1. Chapter 3: The Constitution
Section 1: Structure and Principles
Section 2: Three Branches of Government
Section 3: Amending the Constitution
Section 4: The Amendments

2. Section 1: Structure & Principles
Article I: Legislative Branch
Article II: the Executive Branch
Article III: The Judicial Branch
Article IV: Relations among the states
Article V: Amending the Constitution
Article VI: National Supremacy
Article VII: Ratification of the Constitution
I. Structure
A. The Preamble sets forth the goals of the government. (what are they?)
B. There are seven main parts called articles. Each article covers a general topic.
C. The third main part are the amendments.

3. II: Six Major Principles
A. Popular sovereignty (rule by the people)
B. Federalism (power divided between national and state govts)
C. Separation of powers among the branches
D. Checks and balances ensure that no one branch of government can become too powerful. This idea comes from a French philosopher named Montesquieu and his book The Spirit of the Laws
E. Judicial review is implied since there’s a judicial branch

4. Major principles continued
F. Limited government, by which the constitution limits government actions by specifying its powers and listing powers it does not have, preserves the right of the people to govern themselves.

5. Section 1 Discussion Questions
1. Why did the Founders not spell out every aspect of how government would function?
2. Both federalism and separation of powers divide the powers of government. Compare these two methods of dividing power.

6. Section 2: Three Branches of Government
I. The Legislative Branch
A. The powers given to Congress by the Constitution are found in Article I section 8
B. How does the role of Congress today compare to how its job is described in the Constitution?
II: The Executive Branch
The Founders wanted a strong executive but only vaguely described the powers of the president.
Article II, sections 2 & 3 describe the specific powers of the president.
How does the job of the president compare to the job described in the Constitution?

7. III:The Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court first exercised its right to judicial review in 1803 with the Marbury v. Madison case. This was the first time the court declared a law unconstitutional.
A. The U.S. has two levels of courts, federal courts and state courts. The subject of the case and the parties involved determine the jurisdiction over the case.

8. IV: Shared Power and Conflict
A. The executive and legislative branches must cooperate to produce effective policies, but some conflict is inevitable.
B. In modern history, one major source of conflict has been the expansion of executive power.
C. Congress has the power to limit judicial authority, but is reluctant to use it.
D. The Supreme Court depends on the president and the executive branch (agencies) to carry out its decisions. What would be an example?

9. Discussion Questions for section 2
1. How did the power of judicial review enable the judicial branch to gain an equal status with the other two branches of government?
2. In what ways are cooperation and conflict among the branches of government valuable to the U.S. system of government?

10. Section 3: Amending the Constitution
C. When Congress proposes an amendment, the states may ratify it by a 3/4 vote of their state legislatures or the states may call a special ratifying convention. (when might this latter method be used?)
D. Congress sets the time limit for how long the states have to ratify an amendment.
I. The Amendment Process
A. Article V describes how Congress and the states can change the Constitution.
B. Two methods are described in the Constitution but only one has ever been used.

11. II: Informal Changes Four main types:
Informal congressional changes
Informal Presidential changes
Court decisions
Changes through custom and usage
Examples: Congress has passed laws over time that have clarified what we understand the Constitution to mean, such as the power to “lay and collect taxes”

12. Informal changes continued
Presidents have set precedents over time, such as President Tyler’s use of presidential succession. (His actions weren’t officially endorsed until the 25th amendment was ratified in 1967.)
Presidents use executive orders to deal with other nations without congressional approval.
Many modern presidents have presented their own legislative agendas to Congress (State of the Union)

13. Informal changes continued
The Supreme Court changes how we interpret the Constitution through its use of judicial review.
The Court’s rulings can change over time to reflect changing social conditions (Plessy and Brown, for instance)
Political parties are not discussed in the Constitution, but they have informally changed the way elections work.

14. Section 4: The Amendments
You will need to be able to identify what each of the 27 amendments says.
The first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights
The 13th, 14th and 15th are known as the Civil War amendments.
Try to group them by theme to help you learn them.
For example, which amendments deal with voting rights? Which ones deal with the rights of the accused?, etc.
Go online and find quizzes to help you study. For example:

15. Section 4 Discussion Questions
1. How does the due process clause protect individuals?
2. “The Bill of Rights protected citizens’ rights, but some of the later amendments extended citizens’ rights.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Defend your answer.

16. Key Clauses
Be sure you can identify, explain and locate the following clauses:
1. The “necessary and proper clause” AKA the “elastic clause
2. The “due process clause”
3. The “free exercise” clause
4. The “supremacy clause”
5. The “equal protection” clause