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Explore the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the goals and principles of the Constitution of the United States. Discover the powers granted to the national government and the reserved powers of the states.
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What was wrong with the articles of confederation? • Strengths • Created a congress • Could declare war and make peace • Could coin and borrow money • Could deal with foreign countries and sign treaties • Set up post offices
Goals of the constitution “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.”
Basic principles of the constitution • Popular sovereignty-people are the source of any and all government power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed • Limited government- the government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away • Judicial review- power of the courts to determine whether a law is in accord with what the Constitution provides
Basic principles of the constitution • Separation of powers- basic powers are distributed among three distinct and independent branches of government
Basic principles of the constitution • Checks and balances- the three branches of government are each subject to a number of constitutional restraints by the other branches so that no one branch becomes more powerful
Basic principles of the constitution • Federalism- division of power among a central (national) government and several regional (state) governments • National government is supreme
Powers of the national government • National government is a government of delegatedpowers- it only has those powers delegated (granted) to it in the Constitution • Three types of delegated powers: • Expressed powers- those found directly within the Constitution • Implied powers- not expressly stated in the Constitution, but reasonably suggested or implied by the expressed powers • Inherent powers- powers belonging to the National government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community. • Very few inherent powers • Example- regulating immigration
Powers denied to the national government • Powers such as levying duties on exports or prohibiting the freedom of religion/speech/press/assembly are expressly denied to the National government in the Constitution • Some powers are denied to the National government because the Constitution is silent on the issue • Functions that are not intended to be carried out by the National government are denied to it
State powers • 10th amendment declares that the states are governments of reserved powers • Reserved powers are powers that the Constitution does not grand to the National government and does not, at the same time, deny to the states • States are also denied powers by the Constitution both expressly and inherently (just like the National government)
Exclusive and concurrent powers • Exclusive powers- powers that can be exercised only by the National government • Examples: • Coin money • Make treaties with foreign states • Tax imports • Concurrent powers- powers that both the National and the State governments possess • Examples: • Collect taxes • Define crimes and set punishments for them • Claim private property for public use
The supreme law of the land • The Constitution of the United States is the “supreme law of the land” • In conflicts between state and federal government, federal law • U.S. vs. Locke (2000) • Supreme Court unanimously held that federal commerce laws override state and local interstate commerce laws.
