The Constitution
The Constitution
Chapter 3: The Constitution
Section 1: A Blueprint for Government
Section 2: An Enduring Document
Section 3: Applying the Constitution
The Constitution
Section 1 at a Glance
A Blueprint for Government
• The Constitution establishes six goals for the U.S. government to
meet.
• The Constitution outlines six basic principles of U.S. government and
a system that safely and fairly distributes and balances power.
• Under the Constitution, the powers of government are limited in order
to protect individual rights.
• The Constitution divides the powers of government among three
separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
• The Constitution includes checks on and balances of government
power to prevent any one branch of government from overpowering
the others.
The Constitution
A Blueprint for Government
Main Idea
Drawing lessons from history, the Framers wrote a constitution
that divided, limited, and balanced power among three branches
of government.
Reading Focus
• What are the six goals of the Constitution?
• What are the six principles of government in the Constitution?
• What is popular sovereignty?
• What is limited government?
The Constitution
A Blueprint for Government
Reading Focus (cont’d)
• How does the Constitution create a separation of the powers of
government?
• How does the system of checks and balances limit the powers
of government?
• Why is the principle of judicial review so powerful?
• Why is the principle of federation still a topic of debate?
The Constitution
Checks and Balances
The Constitution
Goals of the Constitution
The Framers stated six goals in the Preamble:
form a more perfect union; establish justice;
ensure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense;
promote the general welfare; and secure the blessings of liberty
Government tasks
• Raise an army
• Pay its bills
• Conduct relations with foreign
countries
Concerns
• Some Framers with strong
reservations
• Some completely opposed
• Worried about strong national
government
The Constitution
The Constitution
Governing after a Revolution
The Framers were concerned with government
suppressing the liberty of its citizens.
British legacy
Examples
• Framers fought American
Revolution to stop British
government from infringing on
natural rights
• Greek city-states
• Were students of political
philosophy and history
• Constitution of the Iroquois
League
• Achievements and failures of
past governments well-known
• Decisions with long-lasting
consequences—no repeat of
past mistakes
• Roman Empire
• European monarchies
The Constitution
Addressing the Problem of Governing
Dilemma of democratic government
• Allowing people substantial freedom
• Controlling worst aspects of human behavior
• Author of Federalist Paper No. 51 describes dilemma
• System of law essential
Government obliged “to control itself”
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•
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Locke, “where there is no law, there is no freedom”
Laws help maintain order, protect rights, property, and lives
Laws must be enforceable, with explicit threat of punishment
Power to make laws and punish lawbreakers
Must keep government in check
The Constitution
Identifying the Main Idea
What problems of governing
did the Framers face?
Answer(s): giving people freedom while
controlling them, establishing a system of law,
and the knowledge that decisions would have
long-lasting consequences
The Constitution
Principles of Government in the Constitution
Framers’ solution
• Create governing document
• Divide, distribute, and balance
governmental power
Bill of Rights
• Final check on power
• Inclusion of Bill of Rights in 1791
Uses of power
• Government power subject to will of
the people
• Power as voters
Restraints
• Placed specific restraints on power
of government
• Cannot violate basic rights of
citizens
The Constitution
The Constitution is the Blueprint
4,500 words
• Constitution blended ideas from the
past with uniquely American
principles of governing
• Three main parts
• Preamble—states broad goals
• The seven articles—create
structure of the U.S. government
• The amendments—27 changes
added during the nation’s history
Basic principles
• Structure and language expresses
six basic principles
Popular sovereignty
Limited government
Separation of powers
Checks and balances
Judicial review
Federalism
Framers believed if federal government reflected and remained true to
basic principles, goals of U.S. Constitution could be accomplished.
The Constitution
The Constitution
Identifying the Main Idea
Describe how the Constitution provides a
blueprint for governing the nation.
Answer(s): by setting out six principles of
governing that, if followed, would allow its goals
to be accomplished
The Constitution
Popular Sovereignty
• Government gets its authority from the people
• Ultimate political power remains with the people
• Creating a republic established the people’s authority
– Citizens did not have unlimited power
– Not a direct democracy
– Placed constitutional limits on popular sovereignty
• James Madison felt republic best way to guard against the
dangers of factions
– Defined as number of citizens united by common interest
– Could be minority or majority
– Might act in a way that hurt the rights of other citizens or the interests of
the nation
• Since factions certain to exist, must limit their effects
The Constitution
Republican form of government
• Elected leaders represent broad and diverse group of citizens with
competing interests
• Tend toward factions with broad interests
• Not narrowly partisan ones
Popular sovereignty at heart of government
• Each election is chance for citizens to exercise sovereignty
• Elected leaders work for you; can vote to “fire” elected officials when
you step into voting booth
• Important power—important responsibility
• Citizens have obligation to vote wisely; choose leaders after
thoughtful deliberation
The Constitution
Identifying the Main Idea
How is popular sovereignty expressed in the
Constitution?
