1. Bell Ringer 9/26
To address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, delegates at the Constitutional Convention agreed to
(1) eliminate the slave trade
(2) increase the powers of the central government
(3) decrease the number of states
(4) allow states to set tariff rates

2. Congress House 2 yr terms, Senate 6 yr terms
Congress has the power to coin money, declare war, raise army and navy, regulate commerce
Elastic Clause allows Congress to pass any laws reasonably necessary to carry out it duties
Creates laws
President
Executive branch, Commander in Chief.
Power to veto laws
Picks cabinet members, appoints Justices for life terms.

3. Judicial branch National Court System, Supreme Court
National court system is made up of lesser courts also.
Supreme Court Justices picked by the President, approved by the Senate, Appointed for life
Electoral College
They vote based on votes of the state population.
Number of votes based on States population.
Determined through Census every ten years.

4. Strengths of the Constitution
The Amending Process – This has allowed
our government to change with changing
times.
2/3 of Congress or ¾ of the states
This is the single most important property
of our government…it knows it will make
mistakes.

5. The Elastic Clause (the Necessary and Proper Clause)
Congress can pass any law necessary and proper to carry out its assigned duties

6. Bell Ringer 9/27
The primary purpose of the Articles of Confederation was to
(1) provide revenues for the national government
(2) establish the basic framework of the national government
(3) give the national government the power to regulate interstate commerce
(4) guarantee a bill of rights to protect citizens
from the national government

7. The Unwritten Constitution
Political Parties – Modern government
could not function without them, but they
are not in the Constitution anywhere
The Cabinet - There are millions of cabinet
employees making some of the world’s
most important decisions…not written
down either