Constitutional Change by Other Means

1. Constitutional Change by Other Means DeAndrea Cassell, Lindsey Thomas, Kara Quinlan, Joseph Garlenski

2. Basic Legislation • Congress has been a major agent of constitutional change in two important ways: • 1st, it has passed a number of laws to spell out several of the Constitution’s belief provisions. • As another example, the constitution deal with the matter of presidential succession, but only up to a point.

3. Cont. Basic Legislation • 25th Amendment says that if the presidency becomes vacant, Vice president automatically succeeds to the office. • The Constitution gives to Congress the expressed power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

4. Executive Action • Acting under authority, several Presidents have made war without a declaration of war by Congress. • Presidents have used their powers to the growth of the Constitution : • The document states that only Congress can declare war but the Constitution also states that the President ( Commander in Chief) of the nation’s armed forces.

5. Cont. Executive Action • Presidents have used the armed forces abroad in combat without such a declaration on several hundred occasions in our history. • Executive agreement – is a pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state. • Treaty – is a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states.

6. Court Decision • Nation’s courts, most tellingly the United States Supreme Court, interpret and apply the Constitution in many cases the hear. • Such as ( Marbury v. Madison)

7. Party Practices • Electoral college – is the group that makes the formal selection of the President and Vice President. • Political parties have also been a major source of Constitutional change over the course of political history.

8. Cont. Party Practices • In 1796, George Washington warned the people against what he called “the baneful effects of the spirit of party” • Washington feared the divisive effect of party politics. They have played a major role in the shaping of government. • Both houses of Congress are organized & conduct much of their business on the basis of party.

9. Custom • Cabinet – an advisory body to the President , traditionally made up of the heads of the executive departments and other officers. • Made up of 15 executive departments. • Senatorial Courtesy – custom that the Senate will not approve a presidential appointment opposed by a majority party.

10. Cont. Custom • The written words of the Constitution did not provide for the practice of adopting the 25th Amendment in 1967. • Until then, the Constitution states that only the powers and duties of the presidency but not the office itself should be transferred to the Vice President.