1. United States Constitution
History 8

2. Organization *Preamble (Intro) Sets out goals of our nation:
“We the people”, “establish justice”, “provide for the common defense”
*Articles
(like chapters)
Outlines our gov’t structure and its function
*Amendments
(“p.s.”) add changes. A living & flexible document!

3. Basic Principle *”Separation Of Powers” = “Checks and Balances”
(Check = Stop)
(Balance = Result)

4. Three Branches of Gov’t
Legislative: Makes Laws
*Congress
Executive: Carries Out Laws
*President
Judicial: Interprets The Laws
*Supreme Court

5. Legislative Branch (the Senate and the House of Representatives)
*Divided into two houses
(the Senate and the
House of Representatives)
*Called “Bicameral”
Legislature
*Can also raise army/navy, declare war, handles tax money, grants citizenship, & can impeach the president (w/ a vote in the House & a trial in the Senate)

6. The House of Representatives
*”Lower House”
*Based on population
*Larger states get a proportionally larger amount of seats (1 seat = 1 vote).
*CA has 53 Representatives
*Wyoming has 1

7. The Senate *“Upper House” *Each state gets two votes
*Not democratic at all!

8. Requirements House: *Must be 25+ yrs old to run
*2 yr term (always thinking about re-election, so close to the people!)
*No term limits
*A citizen for 7 yrs
Senate:
*Must be 30+ yrs old to run (represents the aristocrats, old=wise)
*6 yr term (removed from people)
*No term limits
*A citizen for 9 yrs

9. Executive Branch Presidential Roles: *Chief Executive
*Commander in Chief
of the Armed Forces
*Can make treaties, etc
with other nations
*Nominates/appoints
ambassadors & Supreme Court justices (judges)
*Can grant pardons

10. Bureaucracy
*Laws are carried out through departments:
State Dpt, Dpt of Agriculture, Dpt of Education, Dpt of Energy, etc.
*The heads of these are called the President’s Cabinet.
*They act as advisors.
*The Vice President is also included.

11. Presidency Requirements
*Must be 35+ yrs to run
(youngest so far is JFK at the age of 43)
*4 yr term
*2 term limit (official after WWII)
*A citizen born here (“natural born”)

12. The Judicial Branch *9 Supreme Court justices (judges)
*Not elected- appointed by the President & approved by Congress.
*No need for age limit as based on the merit of the individual
*Term for life/
“good behavior”

13. Checks & Balances Legislative
~Can override President’s veto (Veto = “I forbid”)
~Approves appointments of Supreme Court justices
Executive
~Can veto bills
~Nominates justices
Judicial
~Can declare laws/treaties unconstitutional

14. Checks & Balances In Action
Example:
1. Congress passes a law (over 50% majority)
2. President vetos it
3. But, both the House and the Senate vote again. A 2/3 vote in both houses overrides the veto.
4. A law! (Unless the
Supreme Court declares
it unconstitutional)

15. Amendments
*Framers left this document flexible enough to be adapted/updated
(“living document”)
*27 so far!
*The 1st 10 are the Bill of Rights
*Path of an Amendment
(about 5 yrs):
~2/3 approval in each house to propose a new amendment
~¾ of all state legislatures must ratify (approve) it =38/50 states.