1. The U.S. Constitution Organization and Principles

2. The Articles of the Constitution Preamble: States the purpose of the Constitution and government Article I:Legislative Branch (Congress) Article II: Executive Branch (Presidency) Article III: Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) Article IV: Relations among the states Article V: Amending the Constitution Article VI: National debts, supremacy of national law, and oaths of office Article VII: Ratifying the Constitution

3. Preamble to the Constitution We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, 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. Amendments Change, addition or deletion to the Constitution 27 Amendments today First 10 Amendments (Bill of Rights) were all added together in 1791 Originally intended to restrict the national government, but the Supreme Court has since “incorporated” most of these Amendments to restrict the states as well

5. Basic Principles 1. Popular Sovereignty 2. Limited Government 3. Separation of Powers 4. Checks and Balances 5. Judicial Review 6. Federalism

6. Popular Sovereignty All political power resides with the people People are the source of political power Government can govern only with the consent of the governed Representative democracy (Republic)

7. Limited Government The government is not all powerful Government may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do Rule of Law: The government is not above the law (government officials must obey the law)

8. Separation of Powers Three separate branches of government, each with its own function and powers Distribution of powers that are separate Legislative Executive Judicial Limit the power of the National Government

9. Checks and Balances Each branch of government is subject to a number constitutional checks (restraints) by the other branches Prevents the national government or one branch from becoming too powerful Legislative BranchExecutive BranchJudicial Branch Make lawsVeto lawsDeclare laws unconstitutional Requires Senate Approval Appoints Federal Judges and Cabinet Federal Judges serve life term Requires Senate Approval Makes treaties with other countries Declare treaty to be unconstitutional

10. Judicial Review: The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws passed by Congress and Presidential acts to be unconstitutional (illegal and thus null and void) Power also applies to state constitutions and state laws Judicial Review not specifically mentioned in the Constitution Power created by Marbury v. Madison (1803) case Primary function of Supreme Court is to interpret the U.S. Constitution The fourth Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall

11. Federalism: Division of power among a central (national) government and several state governments Powers of the government are distributed on a territorial basis Delegated powers, concurrent powers, reserved powers

12. Amending the Constitution How has the constitution (ratified in 1789) been able to endure for so long? It is flexible and is able to adapt to current times The Amendment process (Article V) Not impossible but not too easy The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times in history

13. Formal Amendment Process Method 1: Amendment proposed by Congress by a 2/3 vote in both houses (House and Senate) Amendment ratified by the 3/4 of the state legislatures (38 states today) Note: 26 of the Constitutions 27 Amendments were adopted this way Method 2: Amendment proposed by Congress by a 2/3 vote in both houses (House and Senate) Amendment ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states (38 states) Note: 21 st Amendment (1933) adopted this way

14. Formal Amendment Process Method 3: Amendment proposed by a national convention called by Congress when requested by 2/3 (34) of the state legislatures Amendment ratified by the 3/4 of the state legislatures (38 states today) Method 4: Amendment proposed by a national convention called by Congress when requested by 2/3 (34) of the state legislatures Amendment ratified by conventions in 3/4 of the states (38 states) Note: U.S. Constitution was adopted this way

15. Formal Amendment Summary Proposed by Congress 2/3 in both houses or Proposed by a National Convention called by Congress when requested by 2/3 (34) of the state Legislatures Ratified by ¾ (38) of the state legislatures or ratified by Conventions held in ¾ (38) of the states

16. Informal Amendment Process 1. Legislation (Laws) 2. Executive Action 3. Court Decisions 4. Party Practices 5. Custom

17. Legislation (Laws) Congress passes laws to “spell out” several of the Constitution’s provisions (flesh on the bones) Article III Section 1 “such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish” Congress has created many of the executive departments and agencies Constitution gave Congress the power to regulate foreign and interstate commerce

18. Executive Action: President is Commander in Chief of the military but only Congress may declare war. Executive Agreements instead of a formal treaty Executive Orders

19. Court Decisions U.S. Supreme Court interprets the Constitution Every time the Court rules on a case involving the Constitution, it is changing and shaping the constitution without actually changing the words of the document itself Landmark Supreme Court cases

20. Party Practices Nomination of candidates for Presidency is never mentioned at all in the Constitution Nomination of candidates has historically been a practice conducted by both political parties Primaries and Caucuses

21. Custom By custom (not by the Constitution) the head of the 15 Executive departments make up the Cabinet, that advise the President Senatorial Courtesy: unwritten rule that the Senate will only approve those presidential appointments who are acceptable to the Senator or Senators of the President’s party from the State involved.