The Constitution Chapter 3 American Government Ms. Powers

What is the Constitution? Written in 1787 (228 years old) Took effect on March 4 th, 1789 “The supreme Law of the land” Sets out the basic principles upon which the US Government was built and operates today Sets LIMITS upon the US Government Organization of Federal Government “Living Document”

Structure of the Constitution Preamble 7 Articles 27 Amendments Organization is SIMPLE & BRIEF Focused on principles vs. details to guide the changing times Interpretation Only 4,400 words (very short in comparison)

The Constitution Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Transcript of the Constitution

The Constitution Section 1: The Basic Principles

6 Basic Principles 1.Popular Sovereignty 2. Limited government 3. Separation of powers 4. Checks & Balances 5. Judicial Review 6. Federalism

1. Popular Sovereignty All political power resides in the PEOPLE People are the ONLY source for any and all governmental power “Consent of the governed” Leaders are chosen by the people (representative government)

2. Limited Government No government is all-powerful Government may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do “Constitutionalism”: Government must conduct according to constitutional principles “Rule of Law” Government & its officials are subject to (never above) the Law Much of the Constitution itself states LIMITS of Gov. power

3. Separation of Powers Powers of government are distributed & separated among the 3 branches of government 1.Legislative branch: Congress makes laws 2.Executive branch: The President executes & administers the law 3.Judicial branch: Supreme Court interprets the laws Defined in articles I, II, III of Constitution Limits power!

4. Checks & Balances Each branch of the Federal Government has powers it can use to check (restrain) & balance the other 2 branches Examples: 1.The President can veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress can override the veto 2.The Senate can reject presidential appointees or refuse to ratify a treaty 3.Congress can vote to impeach a federal official (Andrew Johnson 1868 & Bill Clinton 1998) 4.The Federal courts can rule that executive and legislative acts are unconstitutional Checks are rare… Compromise is more common “Divided Government” makes for more checks Obama's Health Care Repeal Veto

5. Judicial Review The Courts can decide if a government action is constitutional Unconstitutional=Violates a provision in the Constitution – Held by all Federal courts & most state courts – Established: Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803)

SCOTUS & Judicial Review in 2015 Major SCOTUS Rulings of 2015

6. Federalism Federalism: The division of power among a central government (Federal) and several regional (State) governments Federal government: Powers held are distributed on a territorial bases (50 states) Compromise (solves disputes) Framers thought that too much governmental power threatened liberty Federalism helps prevent the abuse of power by dividing it

6. Federalism The Constitution divides the power to prevent the abuse of power

The Constitution Section 2: Formal Amendment

The Passage of Time in the US – 1789: Population of 4 million (Agricultural) – 2015: Population of 300 million (Industry & tech.) The Constitution was written 228 years ago…. How is a document that old still relevant today? – Answer: The Constitution of today is the SAME and NOT the same as the original document – Process of Constitutional change – “Living Document”

What is an Amendment? Amendment: A change to the written words of the Constitution Ratification: The act of approving a proposed amendment (Article V) Formal Amendment: One of FOUR ways to change or add to the written language of the Constitution – The Framers planned for modifications of the Constitution (necessary)

Step 1: Proposal of an amendment (Article V) 1.By a 2/3 vote of each house of Congress (HOR & Senate) – 26 of the 27 amendments 2. By a National convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislature (34 states) 21 st amendment Step 2: Ratification of amendment 1.By ¾ of the state legislature2. By conventions in (38 states)¾ of the states Convention: A meeting to deal with matters of common concern Formal Amendment Process

Amendments & Federalism Check: What is Federalism? The formal amendment process emphasizes the federal character of our government… How? – Proposal is at the national level – Ratification is at the state level – A state can reject an amendment and later decide to ratify it but not vice versa – President can not veto proposed amendments Texas Governor Wants to Amend Constitution

