1. How to Read the Constitution
The Constitution is organized into 3 basic parts.
-Articles
-Sections
-Clauses
Example
ARTICLE I: Legislative Branch
Section 1. Legislative powers; in whom vested
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2. House of Representatives, how and by whom chosen Qualifications of a Representative. Representatives and direct taxes, how apportioned. Enumeration. Vacancies to be filled. Power of choosing officers, and of impeachment.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elector in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

2. How to Read the Constitution
Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 Or
I-2-1
Example
ARTICLE I: Legislative Branch
Section 1. Legislative powers; in whom vested
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section 2. House of Representatives, how and by whom chosen Qualifications of a Representative. Representatives and direct taxes, how apportioned. Enumeration. Vacancies to be filled. Power of choosing officers, and of impeachment.
The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elector in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

3. How to Read the Constitution
7 Articles of the Constitution- Write this on the back of your packet
Article I- Legislative Branch (Congress)
Article II- Executive Branch (President)
Article III- Judicial Branch (Supreme Court)
Article IV- Relations among the states
Article V- How to amend (change) the Constitution
Article VI- Supremacy of National Law, Oath of Office, National Debt
Article VII- Ratification of the Constitution

4. Principles of the U.S. Constitution Text 260-265
Popular Sovereignty- The people rule. They have the ability to govern themselves through voting.
Republicanism- People exercise their power in government by voting for their representatives.
Federalism- Both the Federal and State governments have their own power, and they share others. Delegated (enumerated) Powers- Federal Powers, Reserved Power- State Powers, Concurrent Powers- Shared.
Separation of Powers- Divided the power of government into branches, so that no one part could become too strong.
Checks and Balances- Each branch of government can exercise checks, or controls, over the other branches.
Limited Government- The rule of law prevails in American government. No one is above the law, even members of the government.
Individual Rights- The Bill of Rights shields people from an overly powerful government.
Popular Sovereignty
Separation of Powers
Republicanism
Federalism
Limited Government
Individual Rights
Checks and Balances

5. Congress- Legislative Branch
House of Congress
Main power/ role in the federal government
Leadership
and number of members
Term of Office in years
Qualifications to be elected to this House of Congress
Senate
(Upper House)
Make Laws
-Same as the House of Reps
* Only the Senate
-Approve Treaties
-Approve appointments to the cabinet and the
Supreme/ Federal Courts
 -Vice President
-President Pro Tempore
-Majority Leader
-Minority Leader
100 Senators
2 from every state  6
No term limit
-30 years of age
-9 Years a citizen
-Live in the state you represent
House of Representatives (Lower House)
 Make Laws
- To make and borrow money for the U.S.A.
- To regulate trade.
- Establish a post office and build roads.
Declare war.
Has final approval of the Federal Government’s budget.- “power of the purse”
To establish inferior (lower) courts to the Supreme Court.
-Speaker of the House
435 Representative
Number per state is based on the state’s population.
922,000 = 1 Rep  2
-25 years of age
-7 Years a citizen

6. Senate 100 Members Add this under your chart on p. 9
Is called the upper house because members are elected to a longer term (6 years), and because they stay in office longer they can have more of an influence in the government.
Two Senators from a each state.
- Senior Senator- Elected first
- Junior Senator- More recently elected Senator

7. President of the Senate
Leadership
Which ever party has
the majority chooses
the leadership.
President of the Senate
Vice President
Mike Pence (R)
United States
President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch Utah (R)
Minority Leader Harry Reid (D) Nevada
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky

8. House of Representatives 435 Add this under the chart on p. 9
Is the part of Congress considered closest to the will of the people.
Elected every two years.
Any new law (bill) dealing with money (taxes, spending money) must start in the House.
Every two years every member of the House and 1/3 of the Senators is up for re-election.
Since the ratification of the Constitution, Congresses have been numbered every two years. Example: Current Congress is the 114th.
- The Elastic Clause gave the Congress the power to make all laws that they see as necessary and proper to deal with the changing needs of the country. These implied powers are not specifically stated in the Constitution. I-8-18

9. House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House
Paul Ryan
Wisconsin (R)
Majority Leader Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy Nancy Pelosi
California (R) California (D)
Which ever party has
the majority chooses
the leadership.

10. Executive Branch- President
Chief Executive
Main power/ role in the federal government
Who else is in the Executive Branch besides the President?
Term of Office in years/ limits
Qualifications to be elected
President of the United States
1. Enforce laws made by Congress
2. Commander in Chief of the Armed forces.
3. Head of State/ Chief diplomat
for the United States.
4. Leader of their political party
Vice President
Cabinet- Executive Departments
White House Staff
 4 Years
2 Terms
35 Years of Age
Live in the U.S. for 14 yrs
Natural born citizen

11. Powers of the Executive Branch
Main Job
The Executive Branch is responsible for enforcing the laws made by the Congress. He/she does this by signing bills passed in Congress.

12. Executive Branch Leadership
The leadership of the White House Staff consists of the President and Vice-President of the United States and their staffs. Everyone who works in the Whitehouse
Donald Trump
President (R)
Mike Pence
Vice-President (R)

13. Powers of the Supreme Court
Judicial Branch
Federal Courts
Main power/ role in the federal government
What are the other levels of federal courts under the Supreme Court?
Term of Office in years/ limits
How does someone become a Supreme Court justice or Federal court judge?
Supreme Court
1 Chief Justice
8 Associate Justices
To look over laws and decisions of the other branches of government and determine if they are constitutional- Judicial Review.
Judicial review is not mentioned in the Constitution. It was created in the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison by Chief Justice John Marshall.
Supreme Court-1
Courts of Appeals- 13
U.S. District Courts- 94
These are the trial courts were most federal court cases start.
Term of office is for life.
 The Constitution gives no qualifications to be a Federal court justice or judge.
When there is an opening on the Supreme Court or another Federal court the President of the United Sates nominates someone, and then that person must be approved or confirmed by the Senate.

14. Powers of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court looks at laws, and actions
of both the Federal and state government to
see if they are constitutional (doesn’t go
against the Constitution). Highest Court in the U.S..
This power is held by the Supreme Court any other
inferior courts that Congress creates.
Supreme Court Building

15. Powers of the Supreme Court
The main power of the Supreme Court is Judicial Review. This is the Court’s power to declare laws or actions made by the other two branches unconstitutional.
The power of Judicial Review is not directly given to the Supreme Court in the Constitution, but was created in a very famous Supreme Court case called Marbury v. Madison by the Chief Justice at that time John Marshall.
William Marbury
John Marshall
James Madison

16. U.S. Supreme Court
Front row: Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin G. Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Back row: Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor. Stephen Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, and Elena Kagen

17. Organization of the Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court- consists of 9 people altogether. Final court of appeals.
1 Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices. (Justice = Judge)
U.S. Courts of Appeals- Is underneath the Supreme Court there are the 12 Courts of Appeals. Each Appeals Court has 3 judges who look at the decisions of the lower federal Courts to decide if the ruling of the lower court was correct. Appeals courts check to make sure the lower court applied the law correctly, and that the trial was fair. They are not concerned with guilty or innocence.
* There is a13th Court of Appeals which hears appeals from special federal courts.
District Courts- There are 94 District Courts across the United States. Each state has at least one district court. They are the courts of original jurisdiction in the Federal government. They handle the majority of the workload in the Federal court system. These courts have a judge and a jury.
Special Federal Courts- Hear cases dealing with special areas of federal law.
i.e.- Patent Law, Customs Law, Tax Law