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U.S. Constitution

U.S. Constitution. Chapter 3 Democracy checked / Rulers balanced. The Constitution. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - Lord Acton The Constitution reflects the Framers’ belief that controls had to be placed on both the government and those being governed. Five Principles.

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U.S. Constitution

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  1. U.S. Constitution Chapter 3 Democracy checked / Rulers balanced

  2. The Constitution “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” - Lord Acton The Constitution reflects the Framers’ belief that controls had to be placed on both the government and those being governed

  3. Five Principles 1. Popular Sovereignty 2. Separation of Powers 3. Checks and Balances 4. Limited Government 5. Federalism

  4. Popular Sovereignty People are the most important source of government power • Government works on the consent of the governed Principle Expanded by Amendments... • #15 African American males can vote • #17 Direct election of Senators by the voters • #19 Women can vote • #26 Citizens aged 18-21 can vote Original Constitution only allowed white male citizens to vote for representatives

  5. Separation of Powers Three Branches of Government: • Legislative • Make the laws to govern governments and the people • Executive • Execute the laws for the people • Administer the laws for the government • Judicial • Interpret the laws made by Congress • Apply the laws to the government and the people

  6. Checks and Balances “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” - Federalist #51, James Madison “Checking” Power • Each branch is given some authority over the others Protection from Tyranny • No one group or branch has more power than another • Each is “balanced” to the others

  7. Limited Government Government does not hold all the power • Given specific powers in the Constitution • Does as it is allowed to do by the people “Government is as government does.” - Not Forrest Gump

  8. Federalism Do you remember the Federal system from Chapter 1? Federalism spreads and splits powers to the... • National Governments • State Governments Specific Authority for government functions is… • Exclusive • Shared • Prohibited

  9. Structure of the Constitution Three Segments of the Constitution: • The Preamble • The Articles • The Bill of Rights/Amendments

  10. The Preamble Broken into Six goals for American Government... • Form a More Perfect union • Establish Justice • Insure Domestic Tranquility • Provide for the common Defense • Promote the General Welfare • Secure the Blessings of Liberty

  11. The Articles Articles 1-3 • Create the Three branches of government • Create the principles in the checks and balances Article 4 • Establishes the relationship between state governments and the national government Article 5 • Explains the process to amend the constitution Article 6 • Establishes the supremacy of national law Article 7 • Outlines the ratification process

  12. The Amendments First 10 Amendments, called the Bill of Rights • Ratified in 1791 • To gain approval from Anti-Federalists Amendments 11-27... • Added between 1798 and 1992 None have changed the basic principles outlined in the original constitution.

  13. The Amendments Some examples include... 2nd Amendment: “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” • 20th Amendment: “The terms of the President and VP shall end at noon on the 20th day of January…” - reduced the lame duck period.

  14. Formal Amendment Process Set up in Article 5: • Difficult • To prevent Congress or the States from making frivolous additions • Flexible • To allow for changes that would occur over time • In public policy • In opinion • In need • In interpretation

  15. Formal Amendment Process Two ways in which formal amendments are proposed to the Constitution... • Proposed by 2/3rds vote of each house of Congress • Proposed by a national constitutional convention requested by 2/3rds of state legislatures No constitutional conventions have been held since 1787. (The one that came up with this!)

  16. Formal Amendment Process Two ways to ratify formal amendments... • Ratified by 3/4ths of the state legislatures • Ratified by specially called conventions in at least 3/4ths of the states All but one, the 21st amendment, was ratified by option one.

  17. Informal Amendment Process Changes without the formal amendment process • Language used in the Constitution is open to interpretation • Four Ways to create Informal Amendments 1. Legislative Actions 2. Executive Actions 3. Judicial Interpretations 4. Changing Customs

  18. Informal Amendment Process Legislative Actions • Laws passed by Congress to specify powers given to it in the Constitution. • Example: Congress has the power to “lay and collect taxes” in Art.1 Sec.8 but laws since then have created specific taxes/tax levels.

  19. Informal Amendment Process Executive Actions • The manner by which the President carries out his duties to the Constitution. • Examples: In Art. 2 Sec. 2 - President is commander in chief of the Army. Using that authority, the president has ordered the armed forces into battle without the Declaration of War from Congress. - Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan, etc.

  20. Informal Amendment Process Judicial Interpretations • The manner by which laws are interpreted by the courts. • Example: In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court claimed for itself the power to strike down any law which is determined to be unconstitutional - not following the constitution.

  21. Informal Amendment Process Changing Customs • Unwritten customs accepted as constitutional. • Example: The Custom was that a President only serve 2 terms, as recommended by George Washington when he left office after his 2nd term. *Custom was unbroken until Franklin D. Roosevelt won a 3rd and 4th term. Now there is an amendment (#22) which limits the terms to 2, and the years to 10.

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