 years to ratified?
Amendment 19 (1920) - Women's suffrage (voting rights)
Amendment 20 (1933) - New terms of office for the President and Congress
Amendment 21 (1933) - Amendment 18 repealed (overturned)

27th Amendment:
 Forbidding Congress from
raising their own pay during
their present terms (Proposed in
1789 and ratified 203 years
later in 1992)
Amendment 22 (1951) - Presidential term limited
Amendment 23 (1961) - Presidential vote given to Washington, D. C.
Amendment 24 (1964) - Poll taxes barred (you cannot charge people to vote)
Amendment 25 (1967) - Presidential disability and succession
Amendment 26 (1971) - Voting age lowered to 18 years old (same as the age at which men
can be drafted into the army)
Amendment 27 (1992) - Congressional pay increases go into effect only during the next
Congressional session.
CHAPTER
THREE
SECTION THREE:
Informal
Procedures
OBJECTIVES

Identify how basic
legislation has changed the
Constitution over time.

Explain the powers of the
executive branch and the
courts to amend the
Constitution.

Analyze the role of party
practice and custom in
shaping the federal
government

Section Terms:

Executive Agreement
Treaty
Electoral college
Cabinet
Senatorial courtesy




BRIEF OVERVIEW

More informal changes have been made to the Constitution
than the amendment process that has given us 27
amendments.

The three branches of government have introduced new
ways to govern without conflicting with the original
Constitution.
WHAT ARE INFORMAL PROCEDURES?




The process by which through custom
and practice changes have been made
over time to assist in the interpreting
of constitutional concerns.
They do not involve adding
amendments of additional wording to
the Constitution.
They have; however, developed as a
result of the day-to-day and year-toyear experiences of government under
our Constitution.
This important constitutional process
of interpretation occurs in five (5)
ways:

This important constitutional
process of interpretation
occurs in five (5) ways:
1.
The passage of basic legislation
by Congress
2.
Action taken by the President
3.
Key decision of Supreme Court
4.
The Activities of political parties
5.
Customs
BASIC LEGISLATION (CONGRESS)

Congress has been a major
agent of informal change:

It has passed a number of laws to
spell out several of the
Constitution’s brief provisions.


Example: Congress has established the
federal courts (Except the Supreme
Court) as they have deemed necessary,
Article III, Section I.
Congress has informally added to
the Constitution by exercising its
power to regulate foreign and
interstate commerce.
EXECUTIVE ACTION

Executive power, as expressed by
Article II of The Constitution, allows
the President of the United States to
exercise certain powers.

Example: Only Congress has the power
to declare war ; however, since the
President is constitutionally the
commander in chief, the President of
the United States has made use of his
authority to send our troops abroad
more that 200 times in our nation’s
history.
COURT DECISION



Our nation’s courts (most notably the Supreme
Court) interpret and apply the Constitution
through the many cases that they hear.
These Landmark cases many times result in
new rules and regulations that are meant to
interpret what is constitutional and what is
unconstitutional for both the federal
government and the states.
Additionally, these legal decisions may result in
an interpretation of the Constitution that is
meant to address social/ legal concerns that may
not be enumerated in our Constitution.

Example: Miranda v. Arizona, 1966