Transcript The US Constitution

The U.S. Constitution
Civics
Mr. Growdon
Contents
What is the Constitution?
 Background and origin
 Organization and components
 Follow-up Questions
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What is the Constitution?
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Supreme Law of the US
Basic source of legal
authority
Organizes the
government into 3
branches
Defines roles
Guarantees rights
Oath of the Office of the President
“I do solemnly swear
that I will faithfully
execute the Office of
President of the United
States, and will to the
best of my ability,
preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution
of the United States.”
Article 2, Section 1, Clause 8
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The US Constitution
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Signed by 39 men
(Delegates)
representing 12 of the
13 states (not R.I.)
Is the oldest written
Constitution in use in
the world today
Preserved in the
National Archives in
Washington, DC
Origin of the Constitution
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Replaced the Articles of
Confederation
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Completed at the
Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia
Authored by many
Delegates to the Convention
Adopted on Sept. 17, 1787 -
“Constitution Day”
James Madison
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Ratified in 1788
Ratification
Ratification of the Constitution
Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
State
December 7, 1787 Delaware
December 11, 1787 Pennsylvania
December 18, 1787 New Jersey
January 2, 1788
Georgia
January 9, 1788
Connecticut
February 6, 1788 Massachusetts
April 26, 1788
Maryland
May 23, 1788
South Carolina
June 21, 1788
New Hampshire
June 25, 1788
Virginia
July 26, 1788
New York
November 21, 1789 North Carolina
May 29, 1790
Rhode Island
Votes
Yes
30
46
38
26
128
187
63
149
57
89
30
194
34
No
0
23
0
0
40
168
11
73
47
79
27
77
32
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Required 9 of
13 states
When was it
ratified?
By which
state?
How many
states
ultimately
ratified it?
Parts of the Constitution
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Organization of the Constitution:
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Preamble (Statement of purpose)
7 Articles (Body)
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Within Articles are Sections and Clauses
27 Amendments (additions and changes)
First 10 Amendments = “Bill of Rights”
 Bill of Rights were ratified in 1791; 27th
Amendment was ratified in 1992
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Parts of the Constitution
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Articles 1 – 3: Balance of power
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1. Legislative (Congress)
2. Executive (Presidency)
3. Judicial (Courts)
Parts of the Constitution
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Article 4: States’ Powers and Limits
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Article 5: Amendments
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Process for Amending the Constitution
Article 6: Federal Power
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Discusses relationship between state and
federal government
Establishes the Constitution and federal laws
as the “supreme law of the land”
Article 7: Ratification
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Acceptance of the Constitution
Questions???
Q: What preceded the Constitution?
A: The Articles of Confederation
Questions???
Q: What was the problem with the
Articles of Confederation? Why was
the Constitution needed?
A: Under the Articles of
Confederation the U.S. was a weak
grouping of states with no
President or federal legislature
Questions???
Q: What does the Oath of the Presidency
say regarding the Constitution?
A: “I do solemnly swear that I
will…preserve, protect and defend the
Constitution of the United States.”
Questions???
Q: What was required to ratify the
Constitution? When was it ratified?
A: Required 9 states to ratify.
Was ratified on June 21, 1788
(by New Hampshire)
Questions???
Q: How many people signed the
Constitution? Can you name any?
A: Signed by 39 Delegates
George Washington, Ben Franklin,
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, etc.
Questions???
Q: Where is the Constitution today?
A: National Archives
in Washington, DC
Questions???
Q: What are the 3 basic components of
the Constitution?
A: Preamble
Articles
Amendments
Questions???
Q: How many Articles are there?
What are the subsections called?
A: 7 Articles total
Broken into Sections and Clauses
Questions???
Q: What does each of the first 3 Articles
of the Constitution define (in order)?
A: Article 1 = Legislature
Article 2 = Executive Branch
Article 3 = Judiciary
Questions???
Q: In which Article and Section is the
Oath of the Office of the Presidency
spelled out?
A: Article 2, Section 1
Questions???
Q: How many Amendments are there?
When was the last Amendment ratified
A: 27 Amendments total
The 27th Amendment was submitted
in 1789 and ratified in 1992
Questions???
Q: What are the first 10 Amendments
to the Constitution called?
Can you identify any of them?
A: First 10 Amendments =
“The Bill of Rights”
Questions???
Q: What are the exact words of the
Preamble?
A: “We the people….”
Questions???
Q: What would the U.S. be like if we
didn’t have the Constitution?
A: ???????