Answer(s): The Preamble begins with the
words “We the People of he United States,”
indicating that government gets its authority
from the people.
The Constitution
Limited Government
Opposition to control
• Most Americans opposed too much
government control of business or
private activities
• Framers felt limited government
promoted goals, protected
individual rights
Part of Constitution
• Principle of limited government
spread throughout
• List of powers extensive, but
powers not listed are excluded
• Powers are explicitly denied
• Bill of Rights a safeguard
Definition
• Principle that powers and functions
of government are restricted
• Also know as rule of law—concept
that every member of society must
obey the law; is never above it
Vigorous civil society
• Works to constrain government
power; part of political process,
helping educate and inform the
citizenry
• Holds government accountable
when it fails or exceeds power
The Constitution
The Constitution
Drawing Conclusions
How might civil society support the principle
of limited government?
Answer(s): By being active in the political process,
citizens can make better choices when they vote
and hold the government accountable when it
exceeds its power or fails to address society’s
needs.
The Constitution
Separation of Powers
Three distinct branches
• Created to ensure powers of
government not concentrated in
hands of a few officials or agencies
• Principle of separation of powers
governing duties divided among
three branches
Article II
• Establishes duties of the executive
branch; the president, the vicepresident, and the many executive
departments
• Carries out laws passed by
legislative branch
Article I
• Creates and empowers Congress,
the lawmaking body of the nation
• House of Representatives and
Senate; each with special powers
• House has “power of the purse”
Article III
• Establishes the judicial branch,
including the Supreme Court
• Exercises the judicial power of the
United States; interprets and
applies the law
The Constitution
The Constitution
Summarizing
How does the structure of the Constitution
reflect the separation of powers of
government?
Answer(s): The responsibilities of each of the
three branches of government are listed in three
separate articles.
The Constitution
Checks and Balances
• Each branch with own area of governmental responsibilities
• Not completely separate from each other
• Designed so none can dominate; no branch can control
• “Common good” maintained—policies and actions that benefit all of
society, such as health, safety, and defense programs
System established
• Checks and balances—each
branch of government has the
power to change or cancel acts of
another branch
• System prevents exertion of too
much power
Balance
• Congress checks executive by
controlling taxes and spending
• Can reject nominations; approve
treaties
• Congress given power to declare
war; limits president’s power
The Constitution
Primary Source Cartoon
The Constitution
Other branches have checks
Executive branch
• Power to veto, or reject, legislation
• Threat of veto sometimes sufficient
to push revision of legislation so it
has better chance of getting signed
Veto limited
• Congress can override veto with
two-thirds majority of both houses
• If Congress can muster enough
votes, the bill passes
• President can exercise veto power
Unconstitutional
• Judicial branch can declare acts
unconstitutional—the power of
judicial review
• Federal judges given lifetime terms;
insulated from undue political
influence
Judicial review balanced
• President has power to make
federal judicial nominations
• Congress has power to approve all
federal judicial nominations
The Constitution
Presidential frustrations
• Famous example of annoyance at Supreme Court in 1930s
– President Franklin Roosevelt convinced Congress to pass measures to
combat the Great Depression
– Court declared some measures to be unconstitutional
• Roosevelt responded by introducing legislation to reorganize
the federal judiciary
– Wanted to increase the size of the Court by adding new justices
– Result would be larger Supreme Court with favorable majority
• Critics claimed Roosevelt trying to change balance of power
with “court-packing” plan; Senate passed a watered-down plan
– Plan never implemented
– In second term, Roosevelt able to replace five of the Supreme Court
justices; gained a sympathetic majority which upheld New Deal
programs, including Social Security
The Constitution
Identifying Supporting Details
Name at least one check or balance that
each branch of government has on the
others.
