Powers of the Constitution American Government

The Constitution The Constitution itself is broken into multiple parts The Constitution contains the preamble, 7 Articles that have multiple sections, and then 27 amendments that have been added to the constitution

The Constitution The Articles of the Constitution contain the rules for each portion of the government Article 1 concerns the rules and responsibilities of Congress Article 2 concerns the rules and responsibilities of the president Article 3 concerns the rules and responsibilities of the judiciary Article 4 concerns the relationship between the central and state governments Article 5 concerns the ratification of amendments to the Constitution Article 6 establishes that the laws of the central government are the law of the land Article 7 concerns how the Constitution will be ratified

The Preamble 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.

Different Types of Powers Enumerated Powers- (also known as delegated powers or expressed powers) These are powers that are specifically outlined by the Constitution These powers are an explicit list of things that the central government is allowed to do Implied powers- These powers are not directly outlined in the Constitution but are suggested based upon the expressed powers

Different Types of Powers Implied powers are supported by the “Necessary and Proper” clause located in section 8 of the Constitution This allows for Congress to make all laws which are necessary and proper to complete their jobs Examples of this power can be seen in the building of the interstates and its building of dams with federal funds This is also known as the “elastic clause”

Different Types of Powers Inherent powers- These powers are not mentioned in the Constitution, but are powers traditionally held by sovereign nations Regulation of immigration Deportation of undocumented aliens To acquire territory To protect itself against rebellions To recognize other countries

Different Types of Powers Concurrent Powers- These are powers that both the national government and the states posses and exercise Levy and collect taxes, borrow money, establish courts, define crimes and set punishments, claim private property for public use This is the Federal concept of our government in action

Supreme In article 7 of the Constitution a supremacy clause was inserted This supremacy clause recognizes the Constitution is the ‘rule of law’ This basically states that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and that no state law can circumvent Constitutional law. This concept was supported by the court case of McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Article 5 of the Constitution also contains the full faith and credit clause Each state is required to recognize the official documents and civil judgments rendered by the courts of other states The concept of privileges and immunities is another important constitutional concept This is a provision of the Constitution affording citizens of each state the privileges of citizens of other states