United States Constitution

History of the Constitution 1776: Colonies declared independence from Great Britain 1776-1781: Colonies needed a plan for unity to grow and prosper March 1, 1781: Colonies governed by Articles of Confederation. 1st Constitution. Thomas Jefferson Author of the “Declaration of Independence”

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…

“Father of the Constitution” Constitutional Conventions May of 1787: delegates from each state met to write a new Constitution. Debates involved important issues: states’ rights individual rights the power of the national government A compromise was made and the result became the “law of the land,” the U.S. Constitution. Constitutional History Timeline James Madison “Father of the Constitution”

Preamble of the U.S. 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 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.

3 Branches Article One: The Legislative Branch Why is this one first? Duty of Legislative Branch is to make the laws Explicit limits on what Congress can do Constitutional limits Presidential veto Judicial review States’ rights How is Congress elected? House – proportionate representation Senate – two from each state

Wanna be a Congressperson? Who can be a Congressperson? House: Citizen of the state you represent United States citizen for 7 years 25 years old Senate: United States citizen for 9 years 30 years old

Article Two: The Executive Branch The President of the United States And the Vice President And the Cabinet And the military Duty of this branch is to enforce the laws passed by Congress Express powers include: Commanding the armed forces Negotiating treaties Nominating Supreme Court justices So, you want to be President? Natural born citizen of the United States 35 years old Resident of the United States for 14 years

Article Three: The Judicial Branch The duty of this branch is to interpret the laws. Judges and justices have the power to declare laws or actions unconstitutional – this is pretty powerful stuff. This is the shortest article: the framers spent little time on it. So, you want to be a judge? There are no requirements set out in the Constitution for being a judge!

Signer of the Constitution and Founding Father Benjamin Franklin Signer of the Constitution and Founding Father The Bill of Rights: Our Individual Freedoms The first ten amendments to our Constitution are concerned with the following topics: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition. Right to keep and bear arms Rights regarding the quartering of soldiers Regulation of search and seizure Protection of persons and their property Rights of persons accused of crime Right of trial by jury Protection against excessive fines, bail, punishment Guarantee of unspecified rights Powers reserved to states and the people

Constitutional Safeguards Separation of Powers Each branch has a job No one branch has all the power Limits power of national government/leaders Checks and Balances Balance of power Each branch has some oversight over another branch Veto Military/War/Appropriation Court appointments Judicial Review

September 17, 1787 The U.S. Constitution was signed by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention.

Limited vs. Unlimited Government Democracy Constitutional Monarchy Communism Dictatorship Monarchy

Test yourself with these Constitution activities Now, It’s Your Turn: Test yourself with these Constitution activities School House Rocks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EfnNUt_nwY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Xb1FWVn9M Constitutional Timeline: http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/flash/cw.html

Resources http://www.constitutioncenter.org/timeline/flash/cw.html http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/ConstitutionDay http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org http://www.ja.org/files/supplements/Grades-6-8.pdf http://www.texaslre.org/branches_game.html http://www.texaslre.org/preamble_intro.html http://www.quia.com/cb/23929.html http://www.constitutioncenter.org/explore/ForKids/index.shtml http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/ConstitutionDay/Christy_Painting.html