Answer(s): legislative: can reject the executive
branch’s job appointments; executive: can veto
laws passed by legislative branch; judicial: can
rule acts of other branches unconstitutional
The Constitution
Judicial Review
Deciding constitutionality
• Courts exercise judicial review—power to determine whether
actions of legislative and judicial branch are constitutional
• Any law or government action (federal or state) found to violate a part
of the Constitution is said to be unconstitutional; act deemed illegal
and cannot be enforced or carried out by the government
Judicial review not mentioned in Constitution
• Writers of Federalist Papers made it clear courts were to have such
power; an independent judiciary would serve as precaution against
one branch becoming predominant over the others
• In 1803 the Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review
with the landmark case Marbury v. Madison
The Constitution
The Constitution
Making Inferences
How might the power of judicial review affect
ordinary citizens?
Answer(s): Judicial review can strike down laws
that restrict citizens’ rights.
The Constitution
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Why It Matters:
Marbury v. Madison established the Supreme
Court’s power to decide whether laws are
constitutional. This power, called judicial review, is
a basic principle of American government.
The Constitution
Federalism
• The powers of government are distributed between the national
government and state governments—federalism
• Framers struggled to find acceptable distribution of powers with the
rights of states and sufficient national government strength
• Two clauses spell this out, Article I, Section 8 and Article VI
Supremacy clause
Flexibility
• Advocates for states rights found
clauses troubling—where was limit
to federal power
• Language allows for strong federal
government but guarantees states
retain powers and rights
• Amendment X addresses issue
• Strong federal authority for national
defense, disaster response, and
highway construction accepted;
disagreement with other issues
• Powers not delegated are reserved
to the states respectively, or to the
people
The Constitution
Drawing Conclusions
Why do supporters of states’ rights refer to the
Tenth Amendment to strengthen their
arguments?
Answer(s): because the amendment guarantees
that powers not specifically delegated to the
federal government by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the
states or to the people.
The Constitution
Debating the Issue: The Constitution and Privacy
Does the Constitution protect your right of privacy?
The Constitution does not explicitly mention such a right, but
many people argue that the Constitution and Bill of Rights, when
read as a whole, protect an implied right of privacy.
This approach to constitutional interpretation is sometimes
called “loose construction.”
Other people, calling for “strict construction,” argue that the
Constitution should be read literally: The words on the page
mean exactly—and only—what they say. When the Constitution
is read strictly, people argue, it is improper to protect a broad
right to privacy.
The Constitution
Debating the Issue
The Constitution and Privacy
The Constitution
Section 2 at a Glance
An Enduring Document
• The Constitution is an enduring document that
has the ability to grow and change over time.
• The Constitution includes a formal process for
adding amendments to the Constitution.
• The Constitution has been amended 27 times.
The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of
Rights.
The Constitution
An Enduring Document
Main Idea
The Constitution is both a product of its time and a document for
all time. It can be changed as society’s needs change.
Reading Focus
• How did Jefferson and Madison differ in their views on
amending the Constitution?
• Why might the Constitution be called a document for all time?
• By what processes can the Constitution be amended?
• What types of amendments have been added to the
Constitution over the last 220 years?
The Constitution
A Constitution for All Generations
The Constitution
Jefferson and Madison on Amending the
Constitution
Jefferson’s views
• Jefferson felt Constitution should
not be changed on a whim but
could be changed as society and
circumstances changed
• Believed in each generation as “a
distinct nation,” with the right to
govern itself but not to bind
succeeding generations
• Jefferson made his arguments in
exchange of letters with fellow
Virginian James Madison
Madison’s views
• Madison felt laws and constitutions
grow in authority and acceptance
the longer they go unchanged
• Worried that changing Constitution
too often could split the country into
factions
• Feared sectional rivalry would
leave the nation prey to foreign
powers and influence
• Madison feared periods of chaos
might occur between periods of
revision
The Constitution
Summarizing
Why was Madison opposed to frequent
changes to the Constitution?
Answer(s): He felt that the Constitution would
gain authority the longer it went unchanged and
that changing it too often could split the country
into factions.
The Constitution
A Document for All Time
• Original Constitution a product of its time
– Reflects wisdom and biases of the Framers; relatively few changes in
over 220 years
– Survived the Civil War, presidential assassinations, and economic crises
to become world’s oldest written constitution
• Original document not perfect
– Perpetuated injustices with compromises permitting slavery and the
slave trade
– States given power to set qualifications for voting; women, nonwhites,
and poor people denied right to vote
– Decisions reflected societal attitudes of the times
• Ability to incorporate changing ideas of freedom and liberty keeps
document relevant to each new generation since 1789
The Constitution
Drawing Conclusions
What makes the U.S. Constitution an
enduring document?
