U.S. Constitution
SSCG 3
SSCG 4



The “founding fathers”
believed in the separation of
powers in government (like
Montesquieu).
They believed in the “social
contract” between the
government and people (like
Hobbes and Locke).
The Constitution began a
republic and provides citizens
with information about their
rights and expectation of their
government.


The Constitution gives
the structure and powers
of government but does
not spell out every aspect
of government.
It is broken into three
parts: the Preamble, the
articles, and the
amendments.


The Preamble, or
introduction, states why
the Constitution was
written.
The founders indicated
they wanted a
government that gave
stability, order, protect
citizen’s liberties, and
serve the people.


There are 7 articles,
divisions, with each
covering a general
topic.
Articles I, II, and III
set up the branches
of government

Article IV sets up
the relationships of
the states to one
another and to the
national
government.

Article V spells out
the ways that the
Constitution can be
amended, or
changed.

Article VI contains the
supremacy clause,
establishing that the
Constitution, laws
passed by Congress,
and treaties of the
U.S. are the supreme
law of the land.

Article VII addresses
ratification and
declares the
Constitution would
take effect when
ratified by 9 states.
(New Hampshire
became the ninth
state to ratify the
Constitution.)


The third part of the
Constitution are the
amendments, or
changes.
There are 27
amendments to the
U.S. Constitution.

There are 6 major
principles of
government in the
Constitution: popular
sovereignty,
federalism, separation
of powers, checks and
balances, judicial
review, and limited
government.


Popular
sovereignty is “rule
by the people.”
It is what the
Constitution is
based on.


Under federalism the
power is divided
between the national
and state
governments.
Both have their own
agencies and officials,
and pass their own
laws that influence
their citizens.


The Constitution
limits the power of
the central
government by
dividing power among
the 3 branches.
Each branch has its
own responsibilities –
separation of powers.


The system of checks
and balances was
added to the
separation of powers.
Each branch exercises
some control over the
other branches.


Judicial review is the
power of the courts to
declare laws and actions
of local, state, or
national governments
invalid if they violate the
Constitution.
The Supreme Court is the
final authority on the
meaning and the
interpretation of the
Constitution



Marbury v. Madison
established the precedent
for federal courts to rule
on the actions of the
government.
Judicial review is
important.
The court decision on the
meaning of the
Constitution can be
changed only if the court
itself changes its view or
an amendment is added
to the Constitution.


Limited government
means the Constitution
limits the actions of
government by listing
powers the government
has or does not have.
The Constitution
safeguards against the
abuse of power.



Article I of the
Constitution created a
“bicameral legislature” for
the U.S.
The House of
Representatives was to
be the “voice of the
people” and chosen by
the people.
The “Senate” represented
the wider interests of
whole states and
originally chosen by state
legislatures.

Congress has
expressed powers,

those powers directly
stated in the
Constitution.
Most of the expressed
powers are in Article
I, Section 8 of the
Constitution.


Expressed powers are
also called enumerated
powers because they are
numbered 1 – 18.
Five deal with economic
issues: coining money,
regulate trade, borrow
money, levy taxes, and
punish counterfeiting.

Seven of the enumerated
powers deal with
defense: punish piracy,
declare war, raise and
support armed forces,
provide a navy, to
regulate armed forces, to
call a militia, and to
organize a militia.

Section 8 also
provides for
naturalizing citizens,
starting Post Offices,
securing patents and
copyrights,
establishing courts,
and governing the
District of Columbia.


The final enumerated
power is the “elastic
clause.”
This gives Congress
the right to make all
laws “necessary and
proper” to carry out
the powers expressed
in the other articles.



The second article of the
Constitution deals with the
office of President.
It is in direct response to one
of the weaknesses of the
“Articles of Confederation.”
The Constitution gives the
President broad but vaguely
described powers: can fire
people from the executive
branch, make agreements with
foreign powers, and take
emergency actions to save the
nation.

Specific powers of the President:
1.) commander in chief of the
armed forces; (2.) appoints heads
of executive dept.; (3.) may
pardon people of federal crimes or
reduce a person’s jail sentence or
fine; (4.) makes treaties; (5.)
appointments judges,
ambassadors, and other officials;
(6.) State of the Union address;
(7.) calls Congress into special
sessions; (8.) meets with heads of
states; (9.) commissions military
officers; and, (10.) ensures that
laws passed by Congress are
carried out.


Federal bureaucracy
are the departments
and agencies of the
federal government –
mostly the executive
branch.
Modern Presidents
oversee millions of
staff members.



Article III sets up the
court system.
There are 2 different
systems of courts:
federal and state.
Each has the power
to hear only certain
kinds of cases –
jurisdiction of the
courts.



Jurisdiction is the authority of
the court to rule on certain
cases.
The 2 factors that apply in the
federal court system are the
subject matter of the case and
who is involved.
Federal courts deal with U.S.
laws, treaties with foreign
nations, or interpretations of
the Constitution. Cases of
admiralty, or maritime law, are
under federal jurisdiction.



How do you amend the
Constitution?
Propose amendments: twothirds approval of each house;
or, national conventions called
by Congress at the request of
two-thirds of the states.
Ratify amendments: threefourths of state legislatures
ratify; or, ratified by threefourths of national
conventions.


“Informal
amendments” are
those that are not
formally proposed.
There are 3 ways:
circumstances
(practices) change,
through the law, and
custom and usuage.







The Federalist Papers are a
series of 85 articles advocating
the ratification of the United
States Constitution.
The Federalist remains a
primary source for
interpretation of the U.S.
Constitution.
The articles were written by:
Alexander Hamilton (51 articles: nos. 1, 6–
9, 11–13, 15–17, 21–36, 59–61, and 65–85)
James Madison (29 articles: nos. 10, 14,
37–58, and 62–63), and
John Jay (5 articles: 2–5 and 64).
Nos. 18–20 were the result of a
collaboration between Madison and
Hamilton.[1]


Federalist No. 10, in
which Madison discusses
the means of preventing
faction and advocates an
extended republic, is
generally regarded as the
most important of the 85
articles from a
philosophical perspective;
it is complemented by
Federalist No. 14.
Federalist No. 84,
Hamilton makes the case
that there is no need to
amend the Constitution
by adding a Bill of Rights.


“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.”
The Preamble to the United
States Constitution is a brief
introductory statement of the
fundamental purposes and guiding
principles which the Constitution is
meant to serve. In general terms,
it expresses the intentions of its
authors.


The rule of law, also
called supremacy of
law, simply means that
the law is above everyone
and it applies to
everyone.
No one is above the law,
no one is exempted from
the law, and no one can
grant exemption to the
application of the law.

Popular
sovereignty is the
belief that the
legitimacy of the state
is created by the will
or consent of its
people, who are the
source of all political
power.


The separation of powers is
a model for the governance of
democratic states.
The state is divided into
branches or estates, each
with separate and
independent powers and
areas of responsibility.
The normal division of
estates is into an
executive, a legislature,
and a judiciary.



The system of checks and
balances is a part of our
Constitution.
It guarantees that no part
of the government
becomes too powerful.
For example, the
legislative branch is in
charge of making laws. The
executive branch can veto
the law, thus making it
harder for the legislative
branch to pass the law. The
judicial branch may also
say that the law is
unconstitutional and thus
make sure it is not a law.


Federalism is political
philosophy in which a group of
members are bound together
with a governing
representative head.
Federalism is a system in
which the power to
govern is shared between
national and central
(state) governments,
creating what is often
called a federation.