1. Constitution 101: An Introduction & Overview to the US Constitution

2. What is the Constitution?
The supreme law of the United States.
It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the Federal Government of the United States.
It provides the framework for the organization of the United States Government.

3. What are the basic principals of the Constitution?
Self-Government
Government power resides in the people
Limited Government
Government is not all powerful, can only do what the people let it.
Separation of Powers
Helps prevent one branch from becoming too powerful
Checks and Balances
Federalism
Division of power among national and state governments

4. What are Checks and Balances?

5. Who Wrote It?
James Madison is considered “the father of the Constitution.”
His important contributions:
The Virginia Plan
Separation of Powers
Bill of Rights

6. When was it written? May 25th to September 17th, 1787
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Intention was to revise Articles of Confederation
Ended up replacing the Articles and creating a new government
Called the “Constitutional Convention.”

7. Structure of the Constitution
Preamble:
Statement of purpose
Articles:
I: Legislative Branch
II: Executive Branch
III: Judicial Branch
IV: Relations Among the States
V: Amendment Process
VI: Federal Power
VII: Ratification
Amendments:
27 Total
First ten are Bill of Rights

8. Introduction: The Preamble

9. What does the Preamble say?
The Preamble introduces the Constitution and explains what the Constitution is meant to do.
Hint: Preamble = Purpose
The Preamble lists six major goals/purposes for the Constitution to accomplish!

10. #PreambleGoals
“We the people of the United States… 1.) in Order to form a more perfect Union: 2.) establish justice: 3.) insure domestic tranquility: 4.) provide for the common defense: 5.) promote the general welfare: 6.) and secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity: … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

11. #PreambleGoals
“We the people of the United States… 1.) in Order to form a more perfect Union: in order to unite the states more than ever before 2.) establish justice: create a fair legal system 3.) insure domestic tranquility: promise peace at home 4.) provide for the common defense: aide the military/defend against attacks 5.) promote the general welfare: help support people’s well-being 6.) and secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity: and make sure that freedom will last for us and our future generations … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

12. Article 1: The Legislative Branch

13. Article 1: The Legislative Branch
Article I is the first and longest portion of the Constitution. It creates the Legislative Branch of the government - turning citizens’ wants into laws.
Section 1: Powers of Congress
“All legislative Powers herin granted shall be vested in a Congress, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

14. Article I: The Legislative Branch
Section 3: The Senate:
Qualifications:
Size:
Term Length:
Special Duties:
Section 2: The House of Representatives:
Qualifications:
Size:
Term Length:
Special Duties:

15. Article I: The Legislative Branch
Section 2: The House of Representatives:
Qualifications:
Must be 25 years old and have lived in the U.S. for 7 years
Size:
435 members
Term Length:
Serve for 2 years
Special Duties:
All bills that raise money begin in the House
Section 3: The Senate:
Qualifications:
Must be at least 30 years old and have lived in the U.S. for 9 years
Size:
50 members
Term Length:
Serve for 6 years
Special Duties:
Acts as a court during impeachment trails

16. Arizona’s Representatives
Krysten Sinema:
Represents the 9th District (D)
Others:
Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
Martha McSally (R)
Raul Grijalva (D)
Paul Gosar (R)
David Schweikert (R)
Ruben Gallego (D)
Trent Franks (R)

17. Arizona’s Senators John McCain (R): Jeff Flake (R):
Former Presidential candidate
Jeff Flake (R):
Former House Representative

18. Article I: The Legislative Branch
Section 7: Overriding Presidential Veto
The Presentment Clause: Before a bill becomes law, it must be presented to the President, who has ten days to act on it. If the President signs the bill, it becomes law.
If the President disapproves of the bill, he must return it to the House in which it originated. This procedure has become known as a veto.
The bill then does not then become law unless both Houses, by two-thirds vote, overrides the President’s veto.

