1. Chapter 3: The Constitution

2. Lesson 1: Structure & Principles of the Constitution
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How does the U.S. Constitution structure government and divide power between the national and state governments?

3. Start thinking…. On a clean sheet of paper to TURN IN.
Go to pg. 68 in your textbook and answer questions a and b concerning WHO the Constitution was and is written for, at top of the page.
Turn in at the back table.

4. What is the US Constitution?
The supreme law of the United States.
It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the Federal Government of the United States.
It provides the framework for the organization of the United States Government.

5. Structure of the Constitution
Central (federal )government with LIMITED POWERS
Divided between THREE BRANCHES
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
Power divided between Federal Government and State Governments (Federalism)
3 SECTIONS:
PREAMBLE (6 Major Goals) lays out the purpose and introduces the Constitution.
ARTICLES (7 Main Articles) the substance of governmental law
AMENDMENTS (27 Amendments)

6. Major principles of the u.s. constitution
The Constitution limits the power of the national gov’t by specifying what it can and cannot do.
Federalism limits central power by DIVIDING power among national, state, and local governments.
Power is divided among the 3 branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
A system of checks and balances allows each branch to have SOME control over the other two.
The Bill of Rights outlines and protects individual rights from gov’t overreach. **

7. President of the day: Thomas jefferson
3rd President of the United States.
He hated being president, so he did not include the office of president on his tombstone.
Jefferson was a terrible public speaker.
Jefferson was publicly opposed to slavery BUT owned slaves all of his life and had an affair with a slave he owned, by the name of Sally Hemmings, he fathered her 5 children.

8. Work on Ch. 2 Lesson 1 Quiz in your packet.
-watch video “Presidents and the Courts” & discuss

9. Lesson 2: the three branches of government
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How does the U.S. Constitution structure government and divide power between the national and state governments?

10. the three branches of government
Article I of the Constitution created a legislature of two houses: the Senate and the House
The House of Representatives is the voice of the people, chosen by popular vote. (Based on state’s population)
The Senate represents the broad interests of entire states with senators being originally chosen by their state legislatures. ( th Amendment – popular election of Senators)

11. Legislative branch
The Founders expected Congress to become the most important branch of the national government.
Because they feared the abuse of power that they experienced with the British Parliament, the Founders gave Congress expressed powers (also called the enumerated powers), or powers directly stated in the Constitution.

12. Enumerated and expressed powers
Most of the expressed powers of Congress are called enumerated powers because they are numbered 1–18.
The enumerated powers deal with…
economic legislation.
defense.
naturalizing citizens.
establishing post offices.
securing patents and copyrights.
establishing courts.
governing the District of Columbia.

13. Enumerated and expressed powers
The final enumerated power, the so-called elastic clause, gives Congress the right to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I.
It is called the elastic clause because it lets Congress “stretch” its power to meet situations the Founders could never have anticipated.
McCulloch v. Maryland – about Congress’s power to create a national bank. Is it constitutional?

14. Activity on page 74
Class participation grade – use the book, pg. 800

15. Role of the Executive branch
The president is the head of the executive branch. The Founders recognized the need for a strong executive to carry out the acts of Congress.
The Constitution grants the president broad, but vaguely described powers. The exact meaning of the president’s power in specific situations is open to interpretation.

16. Cont. Currently there are 15 Executive Departments (cabinet)
Includes other federal agencies such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

17. Powers of the president
Sections 2 and 3 of Article II define some presidential powers. The president...
is commander in chief of the armed forces and the National Guard.
appoints–with the Senate’s consent–heads of executive departments.

18. Presidential powers (cont.)
may pardon people convicted of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment, or reduce a person’s jail sentence or fine.
makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate.

19. Presidential powers (cont.)
delivers an annual State of the Union message to Congress.
calls Congress into special session when necessary.
meets with heads of state, ambassadors, and other foreign officials.

20. Presidential powers (cont.)
commissions all military officers of the United States.
ensures that the laws Congress passes are “faithfully executed.”
appoints ambassadors, federal judges, and other top officials, with Senate consent.

21. Judicial branch
If judged by the length of Article III, the judicial branch appears to be the weakest of the branches of government.
The Framers were not concerned about the power of the justices, allowing them to hold office for life.

22. Judicial branch & jurisdiction of federal courts
The Constitution created the federal court system, which hears cases about the U.S. Constitution, federal law, foreign treaties, international law, admiralty and maritime law, and bankruptcies.
Every court has the authority to hear only certain kinds of cases. This authority is known as the jurisdiction of the court.

23. Judicial branch & judicial review
The power to declare laws unconstitutional, known as judicial review, was established in the case of Marbury v. Madison (1803).
Judicial review elevated the Supreme Court to a status balancing the powers of the other branches.
When it rules on constitutional issues, the Supreme Court cannot be overturned except by a constitutional amendment.

24. -Watch video – “Presidential Powers” – discuss presidential Powers
-Show visual of Court in 1892 & 2010

25. Political cartoon – judicial review
Make a list of what you see. (Objects, people, quotes)
What do you think is the cartoonist’s message?

