The U. S. Constitution

1. The U. S. Constitution Chapter 3

2. Section 3.1Basic Principles • Objectives: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to… • List and define the five basic principles on which the U.S. Constitution is based. • Discuss and give examples of how the Constitution ensured the people’s authority over government. • Provide examples of how the Constitution provides a system of limited government. • Describe how the Constitution protects the rights of states.

3. Section 3.1Basic Principles • Define the following terms in your notebook: • republicanism • popular sovereignty • separation of powers • checks and balances • veto • judicial review • unconstitutional

4. Section 3.1Basic Principles • The US Constitution limits and defines the powers of our government. • It is based on five main principles • 1. popular sovereignty • 2. limited government • 3. separation of powers • 4. checks and balances • 5. federalism

5. Section 3.1Basic Principles • How does the Constitution ensure the people’s authority over government? Popular sovereignty PS means a government authority comes from the… ??? The principle of PS can be found in the Preamble “We THE PEOPLE of the United States…. Do ordain [order] and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Constitution further emphasizes the power of the people by establishing rules of electing government officials. NO ONE is entitled by birth!

6. Section 3.1Basic Principles • Limited Government • How does the Constitution provide for a system of limited government? • The Constitution limits government by establishing guidelines for how the government may act. • Examples: • Article I, Section 8: enumerates the powers of Congress • Article I, Section 9: lists powers that the national government DOES NOT have, such as the power to grant titles of nobility.

7. Section 3.1Basic Principles In what ways does the Constitution protect the rights of states? • The Constitution gives some powers to the national government, and some to the states. • The framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure the national government was strong enough to maintain order and keep the country united. • The Constitution prohibits states from exercising powers that belong to the national government. For example, states can’t coin money or declare war. • Article VI of the Constitution is the “supremacy clause.” It declares that the Constitution (and all federal laws passed under the Constitution, including treaties) to be the “supreme law of the land.” • Concurrent powers are those powers shared by both the national and state governments.

8. Section 3.1Basic Principles The Constitution prevents the concentration and abuse of power by giving each branch the authority to check, or restrain, the powers of the other two branches. GOVERNMENT POWERS

9. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution • Objectives: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to… • Discuss the reasons framers established ways to amend the Constitution. • Describe the methods for amending the Constitution. • Explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights.

10. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution • Define the following terms in your notebook: • amendment • repeal • Bill of Rights

11. Bob Dylan, one of America’s best known songwriters, wrote songs in the 1960s that illuminated the political and social issues of the time (ex: the civil rights movement, women’s rights and the war in Vietnam). The Times They Are A-Changin’, recorded in 1964 “captured the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.”

12. Come gather ‘round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin’ Then you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin’ The Times They Are A-Changin’by Bob Dylan (1964)

13. Come writers & critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’ For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’ Verse 2

14. Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it is ragin’ It’ll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin’ Verse 3

15. Come mothers & fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly agin’ Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend a hand For the times They are a-changin’ Verse 4

16. The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times They are a-changin’ Verse 5

17. SG Discussion - Respond to the following questions: • What do you think this song is about i.e. what’s going on in this song? (Hint: you may incorporate background information into your answer). • In each verse, Dylan is challenging a certain group to change. Analyze each stanza of the song, and identify who and what needs to change. • What do you think is the overall message of the songwriter? • When might forces (social, political, or economic) produce interest, debate, and perhaps the necessity to change the U.S. Constitution?

18. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution Why did the framers establish ways to amend the Constitution? • Methods of Amending the Constitution Article V gives procedures for amending the Constitution Passing an amendment requires more than a simple majority. Amending the Constitution is difficult intentionally. The framers didn’t want to change the Constitution for just any old reason. 1. Proposing Amendments: Vote in Congress (so far, all amendments have been proposed this way). Two-thirds of the house (290 votes) and the Senate (67 votes) required before it can be sent to the states for ratification.

19. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution • 2. National Convention – Congress, at the request of two-thirds (34) of the state legislatures, can call a national convention to propose a Constitutional amendment. • While this is sort of cool… it has never happened. • Why? Article V does not say whether a convention can be limited to proposing only the amendment it was called to consider. In other words, such a convention could be used to revise (or toss) the entire Constitution. • See: The Philadelphia Convention of 1787.

20. Methods of Proposal Method 2 By national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of the state legislatures (34 states) [This method has never been used] Method 1 By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate [most common method of proposing an amendment] Method 1 By 2/3 vote in both the House and the Senate (290 in the House, 67 in the Senate. This is the most common method of proposing an amendment] Or

21. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution • Ratifying Amendments – Two methods 1. Legislatures in at least three-fourths (38) of the states must approve an amendment before it becomes part of the Constitution. All but one of the Constitution’s amendments have been ratified this way 2. By special convention in at least three-fourths of the states. The 21st Amendment was ratified this way. It repealed the 18th Amendment which had outlawed to production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages.

