Constitutional Change by Other
Means
OBJECTIVES:
IDENTIFY HOW BASIC LEGISLATION HAS
CHANGED THE CONSTITUTION OVER
TIME.
DESCRIBE THE WAYS IN WHICH THE
CONSTITUTION HAS BEEN ALTERED BY
EXECUTIVE AND JUDICIAL ACTIONS.
ANALYZE THE ROLE OF PARTY
PRACTICES AND CUSTOM IN SHAPING
THE CONSTITUTION.
Basic Legislation
 Congress has changed the Constitution in two
important ways
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___________passed laws to spell out several of the
Constitution’s brief provisions. Flesh to the Bones of the
Constitution! An example is the structure of the Federal Court
System. Art.III, Sec.1. which says ________________
Passed the ____ Amendment to clear up Presidential
Succession.
Congress has added to the Constitution by the way in which it
has used many of its powers. “Foreign and Interstate
Commerce”
Executive Action
 The Constitution says only _______________ can
declare war. However, because Presidents are
considered the __________________ of the nations
armed forces. Because of this, several Presidents have
made war without a declaration of war by Congress.
 An ________________is a pact made by the
President directly with the head of a foreign state.
 A ___________is a formal agreement between two or
more sovereign states.
 The main difference between the two
is____________________. Art. II, Sec.II of the
Constitution
Court Decisions
 The __________________ interprets and applies
the Constitution in many cases they hear.
 In the Supreme Court Case ____________ vs.
____________ the concept of Judicial Review was
established.
 President Woodrow Wilson once stated that “The
Supreme Court is a constitutional convention in
continuous session”
 What did he mean by this statement?
Party Practices
 The ________________ and _______________
have been a major source of Constitutional change.
 Neither the Constitution nor any law provides for the
nomination of candidates for the presidency.
 The parties have converted the ______________, the
group that makes the formal selection of the President,
from what the Framers intended into a
“Rubber Stamp” for each State’s popular vote.
 Both the ____________ and ______________ are
organized and conduct much of their business on the
basis of party.
Custom
 Unwritten custom may be as strong as written law,
and many customs have developed in our
governmental system.
 By custom, the heads of the __________ executive
departments make up the _______________, an
advisory body to the President
 25th Amendment to the Constitution
 22nd Amendment to the Constitution