26. Checks and Balances
Each branch can check, or control, the power of the other two branches
Example: The President of the United States can appoint Federal judges but the Senate must approve his choice
Example: Congress may make a law but it is not a law until the President signs it
Example: Congress may make a law, the President may sign it into law, but the Courts interpret the law

27. Draw the chart on pg. 78 & answer the question under the chart
Checks and Balances

28. -Interactive Whiteboard Activity – Powers of the Branches of Government
-Answer Lesson 2 questions on the handout – keep for notebook check

29. Lesson 3: amendments ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
Why and how has the U.S. Constitution been amended and interpreted throughout our history?

30. Amending the constitution**
The Founders created a Constitution that could be adapted to a future they could not foresee.
There are two steps to amending the Constitution:
An amendment must first be proposed
Then it must be ratified, or approved.
In addition to deciding which ratification method will be used, Congress decides how much time the states will have to ratify an amendment.
Congress has set the limit at seven (7) years

32. Bill of rights
Protects individual rights by limiting government powers.
Applies to federal, state, and local governments through the incorporation doctrine, an interpretation on the Constitution that means the due process clause of the Fourteenth (14th) Amendment requires state and local governments to guarantee their citizens the rights stated in the Bill of Rights.
Amendments 1-10 are known as the Bill of Rights

33. Bill of rights **
1st Amendment – RAPPS (freedom of religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech)
Free Exercise Clause – right to worship or have no religion
Establishment Clause – separation of church and state
2nd Amendment – right to keep and bear arms
militias – local group of armed citizens
3rd Amendment – Prohibits the government from forcing people to provide shelter for soldiers in their homes
4th Amendment – Right to privacy
No unreasonable searches and seizures (probable cause)

34. Bill of rights (cont.) 5th Amendment – FOUR Protections:
1) No one can be tried for a serious crime unless a grand jury has decided there is enough evidence to justify a trial
2) A person found innocent cannot be tried again for the same offense (Double Jeopardy)
3) No one may be forced to testify against himself or herself
4) No one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law.
Also defines the government’s right to eminent domain – the power to take private property for public use.

35. Bill of rights (cont.)
6th Amendment – Rights of those accused of crimes
Right to speedy trial
Public trial by an impartial jury
Right to know charges against you
7th Amendment – Right to a jury trial in federal courts to settle all disputes about property worth more than $20. (Lawsuits - civil)
8th Amendment – Prohibits excessive bail; Prohibits excessive fines; Bans “cruel and unusual punishment” for crimes
9th Amendment – Rights “retained by the people”
10th Amendment – “Powers not delegated to the United States…nor prohibited…to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

36. Later Amendments
11th Amendment – Prohibits a state from being sued in federal court by citizens of another state or of another nation. Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)
12th Amendment (1804) – calls for the Electoral College to use separate ballots in voting for president and vice president
17th Amendment (1913) – the people elect U.S. senators directly
20th Amendment (1933) – new dates for president and vice president inaugurations – January 20 – and when Congress begins its term – January 3.
22nd Amendment (1951) – limits presidents to only two elected terms
25th Amendment (1967) – presidential succession
27th Amendment (1992) – makes congressional pay raises effective during the term following their passage.

37. Extensions of government power
16th Amendment (1913) – gave Congress the power to levy individual income taxes.
18th Amendment (1919) – prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transport of alcoholic beverages.
21st Amendment (1933) – repeals, or revokes, the 18th Amendment

38. Extensions of individual rights
Civil War Amendments:
13th Amendment (1865) – outlaws slavery; 14th Amendment (1868) – prohibits a state from depriving a person of life, liberty, or property without “due process of law”; 15th Amendment (1870) – prohibits the government from denying a person’s right to vote on the basis of race.
23rd Amendment (1961) – gives the District of Columbia three presidential electors
24th Amendment (1964) – prohibits poll taxes in federal elections
26th Amendment (1971) – lowers the voting age in federal and state elections to 18.

39. Changes to our understanding of the constitution
Under the Constitution, the House may impeach, or accuse, federal officials, while it is up to the Senate to determine the accused person’s guilt or innocence. 
Congress has investigated more than 60 people on impeachment charges, including three presidents–Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.

40. Changes to our understanding of the constitution (cont.)
Modern presidents usually conduct foreign affairs by executive agreement, instead of using the treaty process specified in the Constitution.
While a treaty is an agreement between nations, an executive agreement is made directly between the president and the head of state of another country.
(a treaty needs senate approval)

41. Changes to our understanding of the constitution
The most important device the Court uses to interpret the Constitution is judicial review.
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) – freedom of religion case involving Amish children
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) – allowed for separate but equal facilities
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) – ruled separate but equal doctrine unconstitutional
Along with amendment process, Supreme Court interpretations and adaptation have allowed Constitution to remain intact since 1787.

42. Lesson 4: State constitutions and local charters
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How do state constitutions and local charters structure government and protect individual rights?

43. The structures of state governments
How does the structure of state governments compare to the federal government?

44. Supremacy Clause
Statement in Article VI of the Constitution establishing that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the United States “shall be the supreme law of the land”

45. Lesson 3 & 4 activity – complete questions from handout – keep for notebook check