Download United States Constitution

United States Constitution
The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was to revise the
_______________ of ______________________________. It was actually
totally rewritten drawing on the models of the Greeks, Iroquois, Romans, British
and from the writers’ experiences as colonists.
Articles of Confederation
• Central Government is (weak strong)
• No President to execute laws (true false)
• Congress (could could not) regulate trade or collect taxes.
Constitution
• Central Government is (weak strong)
• The government is organized with a President and _______ house
legislature
• Right of individual states are protected.
• Contains a __________________________ to protect citizens’ rights.
The Great Compromise
This plan called for a ________ house legislature where the
________________ of _______________________ had representation
based on population. This favored _________________ states. A second
house, called the Senate, would have _______
Representatives from each state (Senators). There would be _____ branches of
government to share the responsibility of governing.
3/5 Compromise
What to do about slaves? How do they count in the population? The 3/5
Compromise states that slaves would count as __________ of a person for the
purpose of __________________ and representation. In other words, 500
slaves would count as 300 people.
Slave Trade
Some Americans wanted to stop the slave trade from Africa. It was decided at
the Constitutional Convention that ____________________ would be done to
the slave trade for 20 years.
Branches of Government Fact Chart
Senate
House of
Representatives
Term of Office
(in years)
Total # in the
country
Branch of Gov’t
President
2
435
Job of Branch
Judicial Branch
1.) The job of the Judicial Branch is to __________ the laws.
2.) The highest court in the U.S. is the _____________________________.
3.) The head of the Supreme Court is called the _______________________.
4.) There are ______ justices in the Supreme Court.
5.) Supreme Court justices serve for how long? ___________________
Matching: Principles of the Constitution
_____ Popular Sovereignty
A. Power is divided between the 3 branches.
_____ Federalism
B. The people decide through voting
_____ Judicial Review
C. Each branch “checks” the others to make sure
_____ Separation of Powers
_____ Checks and Balances
_____ Limited Government
no branch has too much power.
D. Declaring a law constitutional or unconstitutional
E. Dividing power between the federal and state
government.
F. The government can only do what the people give
it power to do.
Checks and Balances: How does it work?
The Executive Branch checks the
Judicial Branch by:
The Executive Branch checks the
Legislative Branch by:
The Judicial Branch checks the
Legislative Branch by:
The Judicial Branch checks the
Executive Branch by:
The Legislative Branch checks the
Judicial Branch by:
The Legislative Branch checks the
Executive Branch by:
Amendments
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They are additions to the Constitution
There are 27 of them (only 27 in 230 years!)
1– 10 are called the _____________________________
Amendments allow the Constitution to change over time.
“I plead the 5th” The 5th amendment says that you can’t be forced to be a
witness against yourself.
13th Amendment _____________________________
14th Amendment _____________________________
15th Amendment _____________________________
18th Amendment _____________________________
19th Amendment _____________________________
21st Amendment _____________________________
Ratification of the Constitution
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Federalists
For the Constitution
Wanted a strong CENTRAL gov’t
James Madison, Alexander
Hamilton
Federalist Papers – Papers that
explained why the Constitution
was important
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Antifederalists
Against the Constitution
Patrick Henry
Wanted strong STATE
governments
State’s Rights are important
A strong central gov’t might get
too strong
Wanted a Bill of Rights