1. Magruder’s American Government
C H A P T E R 3
The Constitution
© 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

2. S E C T I O N 1 The Six Basic Principles
What are the important elements of the Constitution?
What are the five (your book says six) basic principles of the Constitution?
Chapter 3, Section 1

3. Three of the Basic Principles
1. Popular Sovereignty
2. Limited Government
3. Separation of Powers
The principle of popular sovereignty asserts that the people are the source of any and all government power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed.
The principle of limited government states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away.
Separation of powers is the principle in which the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government are three independent and coequal branches of government.
Chapter 3, Section 1

4. More of the Basic Principles
Checks and balances
Checks and balances is the system that allows the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to check, or restrain, the actions of one another.
Chapter 3, Section 1

5. More of the Basic Principles
Federalism
Federalism is a system of government in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.

6. Outlining the Constitution
Organized into eight sections
One preamble and seven articles
27 formal amendments to the original document
Chapter 3, Section 1

7. The Basic Outline of the Constitution
Article I creates the legislative branch – Congress
Congress is Bicameral
House of
Representatives
Senate
Article I creates the legislative branch – Congress - the legislative branch’s priority is to CREATE laws
Congress is bicameral
The House of Representatives is based on population
The Senate is based on equal representation for each state
Chapter 3, Section 1

8. The Basic Outline of the Constitution
Article II creates the executive branch – The Presidency
The president’s basic job is to “take care the laws are faithfully executed.”
Article II creates the executive branch – The Presidency
The president’s basic job is to “take care the laws are faithfully executed.”- the President’s job is to EXCECUTE the laws
The article defines the powers of the presidency, the qualifications, and the method for election of the president.
Chapter 3, Section 1

9. The Basic Outline of the Constitution
Article III creates the judicial branch
The article established the Supreme Court and its jurisdiction.
Congress has the authority to create courts under the Supreme Court.
The Judicial Branch’s primary job is to INTERPET laws
Chapter 3, Section 1

10. The Basic Outline of the Constitution
Article IV creates rules about how states interact with each other - federalism
Article is about the Amendment process.
An amendment process allows for formal changes to be made to the Constitution.
The amendment process involves both the national government and the state governments – federalism.
Chapter 3, Section 1

11. The Basic Outline of the Constitution
Article VI creates – The Supremacy Clause
Federal Law
National laws trump state laws
State Law
Chapter 3, Section 1

12. S E C T I O N 2 Formal Amendment
What are the different ways to formally amend, or change the wording of, the Constitution?
How many times has the Constitution been amended?
What is the Bill of Rights?
Chapter 3, Section 2

13. Article V – The Formal Amendment Process
The four different ways by which amendments may be added to the Constitution are shown here:
26/27 times method 1 has been used
1 time method three has been used- to repeal prohibition or the 18th amendment
Chapter 3, Section 2

14. Amendments to the Constitution
Collectively, the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. They set out many of our basic freedoms.
Chapter 3, Section 2

15. S E C T I O N 3 Informal Amendment
How has basic legislation changed the Constitution over time?
What powers do the executive branch and the courts have to amend the Constitution?
What role do party politics and custom have in shaping the Federal Government?
Chapter 3, Section 3

16. Informal Amendment Processes
The informal amendment process can take place by:
(1) the passage of basic legislation by Congress;
(2) actions taken by the President;
(3) key decisions of the Supreme Court;
(4) the activities of political parties
Informal amendment is the process by which over time many changes have been made in the Constitution which have not involved any changes in its written word
-Examples for each of the five methods
(1) What pieces of legislation have been passed
(2) Presidential actions- his position as commander in chief
(3) Supreme Court Decisions- Plessy vs Ferg, Roe v Wade- other less popular ones
(4) Activities of political parties- their control over the electoral process, nomination process, PACs, etc,
(5) Custom
Chapter 3, Section 3