The constitution
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Presentation Transcript
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.
