1. The Constitution is built upon seven basic principles of government. The Framers of the Constitution used these principles to create the “supreme law” of our land. The Seven Principles of Government

2. Who were the framers? The framers were the builders of our Constitution. Hamilton Franklin Washington These men debated for the interests of their states, the people and the nation. Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA

3. The signing of the Constitution.

4. Popular Sovereignty Definiton: What does popular refer to? Population, or people. A sovereign king does what? Rule So together, Popular Sovereignty means?

5. People Rule

6. Popular Sovereignty (people rule) The Preamble to the Constitution begins with this bold phrase, “We the People...” These words announce that in the United States, the people establish government and give it its power. The people are sovereign. Since the government receives it power from the people, it can govern only with their consent.

7. Example: So How do we rule? The people’s power comes in the form of democracy. We have the right to push into a touch screen our choices for our government!

8. Republicanism Define: − Power is held by the people and exercised through the efforts of representatives elected by those people.

9. Limited Government Because the people are the source of government power, the government has only as much authority as the people give it. Authority People Government

10. More…Limited Gov’t. Much of the Constitution, in fact, consists of specific limitation on government power. Our rights and freedoms protect us from Government rule.

11. More…Limited Gov’t. Limited government means that neither the government nor any government official is “above the law” and can overstep these constitutional bounds. No one is above the law or Constitution.

12. Government Separation of Powers Government power is not only limited: it is also divided. Limited Power

13. Separation of Powers The Constitution assigns specific powers to each of the three branches: Legislative (Congress), Executive (President) and Judicial (Supreme Court).

14. Checks and Balances The system of check and balances extends the restrictions established by the separation of powers. Each branch of government has the built- in authority and responsibility to restrain the power of the other two branches. This system makes government less efficient, but also prevents tyranny by one branch. (p58)

16. Federalism A federal system divides power between a central government and smaller, local governments. (states) This sharing of power is intended to ensure that the central government is powerful enough to be effective, yet not so powerful as to threaten States or citizens. It also allows individual States to deal with local problems at the local level—so long as their actions are constitutional.

17. Individual (Unalienable) Rights John Locke proposed that we have certain rights that we are born with (they cannot be taken away from us). These rights should be guaranteed and protected by the government and from the government.

18. State and Local Government: Why do we collect taxes? to pay for services that are provided to the citizens (Police, EMS, Fire, etc.) Governors (state executive branch) has several powers. One of those is that they can call the legislature in to a special session (meeting) if there is an emergency decision pending.