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The Principles of the Constitution Popular Sovereignty

The Principles of the Constitution Popular Sovereignty. The framers of the constitution included the principle of Popular Sovereignty in their design of the new government. Simply explained, this means that the people rule this country.

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The Principles of the Constitution Popular Sovereignty

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  1. The Principles of the ConstitutionPopular Sovereignty • The framers of the constitution included the principle of Popular Sovereignty in their design of the new government. • Simply explained, this means that the people rule this country. • The people elect public officials to represent them in free and frequent elections. • Citizens can vote at the age of 18. • “We the People of the United States…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

  2. Limited Power • The citizens of the new nation feared tyranny. They had just gotten done fighting a war to win their independence from England and were not about to hand that over to the new National Government. • Many states pressured the framers of the constitution to add a Bill of Rights, or a list of the basic rights of citizens. • The framers also made the national and state governments share some powers. • The people gave the Government it’s powers and have the ability to take them away through elections. The Government only has the powers that the people give it. The Constitution clearly states what the Government can and cannot do.

  3. FEDERALISM: Sharing of Power • America's government was based on Federalism, where power is divided between the Federal (national) and the state governments. • The constitution states what powers the Federal government has, what powers are shared, and leaves the rest for the states. • Whenever a dispute arises the constitution is the "supreme law of the land. • “ What it says goes!”

  4. Separation of Powers • The new federal government had three branches, the legislative, judicial, and executive. • The legislative branch includes the congress and house of representatives and has the power to tax, coin money, and declare war. The legislative branch makes the laws. • The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court and interprets laws. • The executive branch is made up of the president and his cabinet. The main purpose of this branch is to carry out the laws and deals with foreign affairs and the military.

  5. Checks and Balances • Checks and balances is a system where the three branches can check on each other and possibly stop the other branch from doing something. • This prevents one branch gaining all the power in the Government or the branches making unconstitutional decisions.

  6. Checks on the Legislative Branch • The executive branch can control the Legislative by proposing laws, vetoing laws, calling special sessions of Congress and negotiating foreign treaties. • The judicial branch can also check the legislative branch by declaring acts of branch unconstitutional.

  7. Checks on the Executive Branch • The legislative branch can help control the executive branch by overriding a veto, ratifying treaties, declaring war, appropriating money and impeaching the president. • The Judicial Branch can also declare acts of the executive branch unconstitutional.

  8. Checks on the Judicial Branch • The executive branch appoints judges and can grant pardons to federal offenders. • The legislative branch checks the judicial branch by creating lower courts, impeaching, and removing judges, and proposing amendments to overrule decisions.

  9. Judicial Review • Power of the courts to determine whether the things that the government does are allowed by the Constitution • Can declare acts of Congress or the President unconstitutional • Declare illegal, null and void, of no force and effect • The doctrine of judicial review was first announced as part of federal law in 1803, by the Supreme Court decision Marbury v. Madison. "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish… The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution…" (Article III, US Constitution)

  10. Who Influenced the Framers of the Constitution? • The league of the Iroquois was respected by the framers. They decided to include the unity of the league in their own government. • From England came the idea of representative government. They incorporated this idea with England's Magna Carta, (Great Charter) which is based on the idea of limiting government power. • The enlightenment thinkers believed that people could improve society through the use of reason. One very important enlightenment thinker was John Locke. Locke said that all people deserved the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. • Locke believed that the government is an agreement between the ruled and the ruler. • Montesquieu was a French thinker who published “The Spirit of Laws”. • His idea was that government should be divided among three different branches: legislative, judicial, and executive, and become known as the separation of powers.

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