The Constitution
Structure and Principles
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The Preamble sets forth the goals of the
government.
◦ “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.”
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The seven articles are the main divisions in
the body of the Constitution, each article
covering a general topic.
The amendments, which provide for changes
in the original document, are the third part of
the Constitution.
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Articles I, II, and III
◦ Create the three branches of government.
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Article IV
◦ Explains the relationship of the states to one
another and to the national government.
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Article V
◦ Explains the ways the constitution can be amended.
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Article VI
◦ Contains the Supremacy Clause, which states that
the constitution and laws and treaties passed by
congress “shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”
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Article VII
◦ Addresses ratification and declares that the
constitution would take effect after it was ratified
by nine states.
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Popular sovereignty is the cornerstone of the
Constitution.
◦ Popular sovereignty: rule by the people
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Federalism is the government’s basic
structure.
◦ Federalism: a system in which power is divided
between the national and state governments
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The Constitution provides for separation of
powers among the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches.
Checks and balances guarantees that no
branch of government will become too
powerful.
◦ Checks and balances: the system where each
branch of government exercise some control over
the others
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Judicial review ensures that laws made by
congress and the states do not violate
individual rights.
◦ Judicial review: the power of the Supreme Court to
declare laws and actions of local, state, or national
governments unconstitutional
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Limited government outlines the right for
people to govern themselves.
◦ Limited government: a system in which the power
of the government is limited, not absolute
Three Branches of
Government
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The powers, called enumerated powers,
granted to Congress are expressed in Article
I, Section 8.
◦ Enumerated powers: the expressed powers of
Congress that are itemized and numbered 1-18 in
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution
◦ The final enumerated power is known as the elastic
clause which gives Congress the right to make all
laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the other
powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I.
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Congress handles a far greater number of
bills today than Congress did early in the
nation’s history.
◦ In the first Congress, the Senate introduced only 24
bills and the House introduced 143.
◦ Today a total of about 10,000 bills are introduced
yearly.
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Attendance in legislative sessions was only a
part-time job for many years.
◦ Congress did not sit in continuous session until the
mid 1900s
◦ Today members of Congress live and work nearly
year round in Washington, D.C.
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The founders granted the executive broad but
vaguely described powers.
◦ Not put in office by direct election- voted on by
Electoral College
◦ “The executive Power shall be vested in a President
of the United States of America.”
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The presidency has changed over the years.
◦ Modern presidents handle many duties and their
schedules are timed minute by minute.
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Article II, Sections 2 and 3 describe the
specific powers of the president.
◦ Commander in Chief of armed forces
◦ Appoints heads of executive departments with
Senate approval
◦ May pardon people convicted of federal crimes
◦ Makes treaties with the advice and consent of
Senate
◦ Appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and other
officials with Senate consent
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Article II, Sections 2 and 3 describe the
specific powers of the president.
◦ Delivers an annual State of the Union message to
Congress
◦ Calls Congress into special sessions when
necessary
◦ Meets with heads of state, ambassadors, and other
foreign officials
◦ Commissions all military officers of the United
States
◦ Ensures that the laws Congress passes are
“faithfully executed.”
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The United States has two levels of courts,
federal and state.
◦ Federal courts powers derive from the Constitution
and federal laws.
◦ State courts are the judicial courts of each state and
their powers derive from state constitutions and
laws.
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Two factors determine jurisdiction, or the
authority of courts to rule on certain cases.
◦ Subject matter of the case.
◦ Parties involved.
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The modern federal system dates from 1891.
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The Supreme Court exercised important
power beginning in 1803 by using judicial
review.
◦ Marbury v. Madison
◦ Chief Justice John Marshall announced that the
Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the court more power
than the Constitution allowed.
◦ This made the act unconstitutional and crated
judicial review which elevated the importance of
the Supreme Court as they now decided what laws
were and were not constitutional.
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The executive and legislative branches must
cooperate to produce effective policies but
some conflicts are inevitable.
The expansion of presidential power has
caused conflicts between the executive and
legislative branches.
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Congress has the power to limit judicial
authority but has been reluctant to use it.
The Supreme Court must depend on the
president and the executive branch to carry
out its decisions.
Amending the Constitution
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Article V describes how Congress and the
States can change the Constitution.
There are two methods for amending the
Constitution.
◦ Two-thirds vote of each house of Congress.
 Dozens of resolutions asking for constitutional
amendments are introduced in Congress each year.
◦ A national convention called by Congress at the
request of two-thirds of the states.
 This method has never been used.
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Congress decides how much time the states
will have to ratify a proposed amendment.
- Changes Through Laws
◦ Congress has passed laws that have changed or
clarified many provisions of the Constitution.
◦ Congress has greatly expanded the executive
branch by creating the cabinet departments,
agencies, boards, and commissions.
◦ Congress has changed the Judicial branch by
creating the additional federal courts, establishing
new rules of federal court procedure, and provided
for court workers.
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Changes Through Practices
◦ Congress has shaped the Constitution by using the
powers granted to the Legislative branch.
◦ The House my impeach federal officials, including
the president, while it is up to the Senate to
determine the accused person’s guilt or innocence.
 Impeach: to accuse a public official of misconduct in
office
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Presidential Succession
◦ After the death of President William Henry Harrison
there was a question about whether the vice
president actually became president or merely took
the role of acting president until the next election.