Answer(s): It has lasted for more than 220 years
with few changes.
The Constitution
The Amendment Process
• Gives Americans the power to change the Constitution
• Is difficult in order to prevent momentary passions and prejudices of
the majority from violating the rights of the rest of the citizens
• Might threaten the democratic structure of the government
Article V
• Describes process for amending
the Constitution
• States that amendments must first
be proposed, then ratified, or
approved
• Provides two ways of proposing
and two ways of ratifying
Different paths
• Two-step process required
ratification by the states and so
restricted power of Congress to
change the Constitution
• Ensured that any change would
reflect national will
• Supported principle of popular
sovereignty
The Constitution
Supermajority required
• Each step in process requires supermajority—a majority that is
larger than a simple majority
• Difficult process would weed out frivolous amendments
Proposing an Amendment
Two ways can be proposed:
• by Congress, with the approval of at
least two-thirds of the House and
two-thirds of the Senate
• by delegates at a national
convention that is called by
Congress at the request of at least
two-thirds of the state legislatures
Facts
• All of the amendments to the
Constitution have been proposed
by Congress
• Required number of states for a
national convention has been
nearly reached twice
• Convention supporters have never
persuaded the last few needed
states
The Constitution
Issues of convention
• Wording of Article V does not
specify if convention is limited to
proposing only the amendment it
was called to consider
Ratifying an Amendment
•
• Nonspecific wording could allow
rest of Constitution to be opened
for reconsideration and change
Congress sends proposed
amendment to 50 states for
ratification; states can ratify in two
ways—Congress determines
which way is to be used
•
• Problem—convention could
propose amendment to repeal First
or Fourteenth Amendments that
provide foundation for many rights
enjoyed today
To be voted on by state
legislatures; at least three-fourths
of state legislatures must approve
an amendment
•
Citizens elect delegates to
conventions called in each state
specifically to consider the
amendment; passage requires
approval by conventions in at least
three-fourths of the states.
• Method of national convention has
remained unused
The Constitution
The Constitution
Rise and fall of prohibition
Example
Reformers
• Passage and repeal of amendment
on prohibition good example of
ratification methods
• 1800s and early 1900s: WCTU and
Prohibition Party campaigned to
outlaw alcoholic beverages
• Prohibition—ban on production,
transportation, and sale of alcoholic
beverages
• Argued drinking alcohol led to
idleness, violence, and increase in
crime
Eighteenth Amendment
Prohibition unpopular
• 1917: Responding to public
demand, Congress proposed
amendment
• Lucrative trade in illegal alcohol; led
to organized crime, political
corruption, and violence
• 1919: Enough state legislatures
had ratified the proposal to make it
the Eighteenth Amendment; but
drinking alcohol not banned
• Groups of citizens led movement
for reform; used many of same
arguments
The Constitution
The Constitution
Twenty-first Amendment
• Congress responded to new reform
movement
The Fate of Amendments
•
Changing the Constitution difficult
•
• Proposed to repeal prohibition and
to give states power to regulate
transportation and distribution of
alcoholic beverages
More than 10,000 attempts have
been suggested or proposed
•
Only 33 amendments have been
passed by Congress and sent to
states for ratification
• To repeal a law—to cancel or
revoke it by a legislative act
•
27 amendments have been
adopted
•
6 have been rejected
• Only time method of ratification by
state conventions of delegates
elected specifically to vote on the
issue used
• 36 states ratified within the year;
Amendment XVIII was repealed by
Amendment XXI
The Constitution
The Constitution
Summarizing
What are the four ways of amending the
Constitution?
Answer(s): proposed by Congress and ratified by
state legislatures; proposed by Congress and ratified
by state conventions; proposed by national convention
and ratified by Congress; proposed by national
convention and ratified by state conventions.
