1. U.S. Constitution Power Point Project Svetlana Ghazaryan Ani Zargaryan Period 1 December 14, 2009 ♥

2. US Constitution The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It defines the three branches of government, the legislative branch, executive branch, and the judicial branch. It was approved on September 17, 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the Constitution is to protect peoples natural rights and to limit the power of government.

3. The Preamble The Preamble to the United States Constitution is a brief introductory statement of the fundamental purposes and guiding principles that the Constitution is meant to serve. “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

4. Checks and Balances To prevent one branch from becoming supreme, and to induce the branches to cooperate, governance systems that employ a separation of powers need a way to balance each of the branches. Typically this was accomplished through a system of "checks and balances", the origin of which, like separation of powers itself, is specifically credited to Montesquie. Checks and balances allows for a system based regulation that allows one branch to limit another, such as the power of Congress to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts.

5. Federal System Of Government The Federal Government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution which shares sovereignty over the United States with the governments of the individual US States. The federal government has three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers and the system of "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.

6. The Great Compromise A compromise was reached June 29th, 1787 in Philadelphia combining the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. This has been a major conflict for quite a while. The New Jersey Plan was debated for four days, but the larger states rejected it. The Virginia Plan was debated for two weeks. Many believe that the compromise that has been reached is a major progression towards the unification of the States under a Federal System and has solved the problem of state representation.

7. The Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay on 1788.

8. James Madison James Madison was leader in the House of Representatives. He worked with George Washington to organize a new federal government. Him and Thomas Jefferson organized the republican party.

9. 13 th, 14 th, 15 th Amendments The 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th amendments are about rights that the American citizens have. They are about voting rights, abolition of slavery, and rights of citizens.

10. 18 th and 21 st Amendments The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which mandated nationwide Prohibition.