The U.S. Constitution Chapter 2 Sections 1 and 2

The Basic Principles Section 1 Popular Sovereignty Limited Government Separation of Powers Checks and Balances Judicial Review Federalism

Popular Sovereignty The people give the Government the power it has to rule. This power is defined and limited by the Constitution.

Limited Government The government may only do those things that the people allow it to do. The Government must obey the law. Constitutionalism is the idea that the government must follow and obey the Constituion. Limited government is also refered to as the Rule of Law.

Separation of Powers The Federal Government is divided into three distinct branches that each have their own, separate duties. These branches are: The Executive Branch The Legislative Branch The Judicial Branch

The Executive Branch The main person is the President The main job is to enforce laws

The Legislative Branch The main people are members of Congress. The House of Representatives The Senate The main job is to create laws.

The Judicial Branch The main people are the justices of the Supreme Court. The main job is to interpret laws and the constitution.

Checks and Balances While each branch has a different job, the branches do overlap with each other. They have the ability to check each other, or have power over each other.

Judicial Review The courts can decide the Constitutionality of government action. The courts have the power to declare government actions unconstitutional.

Federalism The powers held by the government are distributed on a territorial basis. Some belong to the federal government, while others belong to the states. Federalism is the division of power among a central government and several regional governments.

Formal Amendment Section 2 Provided for in Article V of the Constitution. There are four different ways to amend the Constitution.

Method 1 2/3 of each house of congress 3/4 of the state legislatures (38 today) 26 of the 27 amendments have come this way.

Method 2 An amendment may be proposed by Congress then ratified by conventions. These conventions must be called for the purpose of ratifying the amendment. 3/4 of the state conventions must ratify the amendment. The amendment ending prohibition was enacted in this way.

Method 3 Congress may call a national convention when 2/3 of the state legislatures ask it to. The amendment that comes from the convention must be ratified by 3/4 of the states. This has never happened.

Method 4 An amendment may be proposed by national convention and ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states. The Constitution itself was adopted this way.

Restrictions to Amendments Article V of the constitution states that “no state, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. In other words, no state can have fewer votes in the Senate than any other state.

The Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. They were proposed during the first session of the First Congress in 1789. They were ratified in 1791.

Amendments to the Constitution