1. MODERN US HISTORY - UNIT 1 SEPTEMBER 15, 2011 HAMER Notes 4: Government Structure

2. Purpose of the Constitution The Preamble of the Constitution tells us its purpose:  We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America. How does this tell us about the problems with the Articles of Confederation? Who is it that is creating this Constitution? Why do you think that is?

3. Three Branches of Government The framers of the Constitution understood that just having a legislative branch of government (like under the Articles of Confederation) was not enough. But they were still worried about giving the federal government too much power.

4. Three Branches of Government To prevent any one group in the federal government from taking over, the framers of the Constitution created three branches of government that would always keep an eye on each other. Each branch has some power over the other two. This protection is known as “ checks and balances ”

5. Article 1: The Legislature The first article of the Constitution tells us about the Legislative Branch. This branch is represented in Congress. Congress has two houses – the Senate and The House of Representatives.

6. House of Representatives The House of Representatives is composed of members from each state. How many members a state receives is based on its population. The number of Representatives in the House is currently fixed at 435 – these are apportioned with each census to the states based on their population.

7. House of Representatives Elections are held every two years – this way the House of Representatives follows the pulse of the people. Since Representatives are elected so frequently, the House can change with the country. To be a member of the House, you have to be 25 years old, been a citizen for at least 7 years, and live in the state where you are elected.

8. House of Representatives To determine how many people live in each state and therefore how many Representatives each state gets, the Constitution stated that the people of the U.S.A. had to be counted every 10 years, we now call this the census. Census: Counting of the people who live in a country and/or state

9. House of Representatives The House of Representative is the only part of the federal government that has the power of impeachment. Impeachment: The process of accusing a federal official of wrongdoing This power is the way that the House of Representatives can keep the President’s power in check. The House can vote to call an impeachment of the President.

10. The Senate The Senate is composed of two members from each state. When the Constitution was written, the state’s legislature picked their senators. In 1913, the 17 th Amendment was passed – this stated that voters in the states could choose their senators.

11. The Senate Elections for senate are held every six years on a rotating basis (1/3 of all senators are re-elected every even year). The framers of the Constitution created the Senate to be a more stable body since it was originally elected by state legislators and since there are six years before the senator is up for reelection. To be a Senator, you have to be 30 years old, been a citizen for 9 years, and live in the state that elected you. The Vice- President is also the official President of the Senate. His vote is only used for tiebreakers.

12. The Senate The Senate is the only part of the federal government that gets to conduct impeachment trials. A 2/3 vote of the Senate is required for impeachment convictions. Under an impeachment trial, a federal official can only be removed from office and disqualified from holding office. The official can then be tried in other courts for abuses of the law.

13. Passing Laws Either the Senate or the House can create bills (except only the House can create tax bills). Once a bill passes one house, it has to pass the other. Then the bill has to go before the President. The President can either sign the bill into law or he can veto it. If the President vetoes the bill, both houses have to approve the bill by a 2/3 vote. If they do that, the presidential veto is overturned and the bill becomes a law. Veto: The power to refuse approval of a bill

14. Powers Granted or Denied to Congress Congress is allowed to pass legislation on the following: Taxes, borrowing money, commerce, citizenship laws, bankruptcy laws, coinage of money, counterfeiting, post offices, patents, federal courts, international laws, to declare war, regulation and maintenance of the armed forces and militia, to run the District of Columbia, and laws to carry out any of these other laws

15. Powers Granted or Denied to Congress Congress is NOT allowed to pass legislation on the following: The writ of habeas corpus (where a prisoner can petition a court to determine if he/she is being held unlawfully) can not be suspended unless in cases of rebellion or invasion when public safety demands it, no ex post facto law (law passed after an event about that event), no bills of attainder (saying a person or a group of people is guilty without a trial), export taxes, no favorites among the states, public money can only be withdrawn from the treasury by law, no titles of nobility can be granted

16. Powers Granted or Denied to Congress The States are NOT allowed to pass the following legislation because it would interfere with Congress: Treaties, alliances, confederations, coin money, make ex post facto laws, laws impairing the obligation of contracts, grant titles of nobility, or make import or export taxes without the consent of Congress.

17. Article 2: The Executive Branch The President is the leader of the executive branch of government. To be President you must be a natural-born citizen, be 35 years old, and been a resident within the US for at least 14 years. The Electoral College chooses the President. The President is elected every four years and (after the 22 nd Amendment passed in 1951) the President can only be elected to office twice.

18. Article 2: The Executive Branch If the President can no longer serve, the Vice- President will serve in the President’s place. The 25 th Amendment, passed in 1967, lays down more rules for Presidential succession.

19. Powers of the President The President is commander in chief of the armed forces. The President can also: make treaties (with 2/3 approval of the Senate), appoint ambassadors and other public ministers, and appoint judges of the Supreme Court. The President can also veto laws that are presented to him by Congress. The President is required to inform Congress of the state of the Union on a regular basis.

20. Article 3: The Judiciary The Supreme Court of the United States holds the judicial power for the country. Congress can make other courts if necessary (but these inferior courts still answer to the Supreme Court). Federal judges are appointed for life and they are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.

21. Article 3: The Judiciary The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over trials with ambassadors, public officials, or states. Lower courts begin other trials, but they can move to the Supreme Court through appeals.

22. Article 3: The Judiciary In creating the judicial branch, the framers of the Constitution also set some limits. They defined treason as levying war against the US, adhering to their enemies or giving their enemies aid and comfort. Two witnesses have to testify about the same overt act for someone to be convicted of treason (or they have to admit to the crime in an open court). The Supreme Court can check the powers of the Legislative Branch by deeming a law “ unconstitutional ”.

23. Articles 4-7 Article 4 gives the relations between states, including citizenship across states, extradition laws, and how new states would be admitted to the Union. Article 4 also guarantees the federal government’s protection of the states.

24. Articles 4-7 Article 5 describes how the Constitution can be amended. Amendment: a change, in this case, to the Constitution Either 2/3 of both houses of Congress or 2/3 of the states can propose amendments to the Constitution. An amendment is ratified when 3/4 of the states approve it. We now have 27 amendments to the Constitution.

25. Articles 4-7 Article 6 explains that the National Government is the supreme law of the land. Article 7 explains that 9 of the 13 states had to ratify the Constitution for it to pass. It also contains the signatures of those who created it.