Download Principles of the Constitution

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE
U.S. CONSTITUTION
6 Basic Principles of the Constitution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Popular Sovereignty
Limited Government
Separation of Powers
Checks & Balances
Federalism
Individual Rights
 These principles reflect the framers’ desire to
establish a national government that serves
the people, prevents the concentration &
abuse of power, and respects the rights of the
states.
Popular Sovereignty
 Popular sovereignty – government’s
authority to rule comes from the people.
 Sovereignty – power or authority.
 This principle can be found throughout the
Constitution.
 It’s expressed in the opening phrase of the
Constitution “We the people…”
 It is also found in the articles of the Constitution:
 “The United States shall guarantee to every State in
this Union a Republican Form of Government.” – Article
IV, Section 4
Limited Government
 Limited Government – A system in which
government powers are carefully spelled out
to prevent government from becoming too
powerful.
 The Constitution establishes limited
government:
 Article I Section 9 lists the powers that the national
government does not have.
 The Bill of Rights limits our government by giving
citizens certain rights.
 Click for a video
Separation of Powers
 Separation of Powers – the distribution of
political power among the branches of
government, giving each branch a particular
job.
 This idea came from what Enlightenment thinker?
 Separation of powers makes sure that no one
branch has too much power.
 The writers of the Constitution wanted a
strong national government, but it wanted to
prevent the abuse of power.
Checks and Balances
 Checks & Balances – a system in
which the powers of government
are balanced among different
branches so that each branch can
limit the power of the other
branches.
Examples of Checks:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The power of commander in chief
The power to declare a law
unconstitutional (Judicial Review)
The power to impeach federal judges
& Supreme Court Justices
The power to approve all treaties
with foreign countries
The power to veto bills
The power to declare war
The power to appoint federal judges
and Supreme Court justices
The power to impeach the President
Federalism
 FEDERAL + SYSTEM = FEDERALISM
 Federalism – a system of government in
which the powers to rule is divided among
the national, state, and local levels of
government
 In creating a federal system of
government, the Constitution also
established 3 types of powers: delegated,
reserved and concurrent.
Delegated powers
 Delegated powers – those powers granted to
the national government.
 Ex: Regulating immigration, making treaties,
declaring war
 Delegated powers may be either enumerated
or implied in the Constitution.
 Delegated powers are found in articles of the
Constitution:
 The Congress shall have Power…To regulate
Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the
several States, and with the Indian Tribes. -- Article I,
Section 8, Clause 3
Reserved Powers
 Reserved powers – are those powers kept
by the states.
 Ex: Marriage/divorce laws, driver’s licenses,
public schools
 Amendment 10 reserves for the states any
powers that are not given to the federal
government
 The powers not delegated to the United States
by the Constitution, not prohibited to it by the
States, are reserved to the States
respectively… Amendment 10
Concurrent Powers
 Concurrent powers – are those that are
shared by the federal and state
governments.
 Ex: Taxes and Law Enforcement
 The amendment process is an example of
concurrent powers.
 The Congress … shall propose Amendments to
this Constitution, or on the Application of the
Legislatures of 2/3’s of the several states… -Article 10
Independent Judiciary
 Framers’ created an independent judiciary
to protect against abuses of the system by
self-interested parties
 Article III which establishes the Supreme
Court and other federal courts, the term
limit for justices, and compensation
 Life sentence and secure salary to prevent
public pressure
Individual Rights
Anti-Federalists felt
the Constitution didn’t
protect individual
rights, thus the Bill of
Rights was added
Examples:
 1st Amendment
 Trial by Jury (III, 2)
 Treason (III, 3)
Rule of Law
 No one is above the law
 Examples
 No states can discriminate against residents of
another state (Article IV, Section 2)
 Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Section 2)