Quiz-Open book quiz chapter 3 section 1 and 2

The Parts of the Constitution The main purpose of the United States Constitution is to provide a plan of government. The Constitution is the highest authority in the nation It is a symbol of our nation and represents the United States system of government It stands for our basic ideals such as personal liberty and democracy

Preamble Is the introduction It states the goals and purposes of the government

Articles They are the main parts-there are seven Describe the way the government is set up

There are 27 amendments These are the additions and changes to the Constitution

The Constitution Is brief Contains less then 7,000 words It does not go into a lot of detail It is flexible

Preamble “To form a more perfect union” Summary: to unite the states together so they can act as a single nation, for the good of all

“To establish justice” Summary: to create a system of fair laws and courts and make certain that all citizens are treated equally

“to insure domestic tranquility” Summary: provide peace and order, keeping citizens and their property from harm

“provide for the common defense” Summary: to be ready militarily to protect the country and its citizens from outside attacks

“to promote general welfare” Summary: to help people live happy, healthy, and prosperous (successful) lives

“To Secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity Summary: to guarantee the freedom and basic rights of all Americans, including future generations

The Seven Articles Article I- outlines the lawmaking powers of the legislative branch-Congress is made up of a Senate and House of Representative Article II-outlines the executive branch-law enforcing branch headed by president-tells how leaders are to be elected-lists presidents powers Article III-sets up the judicial branch-interprets the law-describes what kind of cases the court could hear-established a supreme court

Article IV-explains relationship between state and national governments Article V- describes how the Constitution can be changed Article VI-claims the constitution is the supreme law of the land Article VII- describes how the Constitution was to be ratified

The Amendments The amendments make up the last section of the constitution There are 27 amendments The first 10 amendments make up the Bill of Rights

Amending and Interpreting the Constitution Any change made to the Constitution is called an amendment Although thousands of amendments have been considered, only 27 have been amendments have been ratified Why have so few been ratified? The framers made the amendment process difficult and a majority of people had to support the changes before it could be changed

How might our government be different if it could not be ratified? The framers believed it was necessary to be able to change the Constitution with the changing social conditions How might our government be different if it could not be ratified? Enslaved people may have never gotten their freedom Women would have never had the right to vote

Amending the Constitution Step One: Proposed by: A two thirds vote of both houses of Congress Or A constitutional convention called by Congress on petition of two thirds of the 50 states

Step Two: Ratified by: Three/Fourths of the 50 state legislature Or Three/fourths of special constitutional conventions called by the 50 states

Amending the Constitution is a process made up of two steps First an amendment is proposed then ratified Official (formal) amendments are part of the Constitution However there are certain actions taken by the president that have led to informal or unofficial changes What is an example of an informal change in the Constitution?

Interpreting the Constitution The writers of the Constitution knew that the world would change that they could not predict They attempted to keep the document as general as possible They went into details about some things, but left other matters open for interpretation or explanation

Necessary and Proper Clause Article I states Congress can make all laws that shall be necessary and proper to carry out its duties It allows Congress to use powers directly listed in the Constitution These are the implied powers Much of what the federal government does today is based on implied powers

Loose Interpretation v Strict Interpretation Loose: some people think Congress should be allowed to make any laws the Constitution does not forbid and that fit its purpose-they would have a “loose” interpretation of the Constitution Strict: people who think Congress should only make the kind of laws that are mentioned in the Constitution have a “strict” interpretation of the Constitution

The final authority for interpreting the Constitution is the Supreme Court They interpret the Constitution in different ways. Sometimes strictly and sometimes loosely