The United States Constitution The Supreme Law of the Land

The Preamble is the Introduction to the United States Constitution. It clearly defines the purposes of the Constitution. By beginning with WE THE PEOPLE, our Founding Fathers made it clear that we would have a government that was ruled by the people through Popular Sovereignty. The Preamble

Three Branches of Government United States Government LegislativeExecutiveJudicial

Article 1: Legislative Branch Congress House of Representative s Senate

Legislative Branch The Legislative Branch MAKES THE LAWS. It consists of Congress which is made up of two houses –House of Representatives Number per state determined by population –Senate Two per state

Article 2: Executive Branch President President’s Cabinet Attorney General Secretary of Defense (War) Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of State Vice President

The Executive Branch The Executive Branch ENFORCES THE LAWS The President appoints people to fill his cabinet. Cabinet members are people who specialize in their particular job. For example the Secretary of Defense is almost always a General from the Armed Forces.

Article 3: Judicial Branch Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice

The Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch INTERPRETS THE LAWS What this means is that the Supreme Court uses a power called JUDICIAL REVIEW to look very closely at new laws and at cases involving laws to determine if the law in question violates the United States Constitution Supreme Court Justices are APPOINTED for life. Whenever a justice dies or retires, whomever is president at that time appoints a new one to take his or her place.

Article 4: Relations Among States Article Four sets up rules saying that States must honor each other’s laws, records and court rulings. For example: If a person commits a crime in one states, he cannot run to another state and expect to be protected. If you are married in one state, your marriage is still legal in all other states.

Article 5: Amending the Constitution Article Five sets up the way the Constitution can be changed. It isn’t a simple process. The first ten amendments – the Bill of Rights – was added to the Constitution before all states would ratify in Since 1790, our Constitution has only been changed, or amended 17 times. Proposing Amendments 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress OR 2/3 state legislatures’call for a national convention Ratifying Amendments ¾ approval of state legislatures ¾ approval at a state convention

Article Six Article Six states that the United States Constitution and the Federal or Central government are the supreme law of the land. All Senators, Representatives, Presidents, etc. must swear to uphold the laws of the Constitution

Article Seven Article Seven states that nine of the 13 original states had to agree to (or ratify) the Constitution before it would become law. Nine of the thirteen states had ratified by 1789, making the Constitution the law of the land The other four states ratified after the Bill of Rights was added in 1790.

The Bill of Rights and Amendments

The First Amendment The First Amendment to the Constitution gives us our Religious and Political Freedoms : –We are guaranteed the freedoms of Speech, Press, Religion, Press, and Assembly.

Second Amendment The Second Amendment guarantees us the right to bear arms. This means that any American that qualifies may own a gun. –We are guaranteed the right to own a gun.

Third Amendment The third Amendment says that we will never be FORCED by our government to quarter (or house) troops. –The government can’t make us house soldiers in our homes. This may seem silly now, because our soldiers are housed at military bases, but in 1787, our Founding Fathers clearly remembered the Quartering Act imposed upon the people by King George III.

Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment guarantees us that the government, including law enforcement, cannot search our homes, our papers, our persons, or our effects without probable cause. –No searches and seizures with out a warrant. No warrant without probable cause.

The Fifth Amendment The Fifth Amendment outlines the rights of a person accused of a crime. These include no double jeopardy and the right not to incriminate ourselves in court. –No Double Jeopardy means you can’t be tried twice for the same crime –No one can be forced to give testimony in court that will make him or her look guilty. He or she can “plead the fifth.”

The Sixth Amendment The Sixth Amendment promises us the right to a speedy and public trial. –We cannot be held for a long period of time without a trial. –We have the right to a trial with a jury of our peers –We have the right to have an attorney (or lawyer) represent us.

The Seventh Amendment The Seventh Amendment promises that in addition to having a trial by jury in criminal cases as promised in the sixth amendment, we will also have the right to a trial by jury in civil cases. –We are entitled to a trial by jury in Civil Cases. Civil Cases are cases that don’t involve a criminal act: like divorce, child custody, law suits, etc.

The Eighth Amendment The Eighth Amendment states that the cost has to fit the crime. No excessive bail or fines. No cruel and unusual punishment. In other words, the courts can’t charge you 100,000 dollars bail or pull out your fingernails for stealing bubble gum from a 7-Eleven.

The Ninth Amendment The Ninth Amendment states that “The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” –The 9th Amendment is simply a statement that other rights aside from those listed may exist, and just because they are not listed doesn't mean they can be violated.

The Tenth Amendment The Tenth Amendment says that “the powers not delegated to the United States in the Constitution nor prohibited to the states, are reserved for the States respectively or to the people.” –This means that the laws that the Constitution does not cover can be handed over to the state's power and to the power of the people.