Chapter 3 Organization of the United States Constitution

QOTD 1.21 Why is it important for the Constitution to not be completely specific about certain items or powers, but really specific about others?

1.22 Direct vs. Representative

1.Constitution—contents: The constitution is made up of 3 different parts: 1.The Preamble. Acts as the introduction and the statement of purpose for the constitution. 2.The Articles: This is really the body of the constitution. All of the nuts and bolts of the original constitution were here. (You need to know these): 1.Article I: Legislative Branch 2.Article II: Executive Branch 3.Article III: Judicial Branch 4.Article IV: States Rights 5.Article V: Amendment Process 6.Article VI: National Supremacy 7.Article VII: Ratification 3.The Amendments: These are all of the changes ever made to the constitution 1.You will eventually need to be able to identify (by number) numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 26 and 27

1.Basic Principles of the Constitution 1.Popular Sovereignty: All political power is ultimately in the hands of the people 2.Limited Government: The government has specific limits to what it can and can not do. 3.Constitutionalism: The Government must follow the constitution, set up by the people. 4.Rule of Law: The Government and everyone working in it must follow the law. 5.Separation of Powers: The Government of the U.S. is divided into three separate branches of government, each with specific powers and boundaries.

1.Legislative Branch:Makes law 2.Executive Branch: Enforces (carries out) law 3.Judicial Branch: Interpret law. 6.Checks and Balances: Each branch of the US government has powers it can use to block the other two branches of government, if they get too powerful, are going in the wrong direction, or even if the political will of the people changes. 7Judicial Review: The power of the court system to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action. [Judical Review is just a good example of a tool the court system uses to check the other branches]. 8Federalism (not to be confused with Separation of Powers): The division of power between a central government and several regional governments. [Each state has rights and a certain amount of power. The federal government must respect the rights of the states as well as the people—10th Amendment.]