1. SSCG: 4, 5 The Constitution
Articles of the Constitution

2. The Constitution
The Founders created the Constitution more than 200 years ago.
Like Montesquieu, they believed in separation of powers.
They divided the federal government into legislative, executive and judicial branches.

3. The Constitution The Constitution …
1) established a republic in which power is held by citizens through their representatives.
2) provides citizens with information about their rights and what they may reasonably expect from their government.

4. Structure of the Constitution
Compared with other countries, the U.S. Constitution is simple and brief.
It establishes the structure and powers of government, but does not spell out every aspect of how government will function.

5. Founding Fathers
The Founders left it to future generations to work out problems as they arose.
The Constitution contains about 7,000 words and is divided into three parts – the Preamble, articles and the amendments.

6. Purposes of the Preamble
Serves as an introduction
States why the Constitution was written
Indicates that the Founders wanted a government that would provide stability and order, protect citizen’s liberties, and serve the people

7. Goals stated in the Preamble
To form a more perfect Union
establish Justice
insure domestic Tranquility
provide for the common defence
promote the general Welfare
secure the Blessings of Liberty

8. Articles: The Body of the Constitution
The Constitution is divided into seven parts called articles.
Each article covers a general topic. Most of articles are divided into sections.

9. Seven Articles Article I –Establishes the Legislative Branch
Article II – Establishes the Executive Branch
Article III – Establishes the Judicial Branch
Article IV – Relationship of States
Article V – Amendment Process
Article VI – Supremacy Clause
Article VII – Ratification Process

10. Article I creates the legislative
branch.

11. Congress Section 1: Sections 2 & 3:
creates the United States Congress.
Sections 2 & 3:
describes the two houses – the House of Representatives and the Senate.

12. The House of Representatives
Article I created a bicameral legislature with the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives was to be the voice of the people, chosen by popular vote.

13. The Senate
The Senate represented the broad interest of the state and senators were originally chosen by their state legislatures.
Qualifications for senators were more rigorous, but in many ways the House and Senate had equal powers.

14. The Legislative Branch
The Founders attached great importance to lawmaking and expected Congress to become the most important branch of the national government.
Why?

15. Sections 4-10:
describes the procedure for making laws, list the type of laws that Congress can pass and specifies the powers Congress does not have.
Based upon their experiences with Parliament, they feared the abuse of power.

16. Unlike the powers that they gave the President and the Supreme Court, they gave Congress expressed powers.
Expressed powers are directly stated in the Constitution.

17. Enumerated Powers Expressed powers are also enumerated powers
They are called enumerated because they are numbered 1–18
They are found in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.

18. Enumerated Powers – Economic Legislation
The power to levy taxes
To borrow money
To regulate commerce
To coin money
To punish counterfeiting

19. Enumerated Powers – Defense Legislation
The power to punish piracies
To declare war
To raise and support armed forces
To provide a navy
To regulate the armed forces
To call forth the militia
To organize the militia

20. Other Enumerated Powers
Naturalizing citizens
Establishing post offices
Securing patents and copyrights
Establishing courts
Governing the District of Columbia

21. The Elastic Clause
The final enumerated power is called the elastic clause because it allows Congress to “stretch” its powers to meet situations the Founders could never have anticipated.
It is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18.
It is also called the Necessary and Proper Clause because it gives Congress the right to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I.

22. Article II
Article II creates the executive branch to carry out the laws passed by Congress.

23. Article II
Article II created the executive branch of the government and the need for a president was hotly debated by the Founders.

24. The President Compromises:
A four-year term
Appointment powers
Control of the armed force
Foreign policy decisions
A president with specified, limited powers was further guarded by an impeachment clause.

25. The President Section 1: Section 2:
Power in the executive branch is vested in a President.
Section 2:
The remaining sections describe the powers and duties of the president, qualifications for the office, procedures for electing a president and provide for a vice president.

26. Specific Powers: Congressional Relations
Appoints with the consent of the Senate heads of the executive departments
Appoints federal court judges, and other top officials with consent of the Senate
Delivers the annual State of the Union message to Congress
Calls Congress into special session when necessary

27. Foreign Relations
5. Makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate 6. Appoints ambassadors with the consent of the Senate 7. Meets with heads of state, ambassadors and other foreign officials

28. Specific Powers 8. Commander in chief of the armed forces
9. May pardon people convicted of federal crimes (except in cases of impeachment) or reduce a person’s jail sentence or fine
10. Commissions of all military officers of the
United States
11. Ensures that all the laws Congress passes
are “faithfully executed”

29. The President as Legislator
The executive and legislative branches must work closely together in order for legislation to become effective policy.

30. The President as Legislator
In practice, the executive branch provides plans for much of the legislation that Congress considers.
The president:
proposes much of the legislative agenda
spells out the details of programs that are to be enacted into law

31. The President as Legislator
The executive branch must have the power to carry out legislative enactments. This often involves the creation of a bureaucracy (non-elected gov’t officials) to carry out the details of policy.
What are some of the depts of the US bureaucracy?

32. Vague Constitutional Powers
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.

33. Vague Constitutional Powers
For example, the president can:
fire officials in the executive branch
make agreements with foreign nations
take emergency actions to save the nation
But none of these actions are specifically listed in the Constitution.

34. Article III
Article III established the judicial branch.

35. Article III
Section 1:
establishes a Supreme Court to head the Judicial Branch.
gives Congress the authority to set up additional federal courts as needed.

36. The Judicial Branch
After creating the Supreme Court, the Constitution allows Congress to create all “inferior” courts.

37. The Judicial System Section 2: Section 3: Limits federal courts to:
Constitutional cases
laws created by Congress
Cases outside of the jurisdiction of state courts.
Section 3:
defines treason against the United States.

38. Article IV
Article IV explains the relationship of the states to one another and to the national government.

39. Article IV This article:
requires all states to give “full faith and credit” to all other states
addresses the admission of new states
guarantees the protection of the national government to all states against invasion or domestic violence.

40. Article V
Article V explains the two ways the Constitution can be amended or changed.

41. Article VI
Article VI contains the supremacy clause which establishes that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress and treaties of the United States “shall be the supreme Law of the Land.”

42. Article VII
Article VII addresses ratification and declares that the Constitution will take effect after it was ratified by nine states.

43. SSCG: 4, 5 The Constitution
Checks and Balances

44. Shared Power and Conflict
The Constitution created three separate branches of government. It spelled out some specific areas that the three branches would cooperate including:
Passing legislation
Conducting war
Spending money

45. The President vs. Congress
While cooperation between the executive and
legislative branches is necessary, several
sources of conflict have developed between
these two branches.
The expansion of presidential power has changed the structure of the national government without formal changes in the Constitution.
Another conflict has arisen because Congress has the responsibility to monitor the way the executive branch enforces the laws. Sometimes the federal courts have had to step in to settle disputes.
The development of political parties has created
a source of conflict when the two branches are
controlled by different parties.

46. Congress vs. the Courts The Constitution gave Congress the
power both to create the lower federal
courts and to limit the jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court. Congress has
been reluctant to use this authority.

47. The Supreme Court vs. the President
Some Supreme Court decisions require
compliance by the president in order
that the decisions may be carried out.
Occasionally, a president who
disagrees with the Court may refuse
to enforce its decision.

48. The Amendments
The third part of the Constitution consists of amendments or changes. The Constitution has been amended 27 times throughout the nation’s history. The amendment process provides a way that this document written more than two centuries ago can remain responsive to the needs of a changing nation.

49. Major Principles The Constitution rests on six major
principles of government:
Popular Sovereignty
Federalism
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
Judicial Review
Limited Government

50. Popular Sovereignty
The Constitution is based on the concept of popular sovereignty – rule by the people. United States government is based on the consent of the governed; the authority for government flows from the people.

51. Federalism
The terms federalism and federal system describe the basic structure of American government. The terms should not be confused with federal government which only refers to the national government in Washington D.C. Under federalism power is divided between national and state governments. Both levels have their own agencies and officials, and pass laws that directly affect citizens.

52. Separation of Powers
The Constitution limits the central government by dividing power among the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Under separation of powers, each branch has its responsibilities which was designed to prevent any branch from gaining too much power.

53. Checks and Balances
According to the principle of checks and balances each branch of government exercises some control over the others. Checks and balances created a system of shared powers.

54. If judged by the length of the Article that created it, the Judicial Branch would appear to be the weakest of the three branches.

55. Marbury v. Madison
The Founders did not explicitly give such power to the judicial branch. In 1803, the Supreme Court established judicial review with the case Marbury v. Madison. This case established the precedent for federal courts to be able to rule on the actions of government. A Supreme Court decision on the meaning of the Constitution can be changed only if the Court itself changes its views or if an amendment to the Constitution is passed.

56. McCullough v. Maryland
From the very beginning the phrase “necessary and proper” posed problems. The issue was whether a strict or broad interpretation of the Constitution should be applied. This dispute was first addressed in 1819 in the Supreme Court case, McCullough v. Maryland. The Supreme Court Justices ruled in favor of a broad interpretation which supported the idea that the elastic clause gave the Congress the right to make any laws necessary to carry out its other powers.

57. The Judicial Branch
If judged by the length of the Article that created it, the Judicial Branch would appear to be the weakest of the three branches. After creating the Supreme Court, the Constitution allows Congress to create all “inferior” courts. The Framers were not concerned about the power of the justices, allowing them to hold office for life.

58. Jurisdiction of Federal Courts
The judiciary of the United States
has two different systems of courts.
1) federal courts – powers derived
from the Constitution and federal
laws
2) state courts – powers derived from
state constitutions and state laws
This has been called a dual court
system.

59. Jurisdiction
Every court has the authority to hear only certain kinds of cases. This authority is known as jurisdiction. Two factors determine the jurisdiction of federal courts – the subject matter of the case and the parties involved in the case.

60. Federal Jurisdiction Federal courts hear cases dealing with
United States laws
United States treaties with foreign nations
Interpretation of the Constitution
Cases involving admiralty or maritime law (law of the sea)
Cases involving bankruptcy

61. Judicial Review
Judicial review is the power of the courts to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments invalid if they violate the Constitution. All federal courts have this power, but the Supreme Court is the final authority on the meaning and interpretation of the Constitution. Because the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, acts contrary to it must be void.

62. Limited Government The principle of limited government
means that the Constitution limits the
actions of government by specifically
listing powers that it has and does not
have. The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments) set specific limits in the areas of freedom of expression, personal security, and fair trials.