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Introduction to the Constitution

Introduction to the Constitution. Six Basic Principles Preamble. The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution. Popular Sovereignty Limited Government Separation of Powers Checks and Balances Judicial Review Federalism. Popular Sovereignty.

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Introduction to the Constitution

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  1. Introduction to the Constitution Six Basic Principles Preamble

  2. The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution • Popular Sovereignty • Limited Government • Separation of Powers • Checks and Balances • Judicial Review • Federalism

  3. Popular Sovereignty “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Declaration of Independence

  4. Popular Sovereignty • Popular- of the people as a whole • Same root word as population • Other uses: popular vote, popular discontent, popular representation • Sovereignty- the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory • Popular sovereignty- the people as a whole have supreme authority

  5. Popular Sovereignty • The government’s right to rule comes from the people. • The U.S. system of government is based upon the “consent of the governed.” • The people give leaders their authority to govern by electing them to office.

  6. Popular Sovereignty • The power to choose leaders has expanded over time to include more voters. • 15th Amendment- African American men • 19th Amendment- women • 26th Amendment- 18 year olds

  7. Limited Government “That government is best which governs least.” Henry David Thoreau

  8. Limited Government • The principle of Popular Sovereignty tells us that the people are the source of government power. • Therefore, the government only has as much power as the people give it. • The Constitution lists not only powers that the government has, but the powers it is denied.

  9. Limited Government- Bill of Rights • The first 10 amendments to the Constitution limit government from restricting freedom of expression, prevent warrantless searches, and require fair trials. • http://media.ccr.mcgraw-hill.com/AP_OnBoard/USGOV_M01_02_11A.jpg • http://media.ccr.mcgraw-hill.com/AP_OnBoard/USGOV_M01_02_08A.swf

  10. Separation of Powers "The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many.” Thomas Jefferson

  11. Separation of Powers • Not only is the power of the government limited, but it is divided. • The Constitution divides power among three branches of government: • Legislative- Congress • Executive- President • Judicial- federal courts • Each of the 3 branches has its own responsibilities and powers

  12. Separation of Powers • Early leaders hoped that separating powers would prevent any single branch from gaining too much power.

  13. Checks and Balances “The use of checks and balances in the forms of government, is to create delays and multiply diversities of interests, by which the tendency on a sudden to violate them may be counteracted.” John Adams

  14. Checks and Balances • The United States government is intentionally inefficient. • Each branch of the government has the authority to restrict the actions of the other two branches. • This prevents tyranny by any branch of government. • http://media.ccr.mcgraw-hill.com/AP_OnBoard/USGOV_M01_02_07A.swf

  15. Judicial Review The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made… Section 2, Article III of Constitution

  16. Judicial Review • Since the Constitution is the highest authority in the country, no one can violate it. • Actions by the Executive or Legislative branches of government can be invalidated by the Judicial Branch, if those actions are found to be unconstitutional.

  17. Judicial Review • A Supreme Court decision can be changed in only two ways: • If the Court itself changes its views • If Congress proposes an amendment to the Constitution, which then must be ratified by the states. • NOTE: This principle is not stated directly in the Constitution. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, interpreted Article III to mean that the Supreme Court had the power of judicial review.

  18. Constitutional or Unconstitutional • Public funding of school buses for parochial students • Public funding for parochial teacher salaries • Teacher-led prayer (nonspecific religion) • After-school student-led religious club • Requiring all students to say the Pledge of Allegiance • Offering a moment of silence for voluntary prayer l Constitutional Unconstitutional Unconstitutional Constitutional Unconstitutional Unconstitutional

  19. Federalism “The true natural check on absolute democracy is the federal system, which limits the central government by the powers reserved, and the state governments by the powers they have ceded.” Lord Acton, British historian

  20. Federalism • A federal system divides power between a central government (Washington, D.C.) and several regional governments (Jefferson City) • This limits the power of the central government • Federalism also allows states to deal with local problems

  21. Federalism • Tenth Amendment: • “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” • http://media.ccr.mcgraw-hill.com/AP_OnBoard/USGOV_M01_02_05A.swf

  22. The Six Constitutional Principles • Find five specific examples of each principle in action. • Popular sovereignty • Limited government • Separation of powers • Checks and balances • Judicial review • Federalism

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