1. Bell Ringer
How are the functions of the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches separated and checked in the Constitution?

2. According to Article III of the Constitution, Congress has the power to establish lower courts. According to Article II, the Senate has the power to confirm presidential appointment of all federal and Supreme Court judges. Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the precedent of judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to decide if state and federal laws are constitutional.

3. Basic Principles of the Constitution

4. Powers granted to the Government
The Constitution sets forth the powers that the citizens of the United States grant to the Federal Government.
The Constitution then sets rules for the US government to follow.
These rules form six main principles:
These principles create a government that serves the people, while preventing the concentration or abuse of power, and respecting the rights of the states.
Popular Sovereignty
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Limited Government

5. Popular Sovereignty
Popular sovereignty = authority of government, comes from people
Examples of popular sovereignty in Constitution:
The Preamble, “We the People of the United States do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”
This points to the fact that the people themselves are the ones who have given the Constitution its authority to establish the United States
The Constitution also sets the people’s authority by setting up rules for the election of government officials, based on merit not birthright

6. Federalism
Federalist system of the U.S. divides powers of government among the
National
State
Local governments
To prevent another weak national government the Constitution prohibits the states from exercising certain powers that belong to the national government
The Constitution also states that the power of the national government is superior to that of the state governments

7. Separation of Powers
The Founding Fathers were weary of the type of abuses that had occurred in England due to the concentration of power
They designed the Constitution to divide the duties of government among three branches
The first three articles of the Constitution list the responsibilities of each branch

8. Checks and Balances
Not only does the Constitution prevent the concentration of power in any one branch, it also gives each branch the authority to check (restrain) the powers of the other two branches
The system of checks and balances then forces each branch to consider the opinions and actions of the other branches

9. Executive and Legislative Checks
The system of checks and balances is taken into consideration by both the executive and legislative branches when they make policy.
The executive branch holds a very important check called the veto
The president can veto or reject legislation, approved by Congress
So congressional leaders meet with members of the executive branch to reach agreement on legislation before it is passed
However, the veto can be overridden by a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress

10. Checks and Balances
With a partner, examine if the following strengthen or weaken checks and balances:
1. Political Parties
2. Changes in Voting Methods
3. Growth of Federal Bureaucracy
4. Changes in Technology
5. Emergence of U.S. as World Power after WWII

12. Chief Justice John Marshall
Judicial Review
Marbury v. Madison
The Events - Video!!
The Effects
Citizens can challenge constitutionality of laws in court by initiating lawsuits (example: Gideon v. Wainright, 1963)  litigation has become an important way of making public policy
Chief Justice John Marshall
Marbury v Madison

13. Judicial Review
The judicial branch has its own means to balance the other two branches, known as judicial review
Judicial review is the power of the courts to declare the constitutionality of a law or other government action
A law that is found to violate any part of the Constitution is said to be unconstitutional
Unconstitutional laws cannot be enforced by the government and are void
But the Supreme Court is also limited, it can only review cases in which the constitutionality is a question

14. Limited Government
A government with unlimited power cannot truly serve the will of the people
Therefore the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to establish the limits of government
The Constitution then limits government, by establishing guidelines for how the government may act

15. Structure of the U.S. Constitution
Preamble = purposes of government
Articles
Amendments = formal changes to the Constitution
27 total (1st 10 = Bill of Rights)
Article 1
Article 3
Article 2

16. PREAMBLE
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

17. Amending the Constitution
Formal amendment
Amending is made up of two steps
Proposal
Congress
Convention
Ratification
State Legislature
State Conventions
Informal amendment
Occurs through non- traditional processes
Societal Change
Judicial Review

18. End of Chapter 2 and Unit 1