chapter 3: the constitutionlh-gjones.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/6/7/24671822/chapter_3... ·...

CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION

Section 1: A Blueprint for Government Section 2: An Enduring Document Section 3: Applying the Constitution 1

BLUEPRINT FOR GOVERNMENT   What are the six goals of the Constitution?

  Form a more perfect union   Establish justice   Ensure domestic tranquility   Provide for the common defense   Promote the general welfare   Secure the blessings of liberty

  What are the six principles of Government in the Constitution?   Popular Sovereignty   Limited Government   Separation of Powers   Checks and Balances   Judicial Review   Federalism

2

SECTION 1: A BLUEPRINT FOR GOVERNMENT

  What are the six goals of the Constitution? (Preamble)   Form a more perfect union

 Strengthen the relationship between states and federal government.

  Establish justice  Provide reasonable and fair laws

  Ensure domestic tranquility  Maintain peace and order

  Provide for the common defense  Defend nation against foreign enemies

  Promote the general welfare  Benefit economically and militarily from strong national

government   Secure the blessings of liberty

 Protection of liberties 3


  What are the six principles of Government in the Constitution?   Popular Sovereignty

 People establish government and are the source of its power.

  Limited Government  Government powers are restricted to protect individual

rights   Separation of Powers

 Power to govern is divided among executive, legislative, and judicial branches to prevent the concentration and abuse of power by any one branch

  Checks and Balances  Each branch of government has the authority to check, or

restrain, some powers of the other two branches 4


  Judicial Review  Judiciary has the power to strike down laws and other

government actions as invalid under the Constitution.   Federalism

 The rights of the states are protected by dividing powers between the national government and the state government

5


  Article 1: The Legislative Branch

Section 1: The Congress Section 2: The House of Representatives Section 3: The Senate Section 4: Elections and Meetings of Congress Section 5: Rules of Procedure for Congress Section 6: Privileges and Restrictions of Members of Congress Section 7: How Laws are Made Section 8: Powers Granted to Congress Section 9: Powers Denied to Congress Section 10: Powers Denied to the States

6


Article 2: The Executive Branch Section 1: Office of the President and Vice President Section 2: Powers Granted to the President Section 3: Duties of the President Section 4: Removal from Office

Article 3: The Judicial Branch Section 1: Federal Courts Section 2: Powers of the Federal Courts Section 3: The Crime of Treason

7


Article 4: Relations among the States

Section 1: Recognition by Each State of Acts of Other States Section 2: Rights of Citizens in Other States

Section 3: Treatment of New States and Territories Section 4: Guarantees of the States

Article 5: Amending the Constitution

Article 6: Debts, Federal Supremacy, Oaths of Office Section 1: Prior Debts to the United States

Section 2: The Supreme Law of the Land

Section 3: Oaths of Office

Article 7: Ratification of the Constitution 8


Amendments to the Constitution 1. Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition (1791)

2. Right to Keep Weapons (1791) 3. Protection against Quartering Soldiers (1791) 4. Freedom from Unreasonable Search and Seizure (1791) 5. Rights of Persons Accused of a Crime (1791) 6. Right to a Jury Trial in a Criminal Case (1791) 7. Right to a Jury Trial in Civil Cases (1791) 8. Protection from Unfair Fines and Punishment (1791) 9. Other Rights of the People (1791) 10. Powers of the States and the People (1791)

9


11. Limiting Law Cases against States (1798) 12. Election of the President and Vice President (1804) 13. Slavery Outlawed (1865) Section 1: Abolition of Slavery Section 2: Enforcement 14. Rights of Citizens (1868) Section 1: Citizenship Section 2: Representation in Congress Section 3: Penalties for Confederate Leaders Section 4: Responsibility of Public Debt Section 5: Enforcement

10


15. Voting Rights (1870) Section 1: Black Suffrage Section 2: Enforcement 16. Income Tax (1913) 17. Direct Election of Senators (1913) Section 1: Method of Election Section 2: Vacancies Section 3: Those Elected Under Previous Rules 18. Prohibition of Alcoholic Drinks (1919) Section 1: Prohibition Section 2: Enforcement Section 3: Time Limit on Ratification

11


19. Women’s Right to Vote (1920)

Section 1: Women can Vote Section 2: Enforcement

20. Terms of Office (1933) Section 1: Start Terms of Office

Section 2: Meeting Time of Congress

Section 3: Providing for a Successor of the President-Elect Section 4: Election Decided by Congress

Section 5: Effective Date Section 6: Time Limit on Ratification

21. Repeal of Prohibition (1933)

Section 1: Prohibition Ends Section 2: Protection of the State and Local Prohibition

Laws Section 3: Time Limit on Ratification

12


22. President Limited to Two Terms (1951) Section 1: Limit on Number of Terms Section 2: Time Limited on Ratification 23. Presidential Elections for the District of Columbia (1961) Section 1: Presidential Electors in the District of

Columbia Section 2: Enforcement 24. Poll Tax Ended (1964) Section 1: Poll Taxes Not Allowed in Federal

Elections Section 2: Enforcement

13


25. Presidential Succession (1967) Section 1: Filling the Vacant Office of President Section 2: Filling the Vacant Office of Vice President Section 3: Disability of the President Section 4: When Congress Designates an Acting

President 26. Vote for Eighteen-Year-Olds (1971) Section 1: Voting Age Section 2: Enforcement 27. Limits on Salary Changes (1992)

14

SECTION 2: AN ENDURING DOCUMENT

Jefferson and Madison on Amending the Constitution Jefferson’s views Jefferson felt Constitution should not be changed on a whim but

could be changed as society and circumstances changed• Believed in each generation as “a distinct nation,” with the right to govern itself but not to bind succeeding generations•   Jefferson made his arguments in exchange of letters with

fellow Virginian James Madison

Madison’s views• Madison felt laws and constitutions grow in authority and acceptance the longer they go unchanged• Worried that changing Constitution too often could split the country into factions• Feared sectional rivalry would leave the nation prey to foreign powers and influence• Madison feared periods of chaos might occur between periods of revision

15


•  A Document for All Time

•  Original Constitution a product of its time –  Reflects wisdom and biases of the Framers; relatively few changes

in over 220 years

–  Survived the Civil War, presidential assassinations, and economic crises to become world’s oldest written constitution

•  Original document not perfect

–  Perpetuated injustices with compromises permitting slavery and the slave trade

–  States given power to set qualifications for voting; women, nonwhites, and poor people denied right to vote

–  Decisions reflected societal attitudes of the times

•  Ability to incorporate changing ideas of freedom and liberty keeps document relevant to each new generation since 1789

16


•  The Amendment Process

•  Gives Americans the power to change the Constitution

•  Is difficult in order to prevent momentary passions and prejudices of the majority from violating the rights of the rest of the citizens

•  Might threaten the democratic structure of the government

•  Article V

•  Describes process for amending the Constitution

•  States that amendments must first be proposed, then ratified, or approved

•  Provides two ways of proposing and two ways of ratifying

•  Different Paths

•  Two-step process required ratification by the states and so restricted power of Congress to change the Constitution

•  Ensured that any change would reflect national will

•  Supported principle of popular sovereignty 17


  Supermajority Required   Each step in process requires supermajority- a majority that is

larger than a simple majority, 3/4th 2/3rd 3/5th this would weed out frivolous amendments

  Proposing an Amendment   By Congress with the approval of at least two-thirds of the

House and two-thirds of the Senate   By delegates at a national convention that is called by Congress

at the request of at least two-thirds of the state legislatures.   Facts

  All of the amendments to the constitution have been proposed by Congress

  Required number of states for a national convention has been nearly reached twice

  Convention supporters have never persuaded the last few needed states

18


Issues of convention

•  Wording of Article V does not specify if convention is limited to proposing only the amendment it was called to consider

•  Nonspecific wording could allow rest of Constitution to be opened for reconsideration and change

•  Problem—convention could propose amendment to repeal First or Fourteenth Amendments that provide foundation for many rights enjoyed today

•  Method of national convention has remained unused

Ratifying an Amendment

•  Congress sends proposed amendment to 50 states for ratification; states can ratify in two ways—Congress determines which way is to be used

•  To be voted on by state legislatures; at least three-fourths of state legislatures must approve an amendment

•  Citizens elect delegates to conventions called in each state specifically to consider the amendment; passage requires approval by conventions in at least three-fourths of the states. 19


  Rise and Fall of Prohibition   Example

•  Passage and repeal of amendment on prohibition good example of ratification methods

•  Prohibition—ban on production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages

  Reformers

•  1800s and early 1900s: WCTU and Prohibition Party campaigned to outlaw alcoholic beverages

  Argued drinking alcohol led to idleness, violence, and increase in crime

  Eighteenth Amendment

•  1917: Responding to public demand, Congress proposed amendment

•  1919: Enough state legislatures had ratified the proposal to make it the Eighteenth Amendment; but drinking alcohol not banned

20


  Prohibition unpopular

•  Lucrative trade in illegal alcohol; led to organized crime, political corruption, and violence

•  Groups of citizens led movement for reform; used many of same arguments

  Twenty-first Amendment

•  Congress responded to new reform movement

•  Proposed to repeal prohibition and to give states power to regulate transportation and distribution of alcoholic beverages

•  To repeal a law—to cancel or revoke it by a legislative act

•  Only time method of ratification by state conventions of delegates elected specifically to vote on the issue used

•  36 states ratified within the year; Amendment XVIII was repealed by Amendment XXI

21


  The Fate of Amendments

•  Changing the Constitution difficult

•  More than 10,000 attempts have been suggested or proposed

•  Only 33 amendments have been passed by Congress and sent to states for ratification

•  27 amendments have been adopted

•  6 have been rejected

22

SECTION 3: APPLYING THE CONSTITUTION

  The Federal Government Applies the Constitution •  Framers created framework to be followed and filled in by citizens

then and in later generations; put into action, the Constitution has been extended in reach and meaning

Legislative Action

•  Section 1, Article III created the Supreme Court; Congress authorized to create “such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish”

•  With Judiciary Act of 1789 created system of lower-level federal courts

•  Congress has expanded the judicial branch as needed

23


Creating and Defining

•  The executive branch is defined by the Constitution

•  Two passing references made to executive departments

•  Congressional legislation brought today’s department and agencies into being

•  Congress pushes into areas where Constitution is silent

Uncertain ground

•  New technologies—personal computers, cell phones

•  Threatening international circumstances—possible attacks by terrorists

•  Factors push Congress to test constitutional boundaries

•  Supreme Court can strike down a new law; the Constitution remains unchanged

•  Court upholds a new law; the application of the Constitution changes slightly 24


Executive Implementation

•  Presidents make executive agreements—arrangements or compacts with foreign leaders or foreign governments

•  Power not found in Constitution text; derived from acknowledged constitutional powers

•  Executive agreements important to conducting foreign policy; can bypass long, formal treaty process

•  Executive agreement used in 1990; created international coalition that defeated the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

Executive agreement has the force of a treaty; does not require Senate ratification

Congress has authorized majority in advance or has approved them after signing; most require subsequent congressional action 25


•  Actions of the executive department and agencies change way the Constitution applied or interpreted

•  Agencies must define their operations; carry out programs Congress has assigned to them

•  Executive branch agencies usually have rule-making power; rules have force of law; examples are medicine we take and tap water

•  Code of Federal Regulations, collection of all of the rules made by executive agencies; about 135,000 pages long

26

SECTION 3: APPLYING THE CONSTITUTION Judicial Interpretation

•  Modern-day cases a challenge

•  “Unreasonable searches and seizures” in an era of airport screening devices, cell phones, and wireless Internet access

•  Courts must interpret the Fourth Amendment in light of changing conditions; judges to apply the Constitution’s prohibitions to new technologies.

  Setting legal standards for law-enforcement to follow when intercepting private conversations, monitoring e-mail, and using other “searching” methods

How to Interpret

•  “Strict” versus “loose” construction of the Constitution

•  Strict interpretation of the Constitution means giving the words in the document only their literal meaning

•  Loose construction means following the words plus any reasonable inferences that can be drawn from them

•  In debates over national bank Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist; Alexander Hamilton was a loose constructionist

27

SECTION 3: APPLYING THE CONSTITUTION   Political Parties, Customs, and Traditions   Political parties and entrenched customs and traditions affect how

the Constitution is interpreted, applied, and carried out. Political Parties

•  Political party—an organized group that seeks to win elections in order to influence the activities of government

•  Parties help determine the choice of candidates, policies, and programs presented to the voters

•  Parties also help shape the judicial branch; deeply affect how government operates

28


Legacy of Political Movements

•  Populists supported bank regulation; government regulation of railroads; unlimited coinage of silver; direct election of senators

•  Progressives took same causes as Populists; helped the urban poor

•  Federal government regulated banks, food and drug safety, railroads, and business monopolies Now have PACs, online political commentators, and bloggers

Customs and Traditions

•  Strongly influence how American government behaves

•  Constitution authorizes the president to “require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments”

•  Washington relied on language in Article II to create a cabinet—a group of advisers consisting of the heads of the executive departments; in time tradition of cabinet and cabinet meetings born 29


•  Some traditions have become law; no president served more than two terms in office until Roosevelt broke with tradition with third and fourth terms as president in the 1940s

•  Many Americans concerned; Congress passed the Twenty-second Amendment

•  Presidents limited to two terms, formalizing the custom that began with Washington

30


  Criticisms of the Constitution Imperfections

•  Brevity, insight, and flexibility commands respect

•  Some agree with Jefferson’s prediction that “the imperfections of a written Constitution will become apparent”

Questions about Representation

•  Constitution falls short of truly representative democracy

•  Most obvious in Senate; states with small populations have far more relative influence than residents of states with large populations

A System That Creates Gridlock

•  Inability to govern effectively due to separation of powers—gridlock

•  Can bring government to a standstill; 1995 budget dispute shut down the federal government for 27 days

31


The Electoral College

•  Electoral college—the body of 538 people elected from the 50 states and the District of Columbia

•  Critics point to the fact that the winner of the popular vote may not win the presidency

32


  Winner-Take-All Elections •  In elections for U.S. Congress, the candidate who receives the most votes is

elected to the House or Senate; candidate who comes in second or third goes home—even if he or she receives a large number of votes

•  This type of election known as the winner-take-all system

•  Many European parliaments use proportional representation

•  Voters choose from party lists of candidates; seats are given to each party according to the percentage of the total votes they win

•  More-popular parties will have a larger number of seats, but less-popular parties will not be entirely shut out of the parliament

•  Supporters of proportional representation say it allows a larger variety of viewpoints to gain representation in the legislature

•  Defenders of the U.S. system respond that proportional representation leads to fractured legislatures with many small parties, while the American process allows the party with the most support to govern

33

chapter 3: the constitutionlh-gjones.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/6/7/24671822/chapter_3... ·...

Documents