The Constitution
More than 200 Years of Amendments
• Process of adding to the Constitution began with the first ten
amendments—the Bill of Rights; 17 more amendments added
• Identify, support, and protect some of most important rights
The Bill of Rights
First Amendment
• Designed to protected specific
individual freedoms
• Restrictive; declares what federal
government may not do
• Various states offered up a total of
210 suggestions for amendments
• Intended to guarantee individual’s
exercise of certain basic freedoms
• 12 amendments drafted; Congress
passed them and sent on to states
• First Amendment—right to practice
religion freely, protects freedom of
expression, and the right to ask the
government to correct injustices
• 10 of the 12 amendments were
ratified; Bill of Rights adopted 1791
The Constitution
Amendment Guarantees
• 2nd gives right to bear arms
The Other Amendments
•
After Civil War amendments
passed to ban slavery, to
recognize all African Americans as
U.S. citizens, and to give African
American men various rights,
including the right to vote
•
Not often enforced from 1877 to
1965 in the South; Jim Crow laws
put into effect
•
Vigorous social reform; prohibition
came and went
•
Popular election of senators;
women granted right to vote
•
Constitution provides stable,
flexible government
• 3rd prohibits government from
forcing citizens to quarter, or
shelter, military troops in their
homes
• 4th protects individuals against
unreasonable searches and
seizures of private property
• 5th and 6th guarantee due process
of law; no self-incrimination; right to
a speedy trial and the right to an
attorney
• 7th through 10th protect rights or
powers that belong to the states
and to the people
The Constitution
Summarizing
What are the five issues that constitutional
amendments have addressed?
Answer(s): guaranteeing basic personal
freedoms and rights; states’ rights; status of
African Americans; social issues: political issues
The Constitution
Section 3 at a Glance
Applying the Constitution
• Over time, the three branches of government—legislative,
executive, and judicial—have expanded the scope and
application of the Constitution.
• Political parties, customs, and traditions have affected
how the Constitution is applied and carried out.
• Political scholars have debated what some see as
disadvantages of the framework of government
established by the Constitution.
The Constitution
Applying the Constitution
Main Idea
The scope and impact of the Constitution have expanded as it
has been put into practice, interpreted, and applied to new or
changing social and political challenges.
Reading Focus
• How have the three branches of government applied the
Constitution?
• How have political parties, customs, and traditions changed
how the Constitution is applied?
• What criticisms have some people made of the Constitution?
The Constitution
A Few Words, a Long Reach
The Constitution
The Federal Government Applies the Constitution
• Framers created framework to be followed and filled in by citizens
then and in later generations; put into action, the Constitution has
been extended in reach and meaning
Legislative Action
• Section 1, Article III created the
Supreme Court; Congress
authorized to create “such inferior
courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish”
• With Judiciary Act of 1789 created
system of lower-level federal courts
• Congress has expanded the judicial
branch as needed
Creating and Defining
• The executive branch is defined by
the Constitution
• Two passing references made to
executive departments
• Congressional legislation brought
today’s department and agencies
into being
• Congress pushes into areas where
Constitution is silent
The Constitution
Uncertain ground
• New technologies—personal
computers, cell phones
• Threatening international
circumstances—possible attacks by
terrorists
Executive Implementation
•
Presidents make executive
agreements—arrangements or
compacts with foreign leaders or
foreign governments
•
Power not found in Constitution
text; derived from acknowledged
constitutional powers
•
Executive agreements important
to conducting foreign policy; can
bypass long, formal treaty process
•
Executive agreement used in
1990; created international
coalition that defeated the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait
• Factors push Congress to test
constitutional boundaries
• Supreme Court can strike down a
new law; the Constitution remains
unchanged
• Court upholds a new law; the
application of the Constitution
changes slightly
The Constitution
• Executive agreement has the force of a treaty; does not require
Senate ratification
• Congress has authorized majority in advance or has approved them
after signing; most require subsequent congressional action
• Actions of the executive department and agencies change way the
Constitution applied or interpreted
• Agencies must define their operations; carry out programs Congress
has assigned to them
• Executive branch agencies usually have rule-making power; rules
have force of law; examples are medicine we take and tap water
• Code of Federal Regulations, collection of all of the rules made by
executive agencies; about 135,000 pages long
The Constitution
Judicial Interpretation
• Modern-day cases a challenge
• “Unreasonable searches and
seizures” in an era of airport
screening devices, cell phones, and
wireless Internet access
• Courts must interpret the Fourth
Amendment in light of changing
conditions; judges to apply the
Constitution’s prohibitions to new
technologies.
