The Constitution of the United States of America

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The Constitution of the United States of America
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Why Does the Constitution Matter?

• Constitution body of fundamental laws which say
  how a government is to operate
• It is the supreme law of the land
• It explains how the government works
• It protects your civil rights

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A Brief Outline

• The Preamble lays out the purpose and
  introduces the Constitution
• The Articles the substance of governmental law
• The Amendments

Uncle Sam needs you to study harder!
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The Seven Articles

• I. The Legislative Branch
• II. The Executive Branch
• III. The Judicial Branch
• IV. Relations Among States
• V. The Amendment Process
• VI. National Debts, National Supremacy, Oaths of
  Office
• VII. Requirements for Ratification

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 1. Popular Sovereignty supreme power rests with
  and only with the people
• Some parts of the Constitution mitigate popular
  sovereignty
• Electoral College chooses the president, not
  popular vote
• State Legislatures chose the Senate, not popular
  vote
• Later changed to direct popular election by 17th
  Amendment

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 2. Limited Government
• Also called constitutionalism, and rule of law
• Government is not all-powerful
• Powers government has and doesnt have are listed

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 3. Separation of Powers
• U.S. uses a presidential government, where the
  executive and legislative branches are chosen
  separately
• Each branch has its own powers and
  responsibilities

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 4. Checks and Balances
• Each branch is not totally independent of the
  others

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 4. Checks and Balances
• They have powers to override each other when
  necessary

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 5. Judicial Review
• Courts may determine whether or not what the
  President or Congress does is Constitutional

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 5. Judicial Review
• If court declares an act unconstitutional, the
  act is not a law, and the decision cannot be
  overridden

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The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution

• 6. Federalism
• The national government is given certain powers
  by the Constitution
• Whatever is left is a power for the states to use

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Key Parts of Article I

• Section 8
• List of all expressed powers Congress has
• Also includes the necessary and proper clause
• Gives Congress additional implied powers
• Section 9
• Prohibits certain actions Congress may take
• No ex post facto laws punishment for doing
  something before it was illegal
• No suspension of habeas corpus the right to
  challenge ones own detention in court

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Key Parts of Article II

• Section 2
• President can appoint people to many positions
• Must have advice and consent of the Senate
• Senate takes a majority vote to confirm
  appointments
• Section 4
• Can only be removed by impeachment for high
  crimes and misdemeanors

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Key Parts of Article IV

• Section 1 Full Faith and Credit Clause
• States must grant each other full faith and
  credit on public acts, records, and judicial
  proceedings
• Means legal decisions of states must be respected
  and held to by other states
• Section 2 Privileges and Immunities Clause
• States must grant residents of other states all
  privileges and immunities they give to their
  own residents

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Article V - Formal Amendment Process

• Step 1 Must Be Proposed (happens at the
  national level)
• Step 2 Must Be Ratified (happens at the state
  level)
• This is a reflection of federalism

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2 Ways to Propose an Amendment

• 1. 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress
• All 27 Amendments were proposed this way
• 2. Constitutional Convention requested by 2/3 of
  the states
• Has not ever been used

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2 Ways to Ratify an Amendment

• 1. 3/4 of state legislatures approve it
• 26 of the 27 Amendments were ratified this way
• 2. 3/4 of conventions called by the states
  approve it
• Only the 21st Amendment was ratified this way

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Key Parts of Article VI

• Section 2 Supremacy Clause
• Federal laws are always supreme over state laws,
  U.S. Constitution is supreme over all state
  constitutions

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The First Ten Amendments

• The Bill of Rights

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The Bill of Rights

• These are awesome!

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The 1st Amendment

• Freedom of Religion
• Establishment Clause government cannot
  establish a religion
• Free Exercise Clause government cannot prohibit
  you from practicing religion
• Freedom of Speech
• Freedom of the Press
• Right to Assembly
• Right to Petition

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The 2nd Amendment

• The Right to Bear Arms
• Not the Right to Bare Arms

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The 3rd Amendment

• No Quartering of Soldiers in Times of Peace

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The 4th Amendment

• Protection Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure

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The 5th Amendment

• No Double Jeopardy (Cant be charged with the
  same crime twice)
• Protection against self-incrimination
• Guarantee of Due Process of Law

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The 6th Amendment

• Right to a Criminal Trial by Jury
• Trial must be speedy, public
• Must be in the state where the crime was
  committed
• Right to legal counsel
• Right to call witnesses favorable to the defendant

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The 7th Amendment

• Right to a Civil Trial by Jury
• Civil not criminal, typically a lawsuit for
  money or to repeal a government action

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The 8th Amendment

• Protection Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment

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The 9th Amendment

• Rights Retained by the People
• In other words, just because a right isnt listed
  here in the Constitution doesnt mean that people
  dont have that right
• Truth from your teacher yes, it does.

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The 10th Amendment

• Powers Reserved for the States
• All powers that are not given to the national
  government are reserved for the states

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Informal Amendments

• The vast majority of changes to the Constitution
  have not changed the words in the Constitution

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Basic Legislation

• Congress laws provide specific details about the
  vague purposes and ideas in the Constitution

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Basic Legislation

• Congress also changes its own powers over time,
  based on the words of the Constitution
• Result of Necessary and Proper Clause

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Executive Action

• Presidents are always looking for ways to stretch
  and grow their powers
• Thus, presidents today are much more powerful
  than in the past

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Court Decisions

• Since Marbury v. Madison, the court has had the
  power to declare acts of the president and
  Congress unconstitutional

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Court Decisions

• This power is called judicial review, and the
  court uses it to tell us what they interpret the
  Constitution to mean

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Party Practices

• Political parties did not exist at the nations
  start, but they have become an almost necessary
  element

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Party Practices

• The electoral college used to decide together who
  would be the president. Now, they just rubber
  stamp the choice of voters

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Custom

• Many customs have developed that we follow just
  as strongly as laws
• Senatorial Courtesy when nominating a judge,
  the president always asks the permission of the
  two Senators from the judges state
• Cabinet 15 advisors for the president are not
  in the Constitution