Transcript Chapter 3/Section 1

Chapter 3
The U.S. Constitution
Chapter 3
Section 1
Basic Principles
Pages 47-50
Objectives
• List and define the five basic principles on
which the U.S. Constitution is based.
• Discuss and give examples of how the
Constitution ensures the people’s authority
over government.
• Provide examples of how the Constitution
provides a system of limited government.
• Describe how the Constitution protects the
rights of states.
Motivation
• Preamble of the Constitution.
• Benjamin Franklin’s address to the
Constitutional Convention on June 28, 1787.
Republicanism
• This is the belief that citizens of a state have
political authority, bound to a social contract
to obey laws, and their rights are guaranteed
by the constitution.
The Five Basic Principles on which the
Constitution is based
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1. popular sovereignty
2. limited government
3. separation of powers
4. checks and balances
5. federalism
Popular Sovereignty
• This means that government authority comes
from the people. It can be found throughout
the U.S. Constitution.
• Example: the Preamble- “We the People of the
United States…do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
• Set election rules, heredity [monarch]
• Republic which citizens elect others to
represent them.
Limited Government
• The Constitution limits government by
establishing guiding principles.
• Example: not granting nobility titles
Separation of Powers
• Prevent the concentration and abuse of
power.
• In the Constitution allowed for the division of
responsibilities among the three branches.
• The founding fathers listed the responsibilities
and powers of the three branches in the first
three articles of the Constitution.
Checks and Balances
• Prevents the concentration and abuse of power
by giving each branch of government the
authority to check or restrain.
• Executive and Legislative Checks: The branches
need to consider the opinions, ideas and actions
of the other branches.
• Veto –reject, by the president on legislation. This
promotes cooperation between the executive
and legislative branch.
• The Senate can reject presidential appointments
for government jobs.
• Judicial Review: is the power of the court system
to decide if laws and other government actions
are valid under the U.S. Constitution.
• Unconstitutional : law or government action that
is found to violate any part of the Constitution.
• Judicial review is not specifically discussed in the
Constitution. This was established in the
Supreme Court case of Marbury vs. Madison in
1803.
Marbury v. Madison
• Review the case and answer the study guide
questions.
Federalism
• The Constitution protects the rights of the
states by establishing a federal system of
government.
• The Constitution specifically prohibits states
from exercising certain powers that belong to
the national government, such as negotiating
treaties, coining money, or engaging in war,
unless the state is facing imminent danger or
invasion.
Activity
• I will divide you into groups of four.
• I will assign each group one of the following
topics:
• 1. principles of the U.S. Constitution
• 2. ways that the Constitution ensures the
people’s authority over government
• 3. ways the Constitution provides checks and
balances
• 4. ways the Constitution protects states’ rights
• Each group will have the responsibility of
creating a study guide for your assigned topic.
• Once your group is done with your study
guide, copies will be made and distributed to
the entire class.
• Then, as a class, we will review the study
guides to make sure that everyone
understands the topics included in the guides.