Download We the People of the United States…

We the People…
Six constitutional principles
No. 1: Popular Sovereignty
1.
Popular Sovereignty: The People are the only source for any and all
governmental power, and the Government can only govern with the consent
of the People.
Textual evidence: “We the People of the United States…”
Cite: Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
No. 2: Limited Government
2.
Limited Government: The government can only do those things that the
people have given it the Power to do.
a.k.a. The Rule of Law, meaning that government is SUBJECT to the law and not
above the law.
Textual evidence: “…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America”.
Cite: Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
No. 3: Separation of Powers

3. Separation of Powers: Basic powers are held by three branches of government
Textual evidence: “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be VESTED in a
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of
Representatives.
Cite: Article I, Section 1 U.S. Constitution
Textual evidence: “The executive Power shall be VESTED in a President of the
United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four years…”
Cite: Article II, Section 1 U.S. Constitution
Textual evidence: “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be VESTED in one
supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.”
Cite: Article III, Section 1 U.S. Constitution
No. 4: Checks and Balances

The three branches of government are each provided its own field of
authority: Executive, Legislative, Judicial…
BUT the branches are NOT completely independent of one another. Instead,
there is a complex system of actions that one branch can take to “check” and
“balance” the authority of another branch. In this way, the chance of too much
power accumulating in any one branch is eliminated.
Refer to the chart of how power flows between the White House (Executive),
the U.S. Capital Building (Legislative), and the U.S. Supreme Court Building
(Judicial) (p. 73). None of the branches can take any action that does not
require some kind of approval by one of the others.
Textual evidence of Checks and Balances

Article II, Section 2 as to Executive power: “He shall have Power, by and with
the advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court”.

Article I, Section 7 as to Legislative power: “Every Bill which shall have
passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it becomes
law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approves, he
shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in
which it shall have originated…If after such Reconsideration two thirds of the
house shall agree to pass the Bill…it shall likewise be reconsidered [by the
other House] and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a
Law.”
Examples of Checks and Balances at work:
The Executive branch (President) has the authority to negotiate treaties and
agreements with foreign nations but the Legislative branch (Congress) has to
approve: www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/politics/iran-nuclear-deal-votes-sustainveto
The Executive branch (President) has the authority to appoint federal judges,
including those to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Legislative branch (Congress)
has to approve/confirm those appointments:
www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/06/sonia.sotomayor/
No. 5: Judicial Review
There is no specific textual evidence in the U.S. Constitution of the power of the
Judiciary to review the actions of another branch of government specifically to
determine whether that action was or was not constitutional.
So how does this power arise?
This is where the background of Constitution is so helpful because it helps to
show what the Framers of the Constitution intended. For example, Alexander
Hamilton in the Federalist No. 78 explained that “the interpretation of the laws
is the proper and peculiar province of the courts. A constitution is, in fact, and
must be regarded by the judges as a fundamental law. It therefore belongs to
them to ascertain its meaning, as well as the meaning of any particular act
proceeding from the legislative body”
That is precisely what happened in the Marbury v. Madison, the first case to
address such a situation, and which firmly established the power of judicial
review: http://www.teachertube.com/video/establishing-judicial-review-33324
No. 6: Federalism
The Framers of the Constitution had to create a way to provide power to a
central government while still preserving the existing States and the concept of
local self-government.
Textual evidence: “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against
Invasion”
Cite: Article IV, Section 4 U.S. Constitution
The Three Types of National Powers
Established by the Constitution:
The National Government has EXPRESSED powers such as the ability to tax, coin
money, raise an army and navy, and to regulate trade between the states (trade
between the state is called interstate commerce).
The National Government has IMPLIED powers which are not specifically listed
but which are found in what is called the “Necessary and Proper Clause” that
appears in the U.S. Constitution:
Article I, Section 8: To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution…
The National Government has INHERENT powers which a government has simply
because it is a government.
The Powers of the States under the
Constitution
The United States Constitution reserves power to the states under the
Amendments.
The states also shares some powers with the national government such as the
ability to collect taxes, establish courts, and set environmental and health
standards . These are called CONCURRENT POWERS..
The Obligations of the National and State
Governments under the Constitution
The Constitution requires that the national government provide a republican
form of government to the states, protect the states from invasion and domestic
violence (civil war), and that the national government will respect the states’
boundaries.
The Constitution requires that the state governments give “full faith and credit
to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State”. This
is called the Full Faith and Credit Clause (Article IV, Section 1). (for example,
states must extradite criminals).
The Constitution requires that the state governments shall not draw
unreasonable distinctions between its own residents and those of other states.
This is called the Privileges and Immunities Clause (Article IV, Section 1).
The Constitution establishes that it is to be abided to by all states: Supremacy
Clause, Article VI, Section 2: This Constitution…shall be the supreme Law of
the Land; and Judges in every State shall be bound thereby…”
The “living” Constitution
Included within the Constitution were rules for amending it to accommodate
changes over time. There is a process to be followed for FORMAL AMENDMENT.
The Constitution is also informally
amended by executive action and
by Supreme Court decisions
(remember the Supreme Court is
responsible for interpreting the
meaning of the Constitution
when conflicts arise).
CONGRESS PROPOSES
AN AMENDMENT THAT
PASSES BY A 2/3 VOTE
IN BOTH HOUSES
A NATIONAL CONVENTION
(CALLED BY CONGRESS AT
THE REQUEST OF 2/3 OF
THE STATES) PROPOSES AN
AMENDMENT
Ratified by ¾ of
the State
Legislatures
Ratified by ¾ of
State Legislatures
Ratified by
conventions in ¾
of the States
Ratified by
conventions in ¾
of the States
Other Key Clauses in the Amendments to
the Constitution
Investigate the following by referring to p. C16 of the textbook and recording
your answers to the following.
Establishment Clause:
Answer: 1st Amendment; “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion”
Free Exercise Clause:
Answer: 1st Amendment; “[Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion], or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”
Other Key Clauses in the Amendments to
the Constitution
Investigate the following by referring to p. C16 of the textbook and recording
your answers to the following
Due Process Clause:
Answer: 5th Amendment; “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury…nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a
witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due
process of law…”
Other Key Clauses in the Amendments to
the Constitution
Investigate the following by referring to p. C16 of the textbook and recording
your answers to the following.
Equal Protection Clause:
Answer: 14th Amendment; “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall
any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws”
Discussion questions
Refer to the Political Cartoons on p. 70 of
your textbook and answer the following:
Popular Sovereignty
Meaning: The people are the only source of the power.
How do people in the United States influence government?
Through popularly elected leaders.
Limited Government
Meaning: No government is all powerful.
What is another way to describe the idea of limited
government?
Rule of Law or Constitutionalism
Checks and Balances
Meaning:
Each branch is subject to constitutional restraints by the
other branches.
Give one example of how the system of checks and
balances works.
The President can’t make laws, can only approve laws
made by Congress; Congress can veto President; S. Ct
interprets laws, Pres. Appoints Judges but Congress has to
approve.
Judicial Review
Meaning: The S. Ct. has the authority to decide whether
a gov’t’s actions are constitutional.
Name the case which first established this concept.
Marbury v. Madison
Separation of Powers
Meaning: The government is divided into legislative,
executive and judicial
Which branch decides what the laws mean? The judicial
branch decides what the laws mean.
Federalism
Meaning: Powers are split between nation and state
What problem did federalism solve when the Constitution
was being written? Allowed for an effective nat’l gov’t. but
preserved power of states to govern themselves.