The Constitution The Engine of Our Republic “Supreme Law of the Land”

1. The ConstitutionThe Engine of Our Republic “Supreme Law of the Land” MAGRUDER’S Chapter 3

2. The Framers of the Constitution understood that conditions would change throughout time. George Washington said, “I do not think we are more inspired, have more wisdom, or possess more virtue than those who will come after us.” For this reason, the framers devised a system for amending the Constitution 2 Ways: Formal and Informal. George Washington (Lansdowne portrait). Oil on canvas. 1796. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

3. Proposing Amendments 2 Ways... Formal 2/3 of states can call for a national convention for the purpose of proposing amendments 2/3 of each house of the US Congress can propose amendments

4. Ratifying Amendments 2 Ways... Formal 3/4 of the state legislatures must approve 3/4 of special state conventions must approve

5. Formal amendments take place through the process of constitutional amendments. • Formal amendments involve changes in the written word of the Constitution. • The addition of amendments is federalism at work! • ***proposals are made at the national level; ratification takes place State by State. *** (write down) • Since 1789, 10,000 amendments have been introduced in Congress (not all proposed), but only 27 have been ratified… • Some included fully proposed amendments defeated in the states: • Voiding citizenship of anyone accepting a foreign title or honor • prohibiting amendments regarding slavery • Congressional regulation of child labor laws • Equal Rights for Women (ERA) • The first 10 amendments, called the Bill of Rights, were approved by 1791. They outline the freedoms the government promises to protect.

6. All 27 amendments, except 21st amendment, was proposed by Congress by 2/3s vote in both house and ratified by 3/4s states legislatures!!!!!

7. Bill of Rights Amendment 1. Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition Amendment 2. Right to Keep Arms Amendment 3. Quartering of Troops Amendment 4. Search and Seizure; Warrants Amendment 5. Rights of Accused Persons Amendment 6. Right to a Speedy Trial Amendment 7. Jury Trial in Civil Cases Amendment 8. Bail, Fines, Punishments Amendment 9. Rights Not Listed are Retained by the People Amendment 10. Powers Not Listed are Reserved to the States

8. Amendment 20. changes of dates for Presidential and Congressional terms Amendment 21. Repeal of National Prohibition Amendment 22. Two-Term Limit for Presidents Amendment 23. Presidential Vote for District of Columbia Amendment 24. Poll Tax Banned in Federal Elections Amendment 25. Presidential Disability and Succession Amendment 26. Voting Age Lowered to 18 Years Amendment 27. Congressional Pay Amendment 11. Immunity of States from certain lawsuits Amendment 12. Election of President and Vice-President (changes Electoral College) Amendment 13. Slavery Abolished Amendment 14. Citizenship Defined Equal Protection, and Due Process Amendment 15. Right to Vote with No Racial Barriers Amendment 16. Income Tax Authorized Amendment 17. Election of Senators by Direct Popular Vote Amendment 18. National Prohibition of Intoxicating Liquors Amendment 19. Right to Vote Given Nationwide to Women • The last 17 fall into 3 categories. • They make public policy. • They correct deficiencies in gov. structure. • They promote equality.

9. Amendments to the United States Constitution • The Bill of Rights First 10 Amendments Scope of Federal Government Power 11th and 16th Amendments • Federal Elections and Terms 12th, 17th, 20th, 22nd, and 25th Amendments • Civil War Amendments 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments • Suffrage Amendments 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th and 26th Amendments • Prohibition - 18th and 21st Amendments

10. Bill of Rights Amendment 1. Guarantees our 5 GREAT BASIC FREEDOMS. [“Civil Liberties” or freedom of expressions are the keystone of individual freedom. a. Freedom of Religion or not to have a religion. People may worship or not worship as they please. The government cannot favor one religion over another [separation of church and State – no prayers or devotional reading from the Bible in school.] b. Freedom of speech – this freedom is restricted if it harms others. We have laws against slander [spoken] or libel [written statements] intended to damage one’s reputation. Speech that offends the moral sense [obscenity] of others or speech that endangers the safety of the nation [military secrets]may be punished.

11. Bill of Rights [Continuted] c. Freedom of the Press means we can write our opinions and circulate them to others through T.V., newspapers, or magazines. This freedom also protects our right to know. Obscenity cannot be sent through the mail but may be viewed in the privacy of your own house. There can be no prior restraint –stopping the spreading of news before they are published or broadcast. d. Right to assemble for any peaceable purpose. Any political party or interest group has the right to hold a meeting as long as they are peaceful. e. Right to petition government officials, or convey our opinions to them. You can get people to sign a petition and send it to government officials.

12. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 2. Right To Keep And Bear Arms The purpose was to prevent Congress from denying States the right to have a militia of armed citizens. The States and federal government can regulate the possession and use of firearms by individuals.

13. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 3. No Quartering of Troops In Homes This is absolute during peacetime; limited during wartime. Amendments 4-8 protect the individual in dealing with the police and courts.

14. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 4. Limits The Conditions Under Which Police May Search for and Seize Evidence and People [Privacy Amendment] A. No “Fishing Expeditions”by public officials [a search must be reasonable and based on probable cause]. B. In most cases, a search or arrest warrant will be necessary. The warrant must describe thespecific place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. C. A police officer may chase a suspect into his house & not secure a warrant (this would be probable cause). D. The Supreme Court has ruled that evidence gained as a result of an unlawful search or seizure cannot be used at the trial. [Exclusionary Rule–has to beexcluded]

15. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 5.Rights of AccusedPersons [5-8 have to do with “rights of the accused”] A. A person can be triedfor a serious crime only if he has been accused of that crime by a grand jury. B. No one may be tried twice for the same offense. [Double Jeopardy clause] – no one may be put in jeopardy twice for the same offense] C. No one may be forced to testify against himself or his spouse. You don’t have to answer questions by the police or the courts. [Plead the “5th”] D. No one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law [fair and equal treatment under the law]. E. The government may take private property for a legitimate public purpose; but when it exercises that power of EMINENT DOMAIN [taking property for public use], it must pay a fair price. So, if the jury foreman says? There will be no 2nd trial. New Cowboys stadium meant property losses.

16. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 6.Right To A Speedy Trial A. IMPARTIAL JURY. You do not have to use a jury and can have the case transferred if it has received too much publicity. B. Right to be told what crime you are accused of. C. Right to hear and question all witnesses against you. D. The right to compel [require their testimony] witnesses to appear at a trial to tell your side of the story. E. Right to a lawyer. Marcia Clark

17. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 7. Jury Trial In Civil Cases[not a criminal matter – but where one person sues another] Applies to all disputes in excess of $20. Amendment 8. No Excessive Bail or Fines, or“Cruel and Unusual Punishment”[like torture and beheading] [The Court of Military appeals has abolished an old Navy punishment of 3 days on bread and water as both cruel and unusual] Tar and Feathering The “Rack”

18. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Amendment 9. Unenumerated Rights – The Constitution does not describe all of our rights. This amendment guarantees those fundamental rights not enumerated. Courts can’t define all your rights but thatdoesn’t mean you don’t have them. Amendment 10. Limits The Power Of The Federal Government. Powers not granted to the U.S., nor prohibited to it by the States are given to the States or the people. But what are they? State and federal governments have fought over what this means. In 1860, Southern States thought they had the right to quit the Union, starting the Civil War. The Union victory cemented the supremacy of federal power. Both the 9th and 10th Amendments echo the theory of the social contract; if the people have not agreed to delegate the powers, people still have them.

19. As people put the Constitution into practice, they found that the machinery of governmentdid not work exactly the way its designers had expected. Slight changes were made in the 11th and 12th Amendments. Amendment 11. [1798] Removed From The Federal Courts All Lawsuits By Individuals Against States. You can bring suit against any State by introducing the case in the courts of the State that is being sued. Amendment 12. [1804] Changed The Electoral system For Choosing The President & Vice President. Originally, there was no distinction between candidates for president and vice president.

20. Bill of Rights [Continuted] Civil War Amendments – 13, 14, & 15 – wiped out slavery. [13 – freed the slaves; 14 – gave citizenship; 15 – gave right vote] Amendment 13. [1865] Banned Slavery and Involuntary Servitude. Amendment 14. [1868] Guaranteed Citizenship to the Freed slaves and Guaranteed Their Rights. All citizens were to get “Due Process” [now was applied to the States] and “Equal Protection” of the laws. Amendment 15. [1870] Guaranteed The right Of Freed Slaves To Vote.

21. Progressive Era Amendments 16th-21st Amendment 16. [1913] Income Tax Laws are Legal. Amendment 17. [1913] Senators Will Be Elected By People, Not Legislatures. Amendment 18. [1919] Prohibition [Prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages] A. Prohibition didn’t stop drinking, or people from making and selling beer, wine, or whisky. B. Bootleggers became rich by selling illegal liquor and bribing government officials. [In 1933, it was canceled by the 21st Amendment] [This attempt to make public policy was a disaster. It lasted for 14 years (1919-1933). Gangsters bootlegged liquor; people died from drinking homemade booze; and millions broke the law by drinking anyway.] Amendment 19. [1920] Women’s Suffrage [Right to vote] In 1972, 218 women from 26 States were arrested for picketing the White House. 100 went to jail, some for months. Hunger strikes followed. The movement had began in 1873 by Susan B. Anthony. Women had been voting in some State and local elections since 1869. It took 133 years for women to get to vote in national elections.

22. "Lame Duck Amendment" Amendment 20. [1933] A. Set new dates for the start of terms for Congress [January 3, instead of the first Monday of December following the election] and for the inauguration of the President and Vice President [January 20, instead of March 4] B. Defeated candidates were called “Lame Ducks” suggesting that their political wings had been clipped. This shortened the time they could remain in office. Amendment 21. [1933] Repealed the 18th Amendment [Prohibition] Amendments 22–26 deal with the presidency and with presidential elections. Amendment 22. [1951] Two-term Limit For Presidents or Not More Than 10 Years.

