Goals%20and%20Principles%20of%20the%20Constitution

1
Goals and Principles of the Constitution

• Preamble, Articles and Amendments, Seven Basic
  Principles

2
The Preamble

• The Constitution is divided into 3 main parts
  the Preamble (opening statement), Articles, and
  Amendments.
• The Preamble defines 6 goals.

Preamble We the people of the United States, in
order to form a more perfect Union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution of the United States of America.
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The Goals of the Preamble

• To Form a More Perfect Union
• Wanted states to be more unified
• To Establish Justice
• Applied fairly to every American regardless of
  race, religion, and gender
• To Insure Domestic Tranquility
• Peace and order at home (US)
• To Provide for a Common Defense
• Gives the government power to protect citizens
• To Promote the General Welfare
• Promote the well-being of all its citizens
  (health, happiness)
• To Secure the Blessings of Liberty
• Freedom and rights for its people

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How can we meet the goals today?

• To Form a More Perfect Union
• To Establish Justice
• To Insure Domestic Tranquility

• To Provide for a Common Defense
• To Promote the General Welfare
• To Secure the Blessings of Liberty

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Articles

• The main body of the Constitution is divided into
  7 sections called Articles, which establish the
  framework for our government.
• Articles I-III - describe the 3 branches of
  government legislative, executive, and
  judicial.
• Article IV deals with relations between the
  states.
• Article V provides a process to amend the
  Constitution.
• Article VI states the Constitution is the Supreme
  law of the land.
• Article VII sets up a procedure to ratify the
  Constitution.

6
Amendments

• In over 200 years, only 27 formal changes have
  been made to the Constitution.
• The first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights
  (added in 1791).
• Article V outlines the amendment process.
• An amendment may be proposed by two thirds of
  both the House and the Senate.
• Ratification may be approved by the
  legislatures of 3/4ths of the states.

7
Seven Basic Principles

• Popular Sovereignty
• states that the people have the right to alter or
  abolish their government
• Limited Government
• Because the colonists wanted to avoid tyranny,
  they said the government has only the powers that
  the Constitution gives it
• Separation of Powers
• The government was split into three branches
• Legislative makes the laws
• Executive carries out the laws
• Judicial explains and interprets the laws
• Checks and Balances
• Each branch of government has the power to check,
  or limit, the actions of the other two.

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Seven Basic Principles Contd

• Federalism
• Division of power between the federal government
  and the states
• Federal Examples power to coin money, declare
  war, regulate trade between states
• State examples regulate trade within their
  borders, establish schools
• Power not clearly given to the federal government
  belongs to the states.
• Republicanism
• Citizens elect representatives to carry out their
  will
• Individual Rights
• Protect individual rights such as freedom of
  speech, freedom of religion, and the right to
  trial by jury