22. Methods of Ratification Method 2 Ratified through conventions in ¾ of the states. [Only been used once to ratify the 21st Amendment] Method 1 By legislatures in ¾ of the states (38 states) [in all but one case, this is how amendments have been ratified] Or

23. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution First Amendment: Freedom of speech, assembly, religion, press, and petition. • The 27 Amendments Second Amendment: The right to keep and bear arms. Third Amendment: No quartering of troops Fourth Amendment: Search and seizure; search warrents Fifth Amendment: Rights of an accused person Sixth Amendment: Right to a speedy trial Seventh Amendment: Right to trial by jury Eighth Amendment: Bails, Fines, and Punishments Ninth Amedment: Rights of the People Tenth Amendment: Powers of the States These 10 Amendments are contained in the Bill of Rights (1791)

24. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution The 27 Amendments Eleventh Amendment: Suits Against States Twelfth Amendment: Election of the President and Vice President Thirteenth Amendment: Abolition of Slavery Fourteenth Amendment: Rigths of Citizens; Privileges and Immunities, Due Process, and Equal Protection Fifteenth Amendment: Extension of Suffrage to African American Men Sixteenth Amendment: Income Tax Seventeenth Amendment: Direct Election of Senators Eighteenth Amendment: Prohibition Nineteenth Amendment: Extension of Suffrage to Women Twentieth Amendment: Change in Dates for Presidential and Congressional Terms of Office

25. Section 3.2Amending the Constitution The 27 Amendments Twenty-first Amendment: Repeal of Prohibition Twenty-second Amendment: Two-Term Limit on Presidential Office Twenty-third Amendment: Right to Vote in Presidential Election Twenty-fourth Amendment: Poll Tax Banned in Federal Elections Twenty-fifth Amendment: Presidential Disability and Succession Twenty-sixth Amendment: Lowering of Voting Age to 18 Twenty-seventh Amendment: Legislative Salaries

26. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Objectives: After completing this lesson, you will be able to… Explain how the Constitution gives each of the three branches of government flexibility in using its powers. Discuss how political parties changed the way government operates. Describe the ways in which the Constitution allows custom and tradition to help shape government.

27. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Define the following: Executive agreement Political party cabinet

28. Section 3.3A Flexible Document How does the Constitution give the three branches of government flexibility in using their powers?

29. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Government Actions By reinterpreting their powers, the three branches of government are able to address issues that face our nation. Court Decisions Vague wording in the Constitution allows the courts to apply it to situations that could not have been imagined early on. Marbury v. Madison (1803) gives the federal court system the power to rule on the constitutionality of actions taken by the Legislative and Executive branches.

30. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Judicial Review

31. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Congressional Legislation Congress passes laws that address new situations. Congress assumes responsibilities and roles that are allowed by, but not mentioned in, the Constitution. Example: Article III, Section I gives Congress the power to establish the federal court system below the Supreme Court. Since the word “establish” is vague, Congress is able to structure these courts in ways that help meet the needs of our nations.

32. Section 3.3A Flexible Document FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM

33. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Other examples: Congress has passed laws regulating working conditions and wages. Where does the authority come from? Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states and with foreign nations. Congress can regulate interstate commerce and they’ve interpreted this to include working conditions and wages. http://www.minimum-wage.org/minimum-wage-exemptions.asp for more info

34. Section 3.3A Flexible Document Executive Action Executive Agreements – the president’s power to reach agreements with foreign counties without the Senate’s approval. FDR’s Lend – Lease Act

35. Section 3.3A Flexible Document How have political parties changed the way government operates? A political party is an organized group that seeks to win elections in order to influence the activities of government. The flexibility of the Constitution allows political parties to influence how the operates. Political parties play in important role in electing candidates to office and in organizing the day-to-day operation of Congress.

36. Section 3.3A Flexible Document How does the Constitution allow custom and tradition to shape the government? Customs and traditions are informal, long-established ways of doing things. Not mentioned in the Constitution Example: The President’s Cabinet

37. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good Objectives: After completing this lesson, you will be able to… Discuss James Madison’s contribution to the developmentof the U.S. government. 2. List ways the Constitution ensures that government makes laws that promote the public good. 3. Discuss critics’ claims that the Constitution sometimes makes government less effective.

38. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good Key Terms: Factions

39. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good What were some of james madison’s contributions To the development of the U.S. Government Federalist Paper #10 Madison argues in favor of the Constitution and a republican form of government. He said that competing interests would prevent any one faction from gaining control of the government. OPPONENTS of the Constitution feared that a republic could fall under the influence of a faction. James Madison Was he correct???

40. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good Preventing Control by Factions I’ll post more notes soon. Hogan

41. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good

42. Section 3.4The Constitution and the Public Good