Download Unit 2 – Constitution

Unit 2 – Constitution
Mr. Borkowski
Fall, 2014
Preamble to the Constitution
establish justice
ensure domestic tranquility
provide for the common defense
promote the general welfare
secure the blessings of liberty
6 Fundamental Principles in the
Constitution
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popular sovereignty
separation of powers
checks and balances
federalism
supremacy of national laws
civilian control of government
Popular sovereignty – wise people will
vote (not directly)
white males with property
white males over 21 – mid-1800s
15th Amendment – black males – 1870
19th Amendment – women – 1920
24th Amendment – outlawed poll taxes
and restrictions
26th Amendment – 18 year olds – 1971
Separation of Powers
power is divided among 3 branches of
government – to prevent a concentration
of power
Legislative branch – lawmaking – Article I,
Sec. 1
Executive branch – enforcement of laws –
Article II, Sec. 1
Judicial branch – interpretation of laws
(judgment) – Article III, Sec. 1
Separation of Powers
Division of Power
People in control
Legislative
Congress
Senate and House
6 yr and 2 yr
Executive
President
4 year term
2 max.
Judicial
Supreme Court
Lifetime term
By President
Constituency
 group of people served by an elected official
 President – all potential voters in the U.S.
 Senator Richard Burr – all voters in N.C.
 Sheriff Bill Schatzman – all voters in Forsyth Co.
 Rep. Virginia Foxx – all voters in 5th
Congressional District – parts of Davie,
Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, Forsyth Counties
 Forsyth County Commissioner David Plyler –
voters of District B in Forsyth Co.
Checks and Balances – Since power is separated
among the three branches, each branch has checks
on the others.
 Congress makes laws – the President can veto
those laws and the Supreme Court can declare
those laws unconstitutional. Congress can
override the President’s veto and the entire
legislative branch can amend the Constitution
making their law constitutional.
 The President appoints (hires) people for
executive offices and the Supreme Court –
Congress confirms (approves) virtually all
Presidential appointments.
Federalism – shared power between national
and state governments
Delegated Powers AKA Enumerated,
Expressed – Article I, Sec. 8 – powers are
outlined to the national government – Ex.
Armed forces.
Concurrent Powers – shared by states and
national government – Ex. Court system,
taxes, highways
Reserved Powers – anything not granted
to national and not denied states are
reserved for states – 10th Amendment
Federalism – how?
Cooperative federalism – obligations of the
national and state governments are mixed.
There are no clear cut powers, like a
marble cake.
Dual federalism – powers of national and
state governments are clear cut, you can
tell the difference, like a layer cake.
Nationalism vs. States’ Rights
 Nationalism
 Union during Civil
War
 Favors strong,
central, national
government
 Generally, the ruling
authority
 States’ Rights
 Confederacy during
Civil War
 Dixiecrats (1948)
 Independents (1968)
 Ronald Reagan
(1980s)
Implied Powers
the national government can do whatever
is “necessary and proper” to fulfill its duties
“elastic clause” > implied powers
Loose vs. Strict Construction
Loose construction – reading more into the
Constitution than what is written – “I know
that’s what it says but that’s not what it
means.”
Strict construction – reading the
Constitution and interpreting it ONLY as it
is written – “The founding fathers wrote
that, that is what they meant.”
Supremacy of National Laws
the national governments laws are
superior to state governments’ when they
conflict – McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Process of Amending the Constitution –
two steps
 Proposal (Two ways)
 2/3 vote of both
houses of Congress
 Constitutional
Conventions called in
2/3 of states
 2/3 = 34
 Ratification (Two
ways)
 State legislatures in ¾
of states approval
 Ratifying Conventions
in ¾ of states
approval
 ¾ = 38
Recent attempts
Equal Rights Amendment – proposed but
never ratified
27th Amendment – congressional pay
raises only after current term
Voting rights in D.C. – representation in
Congress
Cooperation among states
“full faith and credit” – official documents
are valid in all states – Ex. Driver’s
licenses, marriage licenses
Extradition – criminals of another state
must be returned to that state
Informal methods of changing the
constitution
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legislative action
executive action
Supreme Court decisions
Political Parties
Custom – cabinet
Other Constitutional Issues
 Bill of attainder – find someone guilty of a crime and
punish them without a trial – outlawed by
Constitution
 Writ of Habeus Corpus – person cannot be held
without knowing what the charges are, etc. – req. by
Const.
 Ex Post Facto Laws – “After the fact” – you can be
charged with a crime prior to the law being passed –
outlawed by Constitution
 Inherent powers – powers which belong to the
national government just because it is the national
government – Ex. Foreign policy, immigration
 Eminent domain – government can purchase private
property for public use