Chapter 3: The Constitution

1. Chapter 3: The Constitution Section 1: Structure and Principles Section 2: Three Branches of Government Section 3: Amending the Constitution Section 4: The Amendments

2. I. Structure A. The Preamble sets forth the goals of the government. (what are they?) B. There are _____ main parts called ______. Each article covers a _______________. C. Part ___ includes the ________________. Article I: ________Branch Article II: the _________ Branch Article III: The ______________Branch Article IV: ______ among _____________ Article V: _________ the ______________ Article VI: National ____________ Article VII: ________ of the Constitution Section 1: Structure & Principles

3. A. Popular ________(rule by the people) B. Federalism (power divided between _____ and _____ govts) C. Separation of ______ among the branches D. Checks and balances ensure that ________________of government can become too powerful. This idea comes from a French _____________ named _____________ and his book The ________ of the _________ E. ________________ is implied since there’s a judicial branch II: Six Major Principles

4. Major principles continued • F. _____________government, by which the constitution limits government actions by _________ its powers and listing powers it ________________, preserves the right of the people to ___________________________.

5. 1. Why did the Founders not spell out every aspect of how government would function? 2. Both federalism and separation of powers divide the powers of government. Compare these two methods of dividing power. Section 1 Discussion Questions

6. I. The Legislative Branch A. The powers given to ________by the Constitution are found in Article ____ section 8 B. How does the role of Congress today compare to how its job is described in the Constitution? II: The Executive Branch The Founders wanted a _______________ but only vaguely described the powers of the president. Article _____, sections __ & __ describe the specific powers of _________________. How does the job of the president compare to the job described in the Constitution? Section 2: Three Branches of Government

7. A. The U.S. has two levels of courts, ______courts and ______ courts. The _______of the case and the ______________determine the ___________ over the case. The Supreme Court first exercised its right to ___________ in 1803 with the _________________case. This was the first time the court declared a law unconstitutional. III:The Judicial Branch

8. A. The ________and _________branches must __________ to produce effective _________, but some _________ is inevitable. B. In modern history, one major source of conflict has been the ________ of executive power. C. _________has the power to limit _________authority, but is reluctant to use it. D. The Supreme Court depends on the president and the executive branch (agencies) to carry out its decisions. What would be an example? IV: Shared Power and Conflict

9. 1. How did the power of judicial review enable the judicial branch to gain an equal status with the other two branches of government? 2. In what ways are cooperation and conflict among the branches of government valuable to the U.S. system of government? Discussion Questions for section 2

10. I. The Amendment Process A. Article _____describes how __________ and the ________ can change the Constitution. B. Two methods are described in the Constitution but only one has ever been used. C. When Congress ________ an amendment, the states ___________ it by a _____ vote of their state _________ or the states may call a ____________________convention. (when might this latter method be used?) D. ____________sets the time limit for how long the states have to ratify an amendment. Section 3: Amending the Constitution

11. Four main types: 1. 2. 3. 4. Examples: Congress has passed laws over time that have clarified what we understand the Constitution to mean, such as the power to “lay and collect taxes” II: Informal Changes

12. __________ have ____________ over time, such as President Tyler’s use of presidential succession. (His actions weren’t officially endorsed until the 25th amendment was ratified in 1967.) Presidents use ______________________________ to deal with other nations without congressional approval. Many modern presidents have presented their own legislative agendas to Congress (_______________) Informal changes continued

13. The _____________ changes how we interpret the Constitution through its use of ________________. The Court’s rulings can change over time to ________________________________ (Plessy and Brown, for instance) ______________are not discussed in the Constitution, but they have informally changed the way _____________ work. Informal changes continued

14. You will need to be able to identify what each of the 27 amendments says. The first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights The 13th, 14th and 15th are known as the Civil War amendments. Try to group them by theme to help you learn them. For example, which amendments deal with voting rights? Which ones deal with the rights of the accused?, etc. Go online and find quizzes to help you study. For example: http://www.funtrivia.com/dir/10214.html Section 4: The Amendments

15. 1. How does the due process clause protect individuals? 2. “The Bill of Rights protected citizens’ rights, but some of the later amendments extended citizens’ rights.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Defend your answer. Section 4 Discussion Questions

16. Be sure you can identify, explain and locate the following clauses: 1. The “necessary and proper clause” AKA the “elastic clause 2. The “due process clause” 3. The “free exercise” clause 4. The “supremacy clause” 5. The “equal protection” clause Key Clauses