Amendments & Popular Sovereignty Check: What is popular sovereignty? The amendment process is also based on popular sovereignty. How? – The people elect the representatives who vote to propose or ratify amendments – Representative government – Critique: Conventions vs. state legislatures Popular vote is not needed to approve proposed amendments

Proposed Amendments Most amendments are NOT proposed by Congress – Remember: Proposing amendments is not lawmaking (legislating) – Congress has sent only 33 out of 15,000 amendment proposals on to the states Out of those only 27 have been ratified – Congress can set a reasonable time limit for ratification (prevent amendments from being stuck in limbo for several years) Example: The 27 th amendment was proposed in 1789 by James Madison, but ratified in 1992.

Bill of Rights What is the Bill of Rights? – First 10 amendments of the Constitution – Spell out Constitutional guarantees of rights an liberties for (basic rights of the people) – Thomas Jefferson (and others) would not support Constitution without addition of B.O.R. – Added less than 3 years after it became effective

The 27 Amendments Important note: Many of the 27 amendments were proposed in response to legal disputes, social conflicts, or perceived constitutional problems – 12 th Amendment: Resolved problem with presidential election process – 13 th Amendment: Abolished slavery Extension of Voting Rights: – 15 th Amendment: African American vote – 19 th Amendment: Women vote – 26 th Amendment: 18 yr. old vote

The 27 Amendments

The Constitution Section 3: Change by Other Means

Change by Other Means Since 1789, only 17 amendments have been ratified This is due in part to the fact that many of the Constitution’s provisions are brief, and not very detailed This guarantees various interpretations Interpretations lead to changes that are NOT specifically written in the Constitution itself

5 Means of Change Other than change by formal amendments, constitutional change can occur in five ways 1. Passage of legislation (laws) by Congress 2. Actions of the President 3. Key decisions of SCOTUS 4. Activities of political parties 5. Custom & usage

1. Basic Legislation Congress has passed laws to clarify provisions in the Constitution – Created much of the structure of the Federal government – Established the federal court system – Created departments & agencies in executive branch Congress has passed laws that clarify its own constitutional powers – Passed thousands of laws that simply define words in the Constitution (regulate, trade, interstate, etc…) – Interpreted the meaning of the Constitution

2. Executive Action Presidents have increased their constitutional powers by taking a broad interpretation of such powers – Only Congress can declare war, but the President is the Commander in Chief. Many Presidents have sent military forces into combat without formal approval – Executive orders (examples) 10 Landmark Presidential Executive Orders10 Landmark Presidential Executive Orders – Executive Power: Thomas Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase (1803) Presidents & The ConstitutionPresidents & The Constitution – Senate must approve treaties, but Presidents can avoid this by passing executive agreements Treaty: Formal agreement between 2 or more states Executive agreement: Pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state

3. Court Decisions (esp. SCOTUS) The nation’s courts, particularly the Supreme Court, interpret the Constitution on a regular basis – Judicial review can declare laws unconstitutional – Woodrow Wilson: “The Supreme Court is a constitutional convention in continuous session”

4. Political Parties The Constitution does NOT mention political parties In fact most of the Framers opposed parties fearing the division of government Nonetheless they are very influential in the political process – Conventions and nominations for Presidential candidates – Influence selection of electors in electoral college: The body of electors that makes the formal selection of the President (538 electors) – Influence President’s decision making process – Congress conducts business on the basis of parties

5. Custom & Usage Unwritten customs can be as influential as written laws – President’s Cabinet: Made up of the heads of the 15 executive departments – Vice President taking over if President dies (25 th amendment in 1967) Yet it occurred 8 times prior to that – Senatorial Courtesy guides appointment of public officials

5. Custom & Usage Ever since George Washington, Presidents limited themselves to 2 terms in office This was an observed custom until FDR was elected to 4 consecutive terms Influenced creation of “two-term limit” in 1951 with the 22 nd amendment

Crash Course!!! The Constitution, The Articles, & Federalism