The Constitution of the

United States of America

What is the importance of the Constitution?

How does it affect your everyday life?

Today we will learn….• What is a Constitution• Three Branches of Government

– Roles and Responsibilities– Checks and Balances

• Role of the Federal Government• Rights of the States• Rights Granted to the People • The Ways in Which all of These Interact

to Affect Your Life

Write your definition of a constitution…

What is a Constitution?Webster’s defines a constitution as:

the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it

For the purpose of this unit:A constitution is a set of customs, traditions, rules, and laws that sets forth the basic way a government is organized and operated. Most constitutions are in writing, some are partly written and partly unwritten, and some are not written at all.

Purposes of the Constitution

• Met in Philadelphia in 1787 to ratify the Articles of Confederation

• Establish Legitimacy• Create appropriate structures• Allow for change

PreambleWe 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

•Must be 30 years of age

•Must be a citizen for at least 9 years

•Must be a resident of the State of which they choose to represent

•Serve a six year term

•Must be 25 years of age

•Must be a citizen for at least 7 year

•Must be resident of the State of which they choose to represent

•Serve a two year term

Qualifications to be in Congress

House Representation

• The House takes the 435 representatives and divided them proportionally, according to the population taken from the census taken every 10 years, for the entire House of Representatives with each state having at least one representative

How House Representation Works

If your school had 23 representatives you would have to split representation

proportionally between all the grades. If your school had 2,300 students with 700

freshmen, 600 sophomores, 500 juniors, and 500 seniors representation would be split as 7 for the freshmen, 6 for the sophomores, and 5 for both the junior and senior class.

The house of representatives works in a similar way…

• Lay and Collect Taxes, Duties, and provide for the General Welfare

• Coin Money• Establish and Maintain the Post Office• Declare War• Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities

and current Coin of the United States• Begin and Prosecute Impeachment of the

President

Responsibilities of Congress

How does a Bill Become A Law

•It is written by a committee and then presented to Congress.

•Then each house votes on it. Usually making amendments to it that they see fit, some not always relating to the bill.

•Once it gets past the House and the Senate it is then sent to the President. The President can either sign the bill and make it law or veto it.

•If it is Vetoed it can either be ignored, revised by Congress and sent through the whole process again, or the Presidents veto can be overridden by a 2/3 majority vote.

Article II: The Executive BranchPresident and V.P.

• Must be a natural born citizen

• Must be at least 35 year old

• Must have lived in the United States for 14 years

Is it fair to let only people who were born in the U.S. hold the position of President?

Powers of the President• Commander-in-Chief of the Armed

Services• Can have a cabinet of advisors that

report directly to him/her• Can grant Reprieves, delays on

punishments, and Pardons, forgiveness of crimes, in all cases except impeachment

• Has the power to sign treaties, with 2/3 of the Senate’s approval

• Has the power to appoint ambassadors to foreign countries and Supreme Court Justices, with the approval of the Senate

How the Electoral College works

• The President and Vice-President are listed on the same ballot.

• Each State chooses electors for the college from each Political Party.

• Each state then has their citizens vote • Whichever candidate gets the majority vote for

that state gets to have their Party’s electors Vote, most of whom vote along party lines.

Originally this system was designed because the

Founders didn’t have faith in the common man because

most were uneducated. Do you think, since people are now

more educated than they were at the time of the founding, that the electoral college

system should stay in place or should the President be

elected by popular (majority) vote of the citizens?

While the Legislature makes the LawsAnd the Executive Branch upholds

those LawsThe Judicial Branch has a much

harder job…They must interpret the Law and overturn those laws and executive

actions it deems unlawful or unconstitutional

Article III: Supreme Court

Out of the Three Branches of the FederalGovernment which ONE is most Powerful?

All of the Three Branches are kept equal by a system called

CHECKS AND BALANCES!!!!!

What are Checks and Balances?

Bill of Rights

• freedom of speech • freedom of religion• freedom of assembly• freedom of press • right to bear arms • no quartering of

troops

• no unlawful search and seizure

• right to trial by jury • right to an attorney • no cruel and unusual

punishment• the right to speedy

trial

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.