• Setting legal standards for lawenforcement to follow when
intercepting private conversations,
monitoring e-mail, and using other
“searching” methods
How to Interpret
•
“Strict” versus “loose” construction
of the Constitution
•
Strict interpretation of the
Constitution means giving the
words in the document only their
literal meaning
•
Loose construction means
following the words plus any
reasonable inferences that can be
drawn from them
•
In debates over national bank
Thomas Jefferson was a strict
constructionist; Alexander
Hamilton was a loose
constructionist
The Constitution
The Constitution
Identifying the Main Idea
How has each branch of government put the
Constitution into action? Give one example for
each branch.
Answer(s): legislative: by passing the Judiciary Act
of 1789; executive: by creating agencies to implement
Congress’s laws; judicial: by establishing the principle
of judicial review
The Constitution
Political Parties, Customs, and Traditions
• Political parties and entrenched customs and traditions affect how the
Constitution is interpreted, applied, and carried out.
Political Parties
Legacy of Political Movements
• Political party—an organized
group that seeks to win elections in
order to influence the activities of
government
• Populists supported bank
regulation; government regulation
of railroads; unlimited coinage of
silver; direct election of senators
• Parties help determine the choice
of candidates, policies, and
programs presented to the voters
• Progressives took same causes as
Populists; helped the urban poor
• Parties also help shape the judicial
branch; deeply affect how
government operates
• Federal government regulated
banks, food and drug safety,
railroads, and business monopolies
• Now have PACs, online political
commentators, and bloggers
The Constitution
The Constitution
Customs and Traditions
• Strongly influence how American government behaves
• Constitution authorizes the president to “require the opinion, in
writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments”
• Washington relied on language in Article II to create a cabinet—a
group of advisers consisting of the heads of the executive
departments; in time tradition of cabinet and cabinet meetings born
• Some traditions have become law; no president served more than
two terms in office until Roosevelt broke with tradition with third and
fourth terms as president in the 1940s
• Many Americans concerned; Congress passed the Twenty-second
Amendment
• Presidents limited to two terms, formalizing the custom that began
with Washington
The Constitution
Identifying the Main Idea
How do political parties and traditions affect
the functioning of government?
Answer(s): possible answer—political parties: by
determining the choice of candidates, policies, and
programs presented to the voters; traditions: by
influencing the way government behaves, such as the
creation of the president’s cabinet
The Constitution
Criticisms of the Constitution
Imperfections
A System That Creates Gridlock
• Brevity, insight, and flexibility
commands respect
• Inability to govern effectively due to
separation of powers—gridlock
• Some agree with Jefferson’s
prediction that “the imperfections of
a written Constitution will become
apparent”
• Can bring government to a
standstill; 1995 budget dispute shut
down the federal government for 27
days
Questions about Representation
The Electoral College
• Constitution falls short of truly
representative democracy
• Most obvious in Senate; states with
small populations have far more
relative influence than residents of
states with large populations
• Electoral college—the body of 538
people elected from the 50 states
and the District of Columbia
• Critics point to the fact that the
winner of the popular vote may not
win the presidency
The Constitution
The Constitution
Winner-Take-All Elections
• In elections for U.S. Congress, the candidate who receives the most votes is
elected to the House or Senate; candidate who comes in second or third
goes home—even if he or she receives a large number of votes
• This type of election known as the winner-take-all system
• Many European parliaments use proportional representation
• Voters choose from party lists of candidates; seats are given to each party
according to the percentage of the total votes they win
• More-popular parties will have a larger number of seats, but less-popular
parties will not be entirely shut out of the parliament
• Supporters of proportional representation say it allows a larger variety of
viewpoints to gain representation in the legislature
• Defenders of the U.S. system respond that proportional representation leads
to fractured legislatures with many small parties, while the American process
allows the party with the most support to govern
The Constitution
Contrasting
How does the winner-take-all election system differ
from a system of proportional representation?
Answer(s): Under the winner-take-all system, the candidate in
each district who receives the most votes wins the seat. Under
proportional representation, seats in the legislature are given to each
party according to the percentage of the total votes they win, giving
less popular parties a voice. The proportional system allows a larger
variety of viewpoints to be represented, but also leads to fractured
legislatures with many small parties, whereas the American system
allows the party with the most support to govern.
The Constitution
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
A New Constitution and a New Government
The Constitution was a plan for the new national government
that described the new government, its powers, and the limits
on it. The Framers wrote the Constitution as a general
framework and left out details they knew would be added in the
future.
• What are Congress’s constitutional powers?
• What are the president’s constitutional responsibilities?
• What are the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court?