◦ Vice president John Tyler took the oath of office and
established the precedent of presidential
succession.
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Foreign Affairs
◦ In dealing with other nations, presidents use executive
agreements that do not require the approval of
Congress.
 Executive agreement: an agreement made between the
president and a head of state
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Domestic Affairs
◦ Modern presidents have greatly strengthened the powers
of their office by proposing their own legislative agendas
to Congress.
 Leads to more presidential powers than founding fathers
originally imagined.
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The Supreme Court uses judicial review to
interpret the Constitution.
◦ The philosophy of judicial restraint holds that the
Court should uphold acts of Congress unless the
acts clearly violate a specific provisions of the
Constitution.
 Judicial restraint: the philosophy that the Supreme
Court should avoid taking the initiative on social and
political questions.
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The Supreme Court uses judicial review to
interpret the Constitution.
◦ Judicial activism holds that the Court should apply
the Constitution to social and political questions.
 Judicial activism: the philosophy that the Supreme
Court should play an active role in shaping the national
policies by addressing social and political issues
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The Supreme Court’s rulings can change to
reflect the changing condition of the time.
◦ Chief Justice John Warren accepted cases involving
many controversial issues, including civil rights.
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The Constitution has been informally
enlarged through customs that have
developed over time.
Political parties are an example of customs
that have informally changed the
Constitution.
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Political parties are not mentioned in the
Constitution, but play a vital role in today’s
government.
The amendments added to the Constitution
and the changes achieved through precedent
and practice have crated a government that
can respond to the conditions and needs of
the times.
The Amendments
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Critics attacked the proposed Constitution for
not protecting the rights of the people.
Federalists promised to add a list of rights.
The first Congress proposed 12 amendments
and sent them to the states for ratification.
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In 1791 the states ratified 10 of the
amendments which became the Bill of Rights.
These ten amendments originally applied only
to the federal government, but through a
series of Supreme Court decisions now apply
to state governments also.
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The First Amendment
◦ Protects individuals’ rights to worship, to speak
freely, to assemble, and to petition and criticize
government.
◦ Unlike the press in some other countries, the
American press is not subject to prior restraint.
 Prior restraint: government censorship of information
before it is published or broadcast
◦ The freedoms of speech and the press are not
unlimited.
 Slander and libel are prohibited under law.
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The Second Amendment
◦ Ensures citizens’ right to own firearms.
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The Third Amendment
◦ Prohibits the government from forcing people to
provide shelter for soldiers in their homes.
◦ Intended to prevent the American government from
repeating the actions of the British government
during the colonial period and the Revolution.
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The Fourth Amendment
◦ Protects individuals from unlawful searches and
arrests without court warrants.
◦ To be lawful, a search or arrest must be based on
probable cause.
 Probably cause: a reasonable basis to believe a person
or premises is linked to a crime
◦ A search or an arrest also usually requires a search
warrant or an arrest warrant.
 Search warrant: an order signed by a judge describing
a specific place to ne searched for specific items
 Arrest warrant: an order signed by a judge naming the
individual to be arrested for a specific crime
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The Fifth Amendment
Protects people charged with a crime.
A grand jury must indict them before trial.
No one found innocent can be retried for the same crime
People cannot be forced to testify against themselves.
No one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law.
◦ Defines the governments rights of eminent domain.
 Eminent domain: the power of government to take private
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property for public use
 The government must pay a fair price for the land that they
purchase.
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The Sixth Amendment
◦ Guarantees accused persons the right to know the
charges against them, a defense attorney, a speedy
jury trial, and the right to question all witnesses
and compel them to testify.
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The Seventh Amendment
◦ Provides individuals the right to a trial by jury to
settle property disputes, though a judge my try the
case if both parties agree.
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The Eighth Amendment
◦ Prohibits excessive bail and fines and bars cruel and
unusual punishment.
◦ Has been used to limit the use of the death penalty in
some cases.
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The Ninth Amendment
◦ States that all powers not spelled out in the Constitution
are retained by the people.
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The Tenth Amendment
◦ All powers not given to the national government or
denied to the states belong to the states or the people.
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The 11th Amendment prohibits a state from
being sued in federal court.
The 12th Amendment states that the Electoral
College shall cast separate ballots for
president and vice president.
The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are
known as the Civil War Amendments.
The 13th Amendment outlaws slavery.
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The 14th Amendment originally was intended
to protect the legal rights of the freed slaves
and their decedents.
◦ Today, it protects the rights of citizenship in
general by prohibiting a state from depriving any
person of life, liberty, or property without “due
process of law.”
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15th Amendment outlawed slavery, prohibited
depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property
without “due process,” and prohibited
denying the right to vote based on race.
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The later Amendments, 16-27, deal with a
variety of topics reflecting changes in modern
times.
Highlights of later amendments:
◦ 17th Amendment states that the people instead of the
legislature elect US senators.
◦ 18th Amendment prohibits the manufacture, sale, or
transport of alcoholic beverages.
◦ 19th Amendment guaranteed women the right to vote.
◦ 21st Amendment repeals the 18th Amendment.
◦ 22nd Amendment limits the president to a maximum of
two terms in office.
◦ 26th Amendment lowers the voting age to 18.