The US Constitution 1787 Ratified 1789

General Information Delegates met to fix problems in Art. Of Conf. exposed by Daniel Shays but they ended up with a different system of Gov’t James Madison of Virginia wrote most of it-”Father of the Constitution”

General Information Was created and signed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia (same place as Dec. of Ind.) 1787 9 of 13 states had to ratify for it to become law Constitution is the backbone of U.S. govt., covers everything from search warrants to the power to make war.

Goals- in Preamble To form a more perfect Union- unite the thirteen colonies into a strong, single country To establish justice- Courts and law To ensure domestic tranquility- to keep the peace among the people

Goals To provide for the common defense- U.S. military rather than 13 state militias To promote the general welfare- use land and resources to help people, emergency situations, education. To secure the blessings of Liberty- Americans have rights that cannot be taken away without cause

Underlying Principles Popular sovereignty- authority is given to the people in the form of a vote Limited Government- the gov’t. is not above the law and has boundaries Federalism- a system in which power is divided between a strong central gov’t. and the weaker state governments Natural rights- John Locke’s idea that all men have right to life, liberty, and property

The Great Compromise A major obstacle was to create a legislature that was fair to both small and large states The Virginia Plan two houses of Congress in which power was shared based on population. Favors large states The New Jersey Plan one house of Congress in which power was shared equally between the 13 states, regardless of differences in population. Favors small states

The Great Compromise The Great Compromise two houses of Congress, with one based on population and one in which power is shared equally, regardless of population The Senate now has 100 members, two from each state The House of Representatives has 435 members, the states are given seats based on population

Types of Powers Enumerated powers- belong only to the Federal Gov’t. power to coin money regulate trade have armed forces create federal courts

Types of Powers Reserved powers- Powers belong only to the states. Schools trade within the state marriage laws.

Types of Powers Concurrent powers- Powers shared by both state and Federal Gov’ts. Taxes borrow money public welfare criminal justice

The Three Branches Executive Branch- The leader is the President; responsible for enforcing the laws that Congress passes Legislative Branch- Congress; responsible for making laws Judicial Branch-Supreme Court and other lower courts; has power of Judicial Review which allows them to decide if laws are constitutional- interpret the law

Checks and Balances- This system prevents any one branch of gov’t from being too powerful Checks are blocking powers that can be used to limit the power of another branch of Gov’t

Checks & Balances Executive Branch- Power to veto acts of Congress, Appoints all Federal Judges Judicial Branch- can declare any act of Legislative or Executive branch unconstitutional. Do not hear criminal cases. Legislative Branch- can amend constitution, approves all judicial appointments, appropriates money, can impeach president, veto override

Federalists and Anti-Federalists The Constitution had to be ratified by 9 of 13 states Federalists supported the Constitution, Anti-federalists did not Both sides fought each other in newspapers and flyers

Federalists and Anti-Federalists Feds-John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison were the leading members They wrote 85 essays under the title of The Federalist Anti-Federalists-Patrick Henry, Jefferson were leading members; felt that the U.S. Gov’t would be too powerful

Bill of Rights First ten amendments to the Constitution Protects basic rights of Americans Was not included in original Constitution 1st Freedom of religion, speech, right to assemble 2nd Right to bear arms 3rd Quartering troops- soldiers cannot be put into a citizens home without permission 4th Searches and Seizures- police must have “reasonable cause” to search a citizen

Bill of Rights 5th Rights of Accused Persons- citizens will be brought before a Grand Jury and no person can be made to testify against him or herself “Pleading the 5th”. 6th Right to Speedy, Fair Trial- Trial must occur as quickly as possible and every citizen is entitled to a lawyer 7th Civil suits- establishes that disputes between citizens that do not involve a crime can be dealt with by the government

Bill of Rights 8th Bail and Punishment- Bail must not be excessive and punishment cannot be “Cruel and Unusual” 9th Powers reserved to the people- all powers not mentioned belong to the people 10th Suits against states- all lawsuits against the states must be handled in the state