Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! The U.S. Constitution

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.”

The Seven Articles (LEJ RASR) Article I – The Legislative Branch

o Makes the Laws o Includes a Bicameral Congress with

a Senate and House of Representatives

Article II – The Executive Branch o Enforces the Laws o Includes the President and Vice

President Article III – The Judicial Branch

o Interprets the Laws o Includes the Supreme Court

Article IV – Relations of the States (Federalism)

o Explains the relationship between the states and national government

Article V – Amending the Constitution o Explains how the Constitution can be

changed Article VI – Supremacy Clause

o The Constitution is the highest law in the land

Article VII- Ratifying the Constitution o The Constitution is approved when 9

out of 13 states ratify it

Amending the Constitution An amendment is any change that is made to the Constitution. There are a total of 27 Amendments. The first 10 are called the Bill of Rights!

The Constitution provides 2 ways for proposing amendments and 2 ways for ratifying amendments:

Step 1: The amendment

is proposed by: A 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress

-Or- A national convention called by 2/3 of the 50 states.

Step 2: The amendment

is ratified by: A 3/4 vote of the 50 state legislatures

-Or- A 3/4 vote of state conventions called by each of the 50 states.

Interpreting the Constitution The framers knew that the world would change in ways they could not predict. So they wrote the “Elastic Clause” which gives Congress the power to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out its duties. This way, Congress can stretch its power with “Implied Powers”

Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! The Five Principles of the U.S. Constitution

Popular Sovereignty The idea that the power of the government lies with the people. Thomas Jefferson confirmed this in the Declaration of Independence, when he stated that a nation should be run by the “consent of the governed.” It was included in the Constitution with the phrase “We the People.” We use popular sovereignty today through our representative democracy processes of holding elections.

Limited Government and the Rule of Law

The Constitution limits the powers of the federal and state governments in order to protect the people from tyranny. Under the Constitution, the government is limited by the “rule of law.” This means that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern.

Separation of Powers

To keep any one person or group from holding too much power, the framers divided the government into three branches. This was an idea stemmed from Baron de Montesquieu. Each branch has its own tasks, as detailed in their own Articles in the Constitution

Checks and Balances

Even with separation of powers, the framers feared that one branch of government could gain control of the other two. To keep the three branches balanced in power, each branch has ways of checking, or limiting, the power of the other two. For example: Legislative – can impeach, override vetoes, confirm appointments Executive – can veto laws, appoint judges/justices Judicial – can declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional

Federalism

The framers placed limits on the national government to prevent tyranny by granting some powers to the states. In this federal system, powers are divided and shared among the national, state, and local levels of government. Delegated Powers (enumerated/expressed) belong to the federal government. Reserved powers belong to the states. Concurrent powers belong to both the state and federal governments.

Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! Amendments to the Constitution

First Amendment

1. Freedom of Religion – No one can force you to or prevent you from

practicing your religion

2. Freedom of Speech – you can express yourself without fear of being

punished by the government

3. Freedom of the Press – the government cannot censor the news/media

4. Freedom of Assembly – you can gather in groups for any reason, as long as you are

peaceful

5. Freedom to Petition – you can contact the government in any way to express your

ideas/opinions

Second

Amendment

The right to bear

arms

Third Amendment

Protection from

quartering (housing)

soldiers

Fourth Amendment

Protection from

unreasonable

searches and

seizures

Fifth Amendment

Right to due process of law,

protection from double

jeopardy, right to eminent

domain, protection from self-

incrimination

Sixth Amendment

Right to a fair a

speedy jury trial,

right to an attorney

Seventh Amendment

Right to a jury trial in

a civil case

Eighth Amendment

Protection from

excessive bail and

cruel and unusual

punishment

Ninth Amendment

The People’s Rights not

listed in the constituion are

protection

Tenth Amendment

The powers not listed in the

Constitution belong to the

states

Additional Key Amendments

13th Amendment – abolished slavery in the United States

14th Amendment – defined citizenship as anyone “born or naturalized” in the U.S., and granted all

citizens equal protection under the law

15th Amendment – states that you cannot deny anyone the right to vote on the basis of race

19th Amendment – grants women the right to vote (suffrage)

24th Amendment – made poll taxes illegal as a condition for voting

26th Amendment – lowered the minimum voting age to 18 years’ old

Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! Our Legal System

The Federal Court System

Supreme Court Highest Court in the land

Appellate Jurisdiction and some original jurisdiction

9 Justices, no juries

Appeals Courts 13 Appellate Courts

Appellate jurisdiction, meaning it hears cases from the lower courts

Panel of judges, no juries

District Courts

94 District Courts

Original jurisdiction, meaning trials are originally held here

Judges and juries

Types of Law Military Law

The law governing the armed forces. Instead of a court system, trials are held in a tribunal

Constitutional Law Laws interpreted using the Constitution, such as those concerning the branches of gov’t or your rights

Criminal Law System of law concerned with those who commit crimes

Civil Law System of law that concerns lawsuits and disagreements between parties

Landmark Supreme Court Cases Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review Plessy v. Ferguson

Upheld “Separate-but-equal” and stated that segregation was not discrimination

Brown v. Board of Education Overturned “separate-but-equal” and stated that segregation was unconstitutional

Gideon v. Wainwright Upheld the right to an attorney for those who cannot afford one

Miranda v. Arizona Upheld 5th Amendment rights and required police to read the accused their rights

In re Gault Protected juvenile rights to due process of law

Tinker v. Des Moines Upheld students’ 1st amendment right to freedom of expression

U.S. v. Nixon Affirmed that executive privilege is limited and the President is subject to rule of law

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Determined that the 1st amendment can be limited in schools

Bush v. Gore Determined that a recount of votes is unconstitutional when you can’t guarantee equality

District of Columbia v. Heller Upheld the individuals 2nd amendment right to bear arms

Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! The Three Branches of Government

Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch

Who is it?

A bicameral legislature, made up of The Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 2 members per state, and the House is based on population (435 total).

President of the United States, Vice President, and 15 Cabinet Members, each of which are the secretaries of a government department.

The Supreme Court of the United States, as well as any lower courts. The Supreme Court has 9 justices.

Who is the

leader?

Senate – Vice President, President Pro Tempore

House – Speaker of the House

Majority leader – leader of the party with the most members in Congress

Minority leader – leader of the party with fewer leaders in Congress

President of the United States, also known as the Commander in Chief

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

What powers do they have?

Approves treaties and presidential appointments, impeaches the president, regulates commerce, coins money, declares war

Makes treaties, appoints judges and cabinet members, sends troops

Judicial review (can declare a law unconstitutional)

Semester 2 CIVICS: What You Will Need to Know! Federalism

The United States has a federal system of government. This means that powers are divided and shared among the national, state, and local levels of government. Powers of the national government are known as Delegated Powers, power of the states are called Reserved Powers, and powers that are shared are called Concurrent Powers.