The Structure of the Constitution The Constitution Unit 2 Lessons 2

The Preamble Preamble: the opening section of the Constitution tells why it was written Makes clear that power comes from the people and that the govt. exists to serve the people Middle part of the Preamble states six purposes of the government; meaning?

The Articles The seven articles of the Constitution explain how the govt. will work Article I: The Legislative Branch Article II: The Executive Branch Article III: The Judicial Branch Article IV: Rules for States Article V: Amendment Process Article VI: “supreme law of the land” Article VII: How the Constitution would be ratified A copy of the Constitution at the National Archives

Article I: The Legislative Branch The framers of the Constitution intended for the legislature to take the leading role in govt. Congress is made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate Congress has all lawmaking authority Congress may collect taxes, regulate trade, coin money, and declare war Congress

Article II: The Executive Branch Executive Branch is headed by a president and vice president Among the jobs of the President are commanding the armed forces, dealing with other world leaders, appointing govt. officials, and trying to lobby members of Congress to support his agenda According to the Constitution, the Vice President serves as President of the Senate

Article III: The Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch is the part of govt. that interprets laws and sees that they are fairly applied Article III calls for one Supreme Court, does not say how many justices there should be Congress can create other lower courts Federal courts deal with cases involving the Constitution, federal laws and treaties, and disputes between the states Current Supreme Court

Article IV: Rules for the States Article IV says that all states must respect each other’s laws, court decisions, and records; meaning? Also explains the process of creating new states