23. Amendment 23. [1961] Presidential Electors For Washington DC. A. People living in the nation’s capital could not vote in previous national elections. B. This gave them 3 members of the Electoral College, the same number elected by each of the less populous States. They now could vote. Amendment 24. [1964] Poll Tax Banned In Federal Elections A. Five States were still requiring a fee to vote. Many thought this was discriminatory. B. Poll taxes were banned in State and local elections in 1966. [It violated the “equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment] Amendment 25. [1967] Presidential Disability and Succession A. Vice President Succession – President nominates a Vice President and a majority of both houses must approve. B. Presidential Disability – this is decided by the Vice President & a majority of the Cabinet. They send a written proclamation to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House. The Vice President takes over as acting President. When the president recovers, he sends a written declaration to the same officials. If there is a disagreement over his recovery, the Vice President and Cabinet sends a new declaration within 4 days of the President’s. Congress must decide by a 2/3 vote within 21 days.

24. Amendment 26. [1971] Voting Age is Lowered To 18. Who cannot vote? [the insane, criminals and those dishonorably discharged from the armed forces] Amendment 27. [1992] Congressional Pay. No law changing the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened.

25. Informally Amending the Constitution Informally amending the constitution is not truly amending it, just interpreting it differently over time, so these are non-constitutional [unwritten] changes. Many people despise informally amending the constitution citing that it deviates from the intent of the Framers of the Constitution. These changes have made the presidency more powerful and have made the federal government’s power over the States more substantial. Most changes [informal amendments] have come through reinterpretation of constitutional rules to suit the times. • Focus • Why the informal amendment process is the real key to the changing constitution. • How the Constitution is amended informally. Most constitutional changes have been brought about through informal amendments – changes that have been made in the Constitution but that have not involved any changes in its written words. [unwritten changes] The informal amendment process is the key to the vitality of the Constitution. Much of the Constitution can not be seen with the naked eye. It has been put there by the day-today experiences of government. The Constitution can be informally amended by all three branches of government. This occurs in 5 basic ways: 3. Supreme Court Actions [decisions] 1. Congressional Action [law] 4. Political Party Actions 2. Presidential Action 5. Custom

26. 1. Congressional Action • Basic Legislation: • Congress is the major agent of informal • procedures in 2 ways: • Pass laws to spell out several of the • Constitution’s brief provisions that were • left “skeletal”by the Framers. The Congress • has added details as times have required. • Article III Section established a Supreme • Court but all “inferior Courts” will be • created by Congress. The 25th Amendment • details minimal presidential succession • roles… therefore the Congress created • more detail. • 2. The Constitution give expressed power • to the Congress. For example, it states that • the Congress can regulate foreign and • interstate trade… but how? And what is • regulate foreign and interstate trade? The • Constitution does not say, the Congress • has defined it.

27. 2. Presidential Action • Executive Actions: These actions may produce informal amendments. Nowhere does it say the President can propose bills or budgets to congress, but Presidents have proposed hundreds of bills. • Presidents also enter into executive agreements(pacts made with other foreign executives) rather than negotiate treaties which would require approval by the Senate. These executive action do carry the same force of law as a treaty. (write down) • The way some presidents have used their powers have led to a redefinition of the constitution • Example: The Congress declares war, but the president is commander in chief. Truman sent troops to Korea even though it says only Congress can “declare war” so this would be an example of executive action. Lincoln did this during the Civil War. Kennedy and Johnson sent troops to Viet Nam. Reagan sent troops to Grenada. Bush 41 sent troops to Panama. Clinton sent troops to Haiti in 94 and Bosnia in 95. Bush 43 sent troops to Iraq. Presidents, on over 200 occasions, have used their position to order military force without the consent of Congress.

28. 3. Court Actions 3. Court Decisions: The Supreme Court’s interpretation’s of the constitution can be considered a way to informally amending it. In Marbury v. Madison, the Court established Judicial review (not a power listed in the constitution) and it remains with us today. In Roe v. Wade found a right to privacy granting a Constitutional right to abortion. Engel v. Vitale found that prayer in school was unconstitutional; Stone v. Graham found posting of the Ten Commandments in a classroom was unconstitutional. Brown v. Board of Education found that “separate but equal” education was unconstitutional. Woodrow Wilson referred to the Supreme Court as “a constitutional convention in continuous session.”

29. 4. Party Actions 4. Party Practices: Even though such figures as George Washington feared political parties and advised against them, they formed and have become very powerful. Neither the Constitution nor any law say anything about how candidates for president will be nominated. Since the 1830’s, parties have held presidential primariesto determinethis. The president picks appointees by party…etc. (cabinet members) write down

30. 5. Custom Custom:There are 14 cabinet heads… that was a creation of the executive branch, not the Framers, so this is an example of an informalamendment. The Vice Presidenthas taken over for every president who has died in office (8 since 1841) but it wasn’t until the 25th Amendment of the Constitution that the VP was officially empowered with the power to take over the Presidency. The practice of only serving two terms in office was well accepted until Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to 4 terms. As a result, the 22nd Amendment (1951) of the Constitution was added to make the precedent set by Washington part of the Constitution.