8 Principles of the Constitution There are a number of different principles that have kept the Constitution from taking away individual liberties.

1. Republicanism Republic: a nation governed by elected representatives. The members of the Constitutional Convention did not want a king like Great Britain. They wanted the people to have a voice in government.

2. Popular Sovereignty A government in which people hold supreme power/rule. “We the People…” At election time, government officials are held accountable for how well they served the people.

3. Federalism A system in which the power is shared between the national government and the state governments. The national government deals with issues that concerns the whole nation, like defense. The states handle local affairs like education, public safety, and issuing licenses.

Federalism Delegated Powers: powers assigned to the national government in the Constitution. Reserved Powers: powers kept by the states. *Unnamed Powers* Concurrent Powers: powers shared by the national and state government.

4. Limited Government The federal and state government can not do as they please. The federal government may only exercise those powers that are listed in the Constitution. The Constitution list several powers that are denied to both the state and federal governments. EX: Neither may tax American exports

5. Separation of Powers The authors of the U.S. Constitution feared leaving too much power in the hands of any one branch of government. Therefore they divided the power of the federal government into three branches.

Judicial Power U.S. Supreme Court Other Federal Courts Interprets the law

Executive Power U. S. President Enforces the law

Legislative U.S. Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress makes the laws.

6. Checks and Balances The authors of the Constitution made sure that the federal government would not become too powerful by providing each branch a way to “check” or limit the other branches.

Executive Branch Checks Congress by proposing and vetoing legislation. Checks the Judicial Branch by appointing federal judges.

Judicial Branch Checks the President by declaring executive action unconstitutional. Checks Congress by declaring legislation unconstitutional.

Legislative Branch Checks the President by overriding a presidential veto, confirming executive appointments, and can impeach and remove a President. Checks the Judicial Branch by approving appointments of federal judges, proposing constitutional amendment to overrule judicial decisions, and can impeach judges.

7. The Amending Process Amendment: a formal change or revision to the Constitution. Amendments can change or delete existing provision of the Constitution. Adding an amendment is much more difficult than passing an ordinary law. This was done so that an amendment would only be added for a very important reason.

The Amendment Process: The most common method 1. The amendment is proposed by Congress and must be approved by 2/3 of the House and Senate. 2. The amendment then must be approved by ¾ of the state legislatures. 3. The amendment become part of the U.S. Constitution.

8. Individual Rights The framers of the Constitution attempted to design a system of government that would not trample on individual rights. Many complained when they did not add a list of protected rights. In 1791 the Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution.