1. Government, Citizenship, and the Constitution, 1787–Present
The American Nation
Chapter 8
Government, Citizenship, and the Constitution, 1787–Present
Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

2. The Preamble Defines the Constitution’s Basic Goals
Chapter 8, Section 1
To form a more perfect union
The states work together as one unified nation, not as separate nations.
To establish justice
The justice system requires that the law be applied fairly to every American.
To ensure domestic tranquillity
The government can ensure domestic tranquillity, or peace and order at home.
To provide for the common defense
To protect citizens against foreign attack, the national government can raise armies and navies. However, the military is under civilian, or nonmilitary, control.
To promote the general welfare
The national government promotes the general welfare, or the well-being of all its citizens.
To secure the blessing of liberty
A major goal of the Constitution is to protect the liberty, or freedom, of Americans.
Preamble—opening statement

3. The Articles Describe a Framework of Government
Chapter 8, Section 1
Article I
Describes the legislative branch. Establishes powers and limits on Congress.
Article II
Describes the executive branch. Establishes powers and limits of the President.
Article III
Describes the judicial branch. Establishes powers and limits of the courts.
Article IV
Explains relations between the states. Requires states to honor one another’s laws. Sets out a system for admitting new states.
Article V
Provides a process for amending the Constitution.
Article VI
Says the Constitution is the “supreme law of the land.” No state law may violate the Constitution.

4. The Constitution Provides a System of Checks and Balances
Chapter 8, Section 1

5. Seven Basic Principles of Government
Chapter 8, Section 1
Popular Sovereignty
The principle that government gets its authority from the people, therefore people have a right to change or abolish their government.
Limited Government
The principle that government has only the powers that the Constitution gives it. Everyone, no matter how important, must obey the law.
Separation of Powers
The idea of limiting government power by dividing it among different branches of government.
Checks and Balances
Each branch of government has power to check, or limit, actions of the other branches.
Federalism
The principle of dividing power between the federal government and the states.
Republicanism
A form of government in which citizens elect representatives to carry out their will.
Individual Rights
Individual rights include freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to trial by jury.

6. Separation of Powers
Chapter 8, Section 1

7. Federalism
Chapter 8, Section 1

8. The Legislative Branch: Congress
Chapter 8, Section 2
House of Representatives
435 members
Number of representatives for a state is based on that state’s population
2-year terms
Leader of the House is the Speaker.
Senate
100 members
Two senators per state
6-year terms
Leader of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States. When the Vice President is away, the president pro tempore takes over.

9. The Legislative Branch: The Powers of Congress
Chapter 8, Section 2
Listed Powers and Duties of Congress
To make laws
To levy taxes
To borrow money
To coin money
To establish post offices
To fix standard weights and measures
To declare war
Elastic Clause
Congress can “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper” for carrying out its duties.

10. How a Bill Becomes a Law Bill—a proposal for a law
Chapter 8, Section 2
Bill—a proposal for a law

11. The Executive Branch: Powers and Duties of the President
Chapter 8, Section 2
To carry out the nation’s laws
To direct foreign policy
To make treaties
To appoint ambassadors
To act as Commander in Chief of the armed forces
To suggest new laws and work for their passage
Can grant pardons
Can call special sessions of Congress
To stand as a symbol of the nation

12. Electing the President: Presidential Facts
Chapter 8, Section 2
The President is elected for a 4-year term.
The President may be elected to no more than two complete terms.
The President is elected by a complex system known as the electoral college.
When Americans vote for President, they are really voting for a group of electors pledged to the candidate.
A few weeks after Election Day, the electors meet in each state to vote. The candidate who receives a majority of the electoral votes nationwide becomes President.

13. Electing the President: The Electoral College
Chapter 8, Section 2

14. The Judicial Branch
Chapter 8, Section 2

15. Examples of Checks and Balances
Chapter 8, Section 2
One branch
checks another branch
by doing the following
President
Congress
vetoing, or rejecting, bills Congress has passed
overriding, or overruling, the President’s veto
approving or disapproving Presidential appointments
ratify or not ratify treaties the President has negotiated
The House can impeach, or bring charges of wrongdoing against, the President. The Senate then conducts a trial.
Supreme
President and Congress
declaring laws unconstitutional

16. Amending the Constitution
Chapter 8, Section 3

17. The Bill of Rights First Amendment
Chapter 8, Section 3
First Amendment
Safeguards individual rights—freedom of religion, speech, the press, the right to assemble peacefully, the right to petition the government to change its policies.
Second Amendment
“A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Third Amendment
Congress may not force citizens to put up troops in their homes.
Fourth Amendment
Citizens are protected from unlawful searches of their homes and property.
Fifth Amendment
People cannot be forced to incriminate, or give evidence against, themselves.

18. The Bill of Rights Sixth Amendment
Chapter 8, Section 3
Sixth Amendment
People are guaranteed the right to a speedy and public trial by a fair jury. The accused have a right to know the charges against them and who is making the charges.
Seventh Amendment
Provides for juries in civil, or non criminal, trials.
Eighth Amendment
Forbids excessive bail or fines and “cruel and unusual punishments.”
Ninth Amendment
Citizens’ rights are not limited to those listed in the Constitution.
Tenth Amendment
All powers not given to the national government or denied to the states are reserved for the states or for the people.