1. Chapter 3
The Constitution

2. Section 1- The 6 Basic Principles The Constitution of the United States is this nation’s fundamental law. It is the “supreme law of the land.” The Constitution is a document of approximately 7000 words. One of its strengths is that it does not go into a great deal of detail. It is built on 6 basic principles: 1. popular sovereignty-the people are the only source of governmental power. Government with consent of the governed. The people created the government and gave it certain powers.

3. 2. Limited government-government is not all powerful, it may only do those things the people have given it the power to do. Limited government can be stated another way: Government must obey the law. Constitutionalism-government must be conducted according to the constitution. The “Rule of Law”-government and its officers are subject to and not above the law. Freedom of expression is guaranteed because the Constitution forbids the Congress to make laws prohibiting it.

4. 3. Separation of Powers-the Constitution distributes power to the 3 branches of government: legislative-Congress, executive-the President, judicial-the courts. Article I, Section 1 declares, “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States...” Article II, Section 1: “The Executive power shall be vested in a President...” Article III, Section 1: “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish...”

5. The Framers intended to create a strong government for the United States-they also intended to limit those powers James Madison wrote in support of separation of powers in The Federalist Papers No Checks and Balances-The three branches of government are not totally independent of one another. Rather, they are tied together by a complex system of checks and balances. Each branch is subject to a number of constitutional checks (restraints) by the other branches.

6. Example: Congress has the power to make law, but the President may veto, or reject any act of Congress. The Congress can override the veto by a 2/3 vote in each house. The courts may declare acts of Congress unconstitutional. 5. Judicial Review -The power of the courts to declare acts of the Congress unconstitutional are part of its power of judicial review. It can declare any government action unconstitutional if the act violates the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison was the first Supreme Court case in which the Court exercised the power of judicial review.

7. 6. Federalism- power in the United States is distributed on a territorial basis. The Articles of Confederation created a government too weak, the crown had imposed a government too powerful.

9. Section 2-Formally Amending the Constitution When the Constitution was written, provisions were made to allow amendments that would reflect the changing needs of the people. The US Constitution has been in force for more than 200 years-longer than any other written constitution in the world. The Constitution today is both the same and different from the one the Framers wrote in Some things have been added and some things have been deleted. The Constitution can be changed in 2 ways: formally and informally.

10. Formal Amendment process-The Constitution provides for its own amendments. There are 4 methods of formal amendment-changes in the written language of the Constitution. p State legislatures must approve an amendment in order to make it a part of the Constitution. An amendment may be formally proposed only by the Congress or national convention.

11. Federalism is evident in the amendment process because both the state and federal governments participate in the process. More than 10,000 joint resolutions calling for amendments to the Constitution have been proposed in Congress since Out of those, only 33 have made it to the states for ratification, and only 27 have been ratified, making them amendments to the Constitution. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution were proposed in 1789, they are the Bill of Rights.

12. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are known as the Civil War Amendments. The 13th amendment ended slavery and prohibits most other forms of involuntary servitude. The 14th amendment defined American citizenship and granted it to former slaves, it includes the due process and equal protection clauses. The 15th amendment forbids restrictions on the right to vote based upon race, color and previous condition of servitude. The 16th amendment gave the Congress the power to tax incomes.

13. The 17th amendment provided for the popular election of US Senators
The 17th amendment provided for the popular election of US Senators. Prior to this, Senators were elected by the State Legislatures. The 19th amendment provided for women’s suffrage. The 22nd amendment limited presidential tenure. The 24th amendment banned tax payments as a voter requirement. The 25th amendment-set presidential succession. The 26th amendment was adopted in the least amount of time, it set the minimum voting age at 18. The 27th amendment deals with Congressional pay.

14. Section 3-Informal Amendment Informal amendments are changes to the Constitution that have not led to changes in the document’s written words. Informal amendments take place in 5 basic ways: 1. basic legislation by Congress- A. It has passed many laws to spell out the Constitution’s provisions B. Congress has added to the Constitution by the way it uses powers given to it by the Constitution. Example-Congress has the power to regulate commerce, but the Constitution does not define commerce.

15. 2. Executive Action-The Constitution states that only Congress can declare war, but the Constitution also makes the President Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The President can, and many Presidents have, used this authority to send armed forces abroad without a congressional declaration. The President also has the authority to make Executive Agreements: A. these are pacts made directly with a foreign state, B. they don’t need approval of the Senate-treaties need Senate approval, C. they are as legally binding as a treaty.

16. 3. Court Decisions-the nation’s courts, especially the US Supreme Court, are constantly interpreting and applying the Constitution. 4. Political parties-the Constitution does not mention political parties. Washington feared the development of political parties, he felt they would divide the newly established government. Both the Senate and the House conduct much of their business along party lines-the President appoints cabinet members based on political parties.

17. 5. Customs-unwritten customs can be as strong as written laws
5. Customs-unwritten customs can be as strong as written laws. Each of the 8 times a president has died in office, the Vice President has filled the vacancy-this chain of command was not a part of the Constitution until 1967, 4 years after Kennedy was assassinated. Up to this point, the Constitution only said the duties of the President would be assumed by the Vice President-Not the office itself. The “no third term” tradition was broken by Franklin Roosevelt-the 22nd Amendment was added in 1951.