The Constitution of the United States CH 3.1 Principles & Structure

The Establishment of a Republic Power held by voting citizens Importance of educated citizens Power exercised by elected representatives Representative democracy

Flexible Document Founders left it to later generations to work out details

Major Principles of the Constitution

Popular Sovereignty The people establish government and are the source of its power. Note the Preamble says “We the people… establish this government.”

Limited Government Government powers are restricted to protect individual rights. Rule of law- The government and its officers are always subject to, and never above, the law.

Separation of Powers The power to govern is divided among executive, legislative, and judicial branches to prevent the concentration and abuse of power by any one branch

Checks and Balances Each branch of government has the authority to check, or restrain, some powers of the other two branches.

Judicial Review The judiciary has the power to strike down laws and government actions as invalid under the Constitution. This power is not spelled out in the Constitution, but was implied by the Framers It was established by the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison in 1803

Federalism The rights of the states are protected by dividing powers between the national government and the state governments This is a compromise to allow citizens to manage their own local affairs but provides national structure and cohesion without too strong of a national government

The Structure of the Constitution Three Parts

1. Preamble Provides an introduction Explains the purpose of the document

2. Articles Article I– legislative branch Creates the legislative branch Describes Congress’ makeup & rules Article II- executive branch Creates the executive branch Describes election procedures of the President and Vice President Describes the President’s power’s and duties

Article III- judicial branch Creates the judicial branch Lays out the structure of the judiciary and describes its’ powers Article IV- federalism Describes the relationship between states Defines states’ relationship with the national government

Article V- amending the Constitution Describes how the Constitution can be amended (changed) Article VI- “the supremacy clause” Says the Constitution and laws passed by Congress are the Supreme law of the land Article VII- ratification Explains that the Constitution would become law when ratified by 9 of the states

3. The Amendments