Lesson 12.2
LESSON S OBJECTIVES Explain the powers that the const. Gives to congress Explain the enumerated powers of congress, the necessary and proper and general welfare clauses, and the reason for them Describe the limits placed on the powers of congress Explain the powers of the executive branch. Explain how the powers of the president are limited. Explain the powers of the judicial branch.
Differences b/t A of C and the Const. Under the A. of C. Congress was unable to: Deal with economic problems Deal with trade issues Act directly on the people States were depended on the enforce laws Could not raise taxes to support itself
THE CONSTITUTION Framers argued over general vs. enumerated powers ENUMERATED POWERS: powers that are specifically listed in the Const. Solution was to use both Specific powers were given but there were also limits on the powers Also gave Congress the power to deal with unexpected situations
ENUMERATED POWERS OF CONGRESS ARTICLE I: legislative branch Makes up more than half of the Const. Shows how important the framers thought the leg. Branch should be SECTION 8: lists 17 enumerated powers Ex: Congress has the right to: Impose and collect taxes Borrow money Regulated commerce Coin money Declare war Raise and support a navy
GENERAL POWERS OF CONGRESS Art. I, Sec. 8: also includes 2 general statements of power given to Congress Congress has the power to: provide for the common defense and general welfare (common good) of the US Called the GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE make all laws which shall be necessary and proper (NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE) Meaning that it has powers to carry our all other laws, with whatever is necessary. Ex: to raise and support and army, Congress might make a law requiring all citizens to serve in the Armed forces. Both caused conflicts in the early years of the new govt.
LIMITS ON CONGRESS ARTICLE I, SECTION 9: lists the limits on the Legislative branch Prohibits Congress from: Banning the slave trade before 1808 Suspending the writ of habeas corpus except in emergencies Orders the govt. to deliver a person arrested of a crime to a court of law The govt. must explain why that person has been arrested and show that the person has broken the law Passing ex post facto laws A law that makes an act a crime after the act has already happened
LIMITS ON CONGRESS (CONT.) Congress does not have the power to: Pass bills of attainder Legislative act that declared a person guilty of violating the law and set the punishment w/o a court trial. Taxing exports Taking money from the treasury w/o first passing a law to do so Granting titles of nobility Framers tried to balance the need for a strong govt. with the need to limits the govt s powers To protect the people s rights
CREATING THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH 1787: Americans still remembered the problems in dealing with the king of England. With that experience in mind, Framers worried that an executive would become too powerful. Could endanger the rights of the ppl BUT it needed to be strong enough to carry out responsibilities
POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH ARTICLE II: created the executive branch Written in more general terms than Article I Shorter Lists the enumerated powers of the president (brief) Powers: Carry out and enforce the laws made in Congress Make treaties with other nations Appoint certain govt. officials Act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces Veto laws passed by Congress Send and receive ambassadors to and from other countries Pardon people convicted of crimes
LIMITS ON THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Constitution makes the executive branch share most of its power with Congress Examples: APPOINTMENTS: President has the power to nominate people for certain jobs in govt. (cabinet members, supreme court justices) Senate must give its approval of all appointments (advice and consent) TREATIES: President has the power to negotiate treaties with other countries but Senate has the power to approve or reject the treaty (Ex: WWI: Treaty of Versailles)
LIMITS ON THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH WAR: President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces but only Congress can declare war Congress also has the power to provide the money to conduct the war VETO: president can veto laws but Congress can override the veto with 2/3 vote in both houses IMPEACHMENT: Congress can bring a president to trial if accused of serious crimes House votes to impeach, Senate holds the trial Happened twice: Andrew Johnson, and Bill Clinton
SELECTION OF A PRESIDENT Framers wanted the presidents to be just like George Washington (first ) TERM: 4 years and could be reelected any number of times Changed in 1951 by the 22 nd Amendment (after FDR s 4 terms) to 2 terms or 10 years. Election: James Madison believed that people might not always have the wisdom to select the right man for the job ELECTORAL COLLEGE was created Each state would have electors equal to the # of state reps it had (2 Senators + Reps) Majority of the electoral college votes would become president
POWERS OF THE JUDICIAL BRANCH National judiciary was needed to decide disputes between state govt. and between citizens of two or more states Also decides on disputes between the US and state govt. and citizens ARTICLE III: creates the Judicial branch
IDEAS ABOUT THE JUDICIAL BRANCH 1. Judges should be appointed not elected Judges would be indep. Of politics Would use their best judgment to decide cases and not worry about political influence 2. Judges cannot be removed from office unless they are impeached Have to be convicted of bribery, treason, or other high crimes and misdemeanors Means that the judge can make decisions w/o fear of losing their job TERM: Life
IDEAS ABOUT THE JUDICIAL BRANCH 3. US Supreme Court has two types of jurisdiction JURISDICTION: power or authority to hear cases and make decisions ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Cases go directly to the Supreme Court Involving state govt. or an ambassador Do not have to be tried in a lower court first APPELLATE JURISDICTION: cases are first tried in lower courts Decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court Court can decide whether or not to hear the case
POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT Supreme Court has the power to: Overrule state laws that violate the Const. or the laws made by Congress Based on the Supremacy Clause in Article VI
ASSIGNMENT 1. Why did the Framers enumerate the powers of Congress? Why do you think it did not enumerate the powers of the executive or judicial branches of government? 2. What issues did the delegates have to decide regarding the organization of the executive branch of government and how did they resolve these issues? 3. How did the delegates make sure the executive branch would have enough power to fulfill any responsibilities but not so much power that it would dominate the other branches of government? 4. What is the Electoral College and why did the delegates decide to create it? 5. Why did the Framers make the judiciary independent of politics?