THE SEVEN ARTICLES in the Constitution (SS.7.C.3.3) Article 1: The Legislative Branch Law making Congress, Senate and House of Representatives, Rules and powers given to Congress. Article 2: The Executive Branch Enforces laws, president is head of the government, rules and powers given to the President Article 3: The Judicial Branch Interprets the laws, makes sure laws are applied fairly, Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. Article 4: Federalism Explains the relationship between the states and the national government. Article 5: Amending the Constitution Explains how & when it can be changed. Article 6: Supreme Law of the Land Constitution is the highest law in the land. Article 7: Ratification of the Constitution It will go into effect after 9 of the 13 states ratify it. While there are two ways to ratify amendments only one way has been used all 27 times. Step 1: Amendment proposed by a 2/3s vote of both houses of Congress Step 2: Amendment ratified by 3/4s of the state legislatures Amending the Constitution Bill of Rights! The Five Principles of the Constitution 1)Popularly Sovereignty: The idea that the power of government lies with the people. It means “the people’s right to rule”. In the Constitution, it begins with “WE THE PEOPLE” phrase. Under the Constitution, the will of the people is stated most strongly through elections. 2)Limited Government: The Constitution limits the power of both the federal and state governments. Under the Constitution, the US government is also limited by the rule of law, meaning that the law applies everyone even those who govern. No one is above the law. 3)Separation of Powers: To keep any one person or group from gaining too much power, the framers divided the federal government into three branches. 4)Checks and Balances: Each branch of government is able to check, or limit, the power of the other two branches in a number of ways. Example: A) Executive Branch: the president can veto a law passed by the legislature. B) Legislative Branch: the Senate and the House can override a presidential veto with a 2/3’s vote. C) Judicial Branch: the Supreme Court can declare acts of legislature and presidential actions unconstitutional. 5)Federalism: Power is shared by the national and the states. Each level of government- national and state has independent authority over people at the same time. Enumerated powers, or spelled out, are also called expressed powers. Reserved powers are powers that were set aside, or reserved, for the states only. Powers that both the national government and state’s share are called concurrent powers.

BILL OR RIGHTS First Amendment Second Amendment: Right to Bear arms for a well regulated militia Third Amendment: Freedom from quartering (housing) soldiers Fourth Amendment: Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrants must only be issued upon probably cause, and shall be specific. Fifth Amendment: Criminal indictments must be by grand jury. Freedom from double jeopardy. Freedom from testifying against oneself. Right to face accusers. Right to due process. Right of just compensation for takings. Sixth Amendment: Right to speedy trial. Right to impartial jury. Right to be informed of the charges upon which the accused is held. Right to face accusers. Right to produce witnesses for the accused. Right to legal counsel. Seventh Amendment: Right to jury trail in civil cases. Facts found by a jury cannot be reexamined by another court. Eighth Amendment: Freedom from excessive bail or fines. Freedom from cruel and unusual punishments. Ninth Amendment: Individual have rights in addition to the rights listed in the other amendments and Constitution. The right to privacy is among those id’ed by the US Supreme Court as bring a 9 th Amendment right. Tenth Amendment: The federal government has only those powers specifically granted by the Constitution, any power not listed is left to the states or the people.

The 3 Branches of Government Executive BranchLegislative BranchJudicial Branch Qualifications: Must be at least 35 Natural born citizen US Resident for at least 14 years Senate Qualifications: Must be at least 30 Either natural born or naturalized citizen US Resident for at least 9 years House of Rep Qualifications: Must be at least 25 Either natural born or naturalized citizen US Resident for at least 7 years People: Powers: