The Constitution of the United States of AmericaBy: Spencer CastleETE 100 – 01September 25, 2009

The Preamble

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

An Overview• The Constitution is the

law by which the American people live by.

• It is a document that has instilled democracy on our nation for over 200 years.

• It is split up into three main sections:▫ The Preamble▫ The Articles▫ The Amendments

Who Wrote It?

• The Constitution was drafted and ratified by leaders of the original 13 colonies of America.

• If any one person was to be given credit for the Constitution, it would be James Madison of Virginia. He was considered the “Father of the Constitution”, and later became the 4th President of the United States of America.

Constitutional Articles• Article One: Legislative Po

wer

• Article Two: Executive Power

• Article Three: Judicial Power

• Article Four: States’ Power

• Article Five: Amendments

• Article Six: Federal Power

• Article Seven: Ratification

• The Constitutional Articles are seven articles that explain several things, including checks and balances.

• The seventh article explained how the constitution could be ratified, so it hasn’t done much since the 1700’s.

• The checks and balances are a summary of what articles one, two, and three say.

Constitutional Amendments• The Amendments of the

Constitution are articles that make a change to previous amendments.

• They can also be used to put anything important into law.

• Article Five of the Constitution explains in detail how and why amendments can be added.

• Amendments 1 – 10 are more commonly known as the Bill of Rights.

• Amendments 11 – 27 are amendments that have been added since the ratification of the Constitution.

• Amendment 11 was ratified in 1795, while Amendment 27 was ratified as recently as 1992.

The Bill of Rights• Amendment 1: Gives people

the right to various freedoms.

• Amendment 2: The right to bear arms.

• Amendment 3: No soldier quartering in times of peace.

• Amendment 4: Rules about warrants and search/seizures.

• Amendment 5: Due process, indictments, double jeopardy, and other laws.

• Amendment 6: The right to a fair and speedy trial.

• Amendment 7: Right to a trial by jury in civil cases.

• Amendment 8: No excessive bail or cruel/ unusual punishment.

• Amendment 9: Unremunerated rights.

• Amendment 10: Limits the power of the federal government.

The Articles of Confederation• The “Articles of

Confederation” is the document that America followed after before the Constitution.

• Unlike the Constitution, the Articles gave most of the power to the states instead of the federal government.

• Because of this, the Articles gave America little to no money for a national defense system.

State vs. Federal Power• The Federal government

has more power than the state governments do.

• However, there are some matters that states have power over that the federal government can’t overrule (except in the case of a new amendment).

• Some of these issues include:▫ Gay Marriage▫ Government Salaries▫ Highway Construction

How It Affects People Today• Many countries

throughout the world have drafted their own Constitutions.▫ Australia▫ Austria▫ Belgium▫ Brazil▫ Canada▫ Egypt▫ Italy▫ Japan▫ Russia▫ And many more.

• America still has the Constitution as their guide to government.

• It’s amazing that a country in the 1700’s could come up with a form of government that still works today.

• The fact that America has used the constitution for over two centuries is a credit to the writers.

Reference Slide

•Library of Congress. “Creating the United States”.<http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/creatingtheus/Pages/default.aspx>.

•Library of Congress. “Lesson Plan”. <http://myloc.gov/Education/LessonPlans/Pages/lessonplans/constitution/index.aspx>.

•Wikipedia. “United States Constitution”. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution>.