Underlying Principles The Constitution is built upon six basic principles: Popular Sovereignty Limited Government Federalism Separation of Powers Rule of Law Checks and Balances

Popular Sovereignty The right of the people to rule themselves Developed from ideas in England (democratic government) Echoed in the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble

Writers of the Constitution designed a government whose actions would always reflect the will of the people Strongly expressed though the election process If an elected official fails to serve the people, he/ she can be removed from office

Limited Government One danger of democratic society: the majority may try to limit or deny rights to the minority Example: no representation for the colonists in Parliament Writers of the Constitution felt that government should not be allowed to do certain things, even if the majority wants it

Example: Article I limits the powers of Congress (no tax on exports) Government is further limited by the addition of the Bill of Rights in 1791

Federalism The relationship between the state and national governments. Under federalism, the national and state governments share power By allowing each state to have its own government , the Constitution gave Americans the freedom to provide for their own needs

The Powers of Government are divided into three types:

Enumerated powers Those powers given specifically to the Federal government Includes: controlling immigration, maintaining an army, establishing a postal system

Reserved powers Those powers given specifically given to the states Including regulation of trade within the state borders, set up schools, rules on marriage and divorce Concurrent powers Powers that are shared by the federal and state governments Including the power to tax, borrow money, set up courts and prisons

The Supremacy Clause Found in Article VI States that the Constitution and the laws of the national government are the “supreme law of the land” In any conflict between a national and state law, the national law has the highest authority

4. Separation of Powers To protect against abuse of power, the writers of the Constitution divided the national government into three branches System of checks and balances would further ensure that no one branch would have too much power

Rule of Law No one may escape or break the law The law applies to everyone

Checks and Balances To keep the branches from becoming too powerful, the Constitution set up the system Under the system, each branch is able to check (limit) the powers of the other two branches Maintains a balance between the branches

Examples: the president can check the legislature by vetoing legislation, but Congress then can check the President by overriding the veto The judicial branch can check Legislative and Executive branches by declaring that a law goes against the Constitution