19. Article I: The Legislative Branch
Section 8: Powers of Congress
Some major powers of Congress are to: collect taxes, borrow money, pay debts, make rules for how to become a citizen, regulate trade with other countries, declare war, and support the military financially.
Do these powers sound familiar to you? Where have we as a class discussed issues such as these before in terms of a Legislative Branch?

20. Article 2: The Executive Branch

21. Article II: The Executive Branch
Section 1: The President and Vice President
“The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:”

22. Article II: The Executive Branch
“Each state shall appoint a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.”
Electors make up the Electoral College, who elects the President on behalf of the states. The Electoral Vote is different from the Popular Vote, which is the total number of votes cast by the U.S. population.
An absolute majority, currently 270 Electoral Votes, is needed to be elected.

23. The Electoral College: Map

24. Current President and V.P.
Barak Obama (D):
Former Illinois Senator
Joe Biden (D):
Former Delaware Senator

25. Article II: Executive Branch
The President is paid an annual salary of $400,000 a year
Qualifications:
Natural-born citizen
At least 35 years old
14 year resident of the U.S.
Section 2: Important powers:
Commander-in-Chief of the military
Grant pardons
Make treaties
Appoint federal officers
Ensure laws are executed through Cabinet members and other government departments

26. Article II: Executive Branch
The Cabinet has 15 advisors to the President:
Secretaries of: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veteran’s Affairs and the Attorney General.
Line of Succession:
#1: Vice President
#2: Speaker of the House
#3: President Pro Tempore of the Senate
#4: Secretary of State
#5: Secretary of the Treasury

27. Article II: The Executive Branch
Section 3: Presidential Responsibilities
The President gives the State of the Union address once a year, normally in January, to give a report on the condition of the nation and to explain their legislative agenda.
There is always a “designated survivor” selected from within the government in case the Capitol Building is attacked during the speech.

28. Article II: The Executive Branch
Section 4: Presidential Impeachment
“The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The only two Presidents to have been impeached are Andrew Johnson (17th President – violating the Tenure of Office Act by firing the Secretary of War) and Bill Clinton (42nd President – perjury and obstruction of justice to cover up an affair).

29. Article 3: The Judicial Branch

30. Article III: Judicial Branch
Supreme Court judges serve for life unless impeached.
Judicial power rests with US Supreme Court and other courts created by Congress
Important Powers:
Decides cases of Constitutional law and federal law
Cases involving ambassadors go straight to Supreme Court
Judicial Review comes later (1803 – Marbury v. Madison)

31. Article 4: State Relationships

32. Article IV: State Relationships
Section 1: State Powers
All states shall be equal in power when creating and enforcing their own laws. States must also respect laws and court decisions of other states.
Section 2: Extradition
If a person commits a crime in one state and flees to another, that person can be brought back (extradited) to the state in which the crime was committed in order to stand trial.

33. Article IV: State Relationships
Section 3: New States
New states can always be admitted into the Union, but they cannot be under the jurisdiction of any other state – they must be independent and follow federal laws.
Section 4: Responsibilities and Protections
All states must have Republican (representative) forms of government, and the federal government shall protect them from destruction and invasion.

34. Article 5: Amendments

35. Article V: Amendments Section 1: Amending the Constitution
Step One: All amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed and voted on by 2/3 of both Houses of Congress.
Step Two: All amendments then must be ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures in the Union (38 states out of 50 total).

37. Article 6: Supremacy

38. Article VI: Supremacy Section 1: Supremacy Clause
All laws and treaties made by the U.S. government are “the supreme law of the land” and federal law always wins over state laws.
The Supremacy Clause reflects how the Constitution was built upon “federalism” – power being shared between national and state governments.)

39. Article 7: Ratification

40. Article VII: Ratification
Section 1: Ratification of the Constitution
9 out of 13 states had to ratify the Constitution. Each state had their own Constitutional Conventions and debated many issues – particularly the inclusion of a Bill of Rights.
The Constitution went into effect March of 1789, and the Bill of Rights was added in 1791.