Constitution 101 Principles and Other Fundamental Ideas
Seven Principles and More - Popular Sovereignty - Limited Government - Separation of Powers - Checks and Balance - Judicial Review - Federalism - Layers of Democracy - Republicanism (Rep. Gov t) - Individual RIghts - The Power Problem - Amending the Const.
Popular Sovereignty Popular sovereignty is the principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives, who are the source of all political power. EXAMPLES Presidential Election every 4 years Congresspersons Elected every 2 years Senators Elected every 6 years Direct Democracy at the State Levelinitiative, referendum, recall We the People of the United States
Limited Government Government is empowered by law from a starting point of having no power, or where governmental power is restricted by law, usually in a written constitution. OR...government has only the powers that the Constitution gives to it. The Constitution lays these out both clearly and ambiguously CLEAR- are called the Enumerated/Expressed/Delegated Powers Article 1 Section 8 UNCLEAR- Reserved Powers, Concurrent Powers, Implied Powers, and the Elastic Clause aka the Necessary and Proper Clause For clarity let s examine the Powers of Gov t handout.
Limited Government Review Without looking at your notes or handouts define the following terms; Expressed Powers, Reserved Powers, Concurrent Powers, Delegated Powers. What are Implied Powers? What is the Elastic Clause? Which Government Q? s Which government (federal, state, both) has the power to -coin money -tax citizens -make treaties -conduct elections
Separation of Powers & Layers of Democracy (1) In order to prevent any one branch of government from being too powerful, the roles (jobs) of government were divided into 3 separate branches. Legislative Branch, aka Congress Responsible for creating the laws Most important branch to the framers (1st in the Constitution) Most democratic branch- directly elected by the people Executive Branch aka the President Responsible for enforcing the laws Moderately (middle level) democratic- President is only elected official and NOT directly elected by the people. Judicial Branch aka Supreme Court Responsible for interpreting and reviewing the laws Least democratic branch. All Justices (judges) are appointed by the President AND serve LIFETIME (impeach, resign, retire) terms
Checks and Balances As a secondary layer of protection against government abusing the powers granted to it the framers also developed the system of checks and balances. Designed to allow other branches to check the powers of the others. VINC JR Veto Impeach Nominate Confirm Judicial Review Diagram VINC JR in your packet
Separation of Powers & Checks & Balances Review Find a partner from a different table group Name the three branches of the federal government, their jobs or primary responsibility, and describe how democratic they are, (high, mid-moderate, low), and why they rank there. Review the acronym VINC JR
Separation of Powers 2- Bill to Law Schoolhouse Rock parts 1 and 2 Bill to Law Flowchart Bill to Law Packet resources
VINC JR & Bill to Law Review What does the acronym VINC JR stand for? The first step in a bill becoming a law is action. This is where most bills die. What is a conference committee?
Federalism- Overlapping Layers of Gov t System in which the powers of government are separated and divided amongst BOTH the Federal Government and State governments. Revisit your powers of gov t handout because this is Federalism at work. Additional terms that you must know Dual/Layer Cake Federalism Cooperative/Marble Cake Federalism Grants-in-aid: the carrot and the stick Regulated Federalism-mandates Supremacy Clause Laboratories of Democracy Layers of Democracy yet again- Federal, State, Local-see next slide
Federalism
Republicanism-aka Representative Democracy The Constitution establishes in Article I a Republic form of government. In a Republic people elect officials who are to serve in their interests and create the laws on their behalf. Benefits- FAR more efficient than a direct democracy Drawbacks- Less diverse in ideas, experiences, backgrounds, beliefs, etc. & can lead to a tyranny of the majority. Representation in the House of Representatives is based upon a states population. All states are guaranteed at least 1 representative (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming) and the largest states have significantly more (CA-53, TX-36, FL & NY - 27) **WA has 10 Representation in the Senate is designed so that all states have equal representation. Each state is granted 2 senators regardless of population.
Individual Rights The Constitution of the United States establishes the government of the US as well as sets the guidelines and parameters for its operation. Additionally, in the first 10 Amendments (addition or change) to the Constitution we find a series of rights that are granted to every person living in the United States. These are known as the Bill of Rights. The Constitution is intended to secure the rights of the individual. However, it is important to note that every right granted in the Bill of Rights there are limits. What are the rights granted to individuals in the BoR? What are some limits to some of these rights?
Amendments Addition or change to the wording and powers in the Constitution. Intentionally built into the document-article 5 First 10, Bill of Rights 27 total For now, that is it.
The Power Problem The Power Problem deals with the idea found in the Social Contract. In the SC individuals give up certain freedoms to gain securities. The Power Problem asks the question how much power should an individual, and or individuals within a society, give up to the government? And the Power Problem acknowledges the difficulty in pulling power back once it has been turned over.