Constitution Notes
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Constitution
Notes.
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 Copy the following notes in Cornell style.
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You will be writing questions at home tonight.
There are 14 slides of information to take notes on.
The Constitution
 The Constitution is the
supreme law of the land
Preamble
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The introduction to the Constitution is
called the Preamble.
The Preamble begins with the phrase
“We the people…”
This means that the government is based
on the consent of the people.
Amendment
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A change in the Constitution
There have been 27 amendments to the
Constitution.
The first 10 amendments are called the Bill
of Rights.
The Branches of Government
There are three branches of government:
1. The legislative - which makes the laws
2. The executive - which enforces the laws
or make sure the laws are carried out
3. The judicial - which interprets the laws or
explains the laws and makes sure they are
fair
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Legislative Branch
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The legislative branch is called Congress
and is made up of two Houses (parts):
The House of Representatives and the
Senate.
The House of Representatives
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States with the largest populations have
the most representatives in the House.
House members must be at least 25 years
old or older to serve.
House members are elected to a two year
term.
There are 435 members in the House of
Representatives.
The Senate
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The Senate is the other part of the
Congress
There are two senators for each state,
which means of course there are 100
Senators.
Senators must be at least 30 years old.
Senators are elected to a six year term.
The Executive Branch
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The executive branch is headed by the
president.
The president is the commander-in-chief
of the armed forces.
The President
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The president is elected to a four year
term.
The president can only serve two terms.
The president must be a citizen by birth
The president must be at least 35 years
old.
The Judicial Branch
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The Judicial Branch of the federal
government is headed by the Supreme
Court.
Supreme Court justices are nominated by
the president and approved by the Senate.
There are 9 Supreme Court justices, who
are appointed for life.
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Checks and Balances
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The framers of the Constitution
established a system of checks and
balances to prevent any branch
government from getting too powerful.
Example: Congress has the right to pass
bills into law, but the president can veto
them, which means the bill does not
become a law.
More examples
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If the president vetoes a law, the Congress
can override his veto by a 2/3 majority.
The Supreme Court can say that any law
is unconstitutional. The law no longer
exists.
Federalism
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The power of government is also split
between the states and the federal
government.
This is called Federalism.
If the Constitution does not have a law, the
states can do what they want.
State law cannot contradict federal law.
Dual Sovereignty
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Dual Sovereignty means that whatever the
federal government does not make a law
about, the states can act however they
choose.
That is why there is different state laws
regarding the age of drinking alcohol,
driving, the death penalty, and many more.