Comprehensive Volume, 18 th Edition Chapter 4: The Constitution as the Foundation of the Legal Environment

The U.S. Constitution The U.S. Constitution created the structure of our national government and gave it certain powers. It also placed limitations on those powers. It created a federal system with a tripartite (3-part) division of government and a bicameral (2-house) national legislature.

JUDICIAL BRANCH Courts ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES (Created by the executive or legislative branches to carry out a specific function.) Federal Government LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Bicameral Congress Senate House of Representatives EXECUTIVE BRANCH President

Delegation of Powers Some governmental powers are possessed exclusively by the national government, while other powers are shared by both the states and the federal government. In areas of conflict federal law is supreme.

Federal Government State Government U.S. Constitution, which reserves some powers for the States, delegates some powers to the Federal government, and allows some powers to be shared, or exercised by both. The states, who ratified the… We, the People give power to… Delegation of Powers

Powers that Affect Business The powers of the federal government that most affect business are the power to: regulate commerce tax borrow, spend, and coin money own and operate businesses Among the limitations on government that are most important to business are the requirements of: due process equal protection of the law

Interpreting the Constitution The U.S. Constitution is not a detailed document. It takes its meaning from the way it is interpreted. In the bedrock view, the purpose of a constitution is to state certain set principles. In the living-document view, a constitution states goals and is intended to change with time. In recent years the use of the living-document interpretation has expanded the powers of the federal government.

Amending the U.S. Constitution The Constitution has been amended, or changed in three ways: Practice – In a few cases, the actions of government have established accepted practices which depart from the requirements of the Constitution. *Article V of the U.S. Constitution specifies the procedure for adopting amendments. Judicial Interpretation – The U.S. Supreme Court has been called upon to apply the Constitution to many new situations, unforeseen to the document’s original writers. * Formal Amendment - Only 27 formal amendments to the Constitution have been completed, though thousands have been proposed.