Sasso US I The Constitution

Article I, Section 1 Article I of the Constitution deals specifically with the powers that are given to Congress All legislative powers are given to the Congress of the United States, which is separated into two houses: Senate and House of Representatives This is known as a bicameral legislature

Article I, Section 2 This deals specifically with the House of Reps. Representative terms last 2 years Must be at least 25 years old Must be a citizen for at least 7 years Must be a resident of the state that they represent No term limits The number of Representatives a state has is based on the state’s population 3/5 of a state’s slave population will count towards representation

Article I, Section 2 Vacancies will be filled through a special election called by a state’s governor Leader of the majority party is called the Speaker of the House (he/she is second in line to replace the president) The House has the sole power of Impeachment

Article I, Section 3 This deals specifically with the Senate Senators terms last for 6 years Must be at least 30 years old Must be a citizen for at least 9 years Must live in the state that you represent No term limits The Vice President of the United States presides over the Senate (casts the deciding vote in the event of a tie)

Article I, Section 3 The Senate majority leader is the President pro tempore (presides over the Senate, if the VP is absent, or becomes President) Pro Tempore is third in line to replace the President The Senate has the sole power to try impeachment hearings and convict officials Need 2/3 majority for a conviction

Articles I, Sections 4, 5, & 6 Sections 4, 5 and 6 deal with Meetings, Organization, Rules and Salaries Simple majority in each house is enough to conduct business Originally Congress only had to meet once a year Originally Congressmen only made $6 Now they make at least $130,000 a year Salary can escalate depending on status

Article I, Section 7 Section 7 deals with passing laws All revenue bills (making money) will start in the House A bill becomes a law when it is passed by both Houses and signed by the President The President can veto bills Congress also has the power to override Presidential vetoes (need 2/3 majority)

Article I, Section 8 These are the powers given to exclusively to Congress: Trade- Interstate and Foreign Citizenship Issuing Money Post office Copyrights/Patents Protect from Piracy Declare War Create Army/Navy/National Guard Elastic Clause- “necessary and proper”

Article I, Sections 9 & 10 Discusses exclusive, reserved, and concurrent powers Exclusive- Congress (everything on previous slide) Reserved- States Concurrent- shared by both Congress and the States

Article I, Sections 9 & 10 Intrastate Commerce Elections Reserved (State) Concurrent (Shared) Intrastate Commerce Elections Voting Requirements Local Govt. Public Safety 10th Amendment (We’ll get to that later) Taxation Court Systems Borrow $ Enforce laws Banking Protecting the general welfare

Article II, Section 1 This deals with the President Elected by a special Electoral College President’s term is four years long Originally there were no term limits (now it’s 2 terms or 10 years) Must be at least 35 years old Must be a natural born citizen Must be a U.S. resident for 14 years Vacancies: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0101032.html Original salary was $25,000 (now $400,000+) VP’s salary is now $221,000

Article II, Section 2 The President is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military Responsible for all foreign relations Allowed to make appointments State of the Union/Special Sessions of Congress Can be impeached for the following: treason, bribery, other high crimes and misdemeanors

Article III This section establishes the Supreme Court Main purpose of the SC is to interpret the Constitution, although this concept is not established until Marbury v. Madison The SC can handle different types of cases: individual v. individual; individual v. state; state v. state) Congress can create lower court systems

Articles IV & V Article 4 Article 5 Article 4 deals with the creation and formation of new states Guarantees republican government in each state Also discusses extradition for crimes Amending the Constitution 2/3 majority is needed to propose an amendment ¾ of the states must approve the amendment to add it to the Constitution

Articles VI & VII Article 6 Article 7 This section deals with debts, supremacy, and oaths All debts under the Articles of Confederation shall pass to the Constitution govt. The Constitution shall be the supreme law of the land All representatives shall be bound by oath to support the Constitution Religious affiliation will not prevent people from holding office The approval of 9 states will be sufficient to ratify the Constitution

Checks and Balances- Executive On Legislative On Judicial Propose laws Veto bills Special Sessions of Congress Make appointments Negotiate treaties Commander-in-Chief Make appointments Presidential pardons

Checks and Balances- Legislative On executive On judicial Veto override Confirmation of appointments (Senate) Ratify treaties (Senate) Declare War Appropriate funds Impeachment (House) Impeachment trial/conviction (Senate) Create lower court system Impeachment (House) Impeachment trial/conviction (Senate) Propose Amendments Confirm Appointments

Checks and Balances- Judicial On executive On legislative Judicial Review Judicial Review

The Order of Ratification (State, Date, Vote) PA, 12/87, 46-23 NJ, 12/87, 38-0 GA, 1/88, 26-0 CT, 1/88, 128-40 MA, 2/88, 187-168 MD, 4/88, 63-11 SC, 5/88, 149-73 NH, 6/88, 57-47- Makes Const. official VA, 6/88, 89-79 NY, 7/88, 30-27 NC, 11/89, 194-77 RI, 5/90, 34-32

The Bill of Rights- The First Ten Amendments (ratified in 1791) Freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceful assembly Right to keep and bear arms No quartering of troops in citizens’ homes No illegal search and seizure of property Right of accused persons- self-incrimination + double jeopardy Speedy, fair, public trial Trial by a jury of “peers” No cruel/unusual punishment Reserved power to the people Reserved power to the States