THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES How is it organized?

QUICKLY RECREATE THE FOLLOWING CHART IN YOUR NOTES CriteriaMain IdeasSignificance Preamble Parts of Government Articles I, II, III How the government works Articles IV-VII Amendments

PREAMBLE  Introduction to the constitution  Single sentence that outlines the goals for the new government

THE PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT  Articles 1, 2, and 3 describe the three main branches of the federal government  Describes the powers given to each branch and how officials are elected  Longest portion of the constitution

HOW THE GOVERNMENT WORKS  Articles IV – VII describe how other portions of the government will work  Article IV – how to create new states  Article V – How to amend or change the constitution  Article VI – Explains how debts will be paid and establishes the federal government as the law of the land  Article VII – The process of approving the constitution  Basically this part is all the “nitty gritty” of the constitution

AMENDMENTS  We needed a government that would last for centuries and in order for that to happen something needed to be designed to adapt the constitution as time progressed  The constitution has been amended 27 times since it was signed with the first 10 being called the bill of rights  These amendments have been put into place to secure our rights as citizens while still granting the supreme authority to the federal government