8-3.3 Explain the basic principles of government as established in the United States Constitution
How our government is set up
Articles of Confederation were weakFrom 1783 until 1789, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation. However, the Articles of Confederation government, which derived its powers from the states, was too weak to meet the needs of the new nation. To meet those deficiencies, the Constitution was drawn up in 1787, ratified in 1788 and went into effect in 1789
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Important to knowThe Articles of Confederation set up the first government for the United States of America.
However, they were too WEAK for this country. The US Constitution was ratified in 1788. It is still here today. |
Constitution: Limited GovernmentThe Constitution of the United States of America established a limited government based on power shared between the national and state governments. The Bill of Rights provided a written guarantee of individual rights. The Constitution is the highest law in the United States. All other
laws must conform to the Constitution. Each state also has a state constitution. The constitutions of the states are the highest law for that state. But the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land. |
Important to KnowThe US Government cannot do what ever it wants too. It is a limited government The Constitution set us rules on what it can and cannot do.
The Bill of Rights provides us the freedoms we enjoy today. It makes sure that government cannot take away our rights to free speech and freedom of religion among other things. Each state has its own Constitution, but they are all beat by the US Constitution. |
Popular Sovereignty Popular Sovereignty- (Democracy) The authority for government flows from the people.
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Important to KnowAmericans vote on what we want our government to do.
We might not vote on each law, but we vote for representatives to vote for us. |
Individual Rights Individual Rights- Unalienable rights are guaranteed to all citizens in the Preamble and the Bill of Rights
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Important to KnowThere are some rights that the government cannot take away from us. We are lucky to live in a country that gives us these rights.
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FederalismFederalism-The federal system divides governmental powers between national
government and the governments of the states. (10th Amendment) |
Important to KnowThe individual states wanted to make sure the national governmnet didn't take away all their power. So whatever the national government doens't do the states do.
However, the National government is the boss. |
Three EQUAL BranchesSeparation of Powers - The structure of the new national government established three separate branches of government to limit the power of any one branch. The Legislative Branch is the United States Congress which makes the laws. Congress is a two-house legislature. The Judicial Branch consists of federal courts. The highest court is the Supreme Court which determines if laws made by Congress are constitutional. The Executive Branch is headed by the President and carries out the laws. The Vice President and the Secretaries of all departments are also in the Executive branch.
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Important to KnowThere are three parts to our national government.
The Executive Branch is the President and his folks. He makes sure laws can be enforced. The Legislative Branch is the Congress and their folks. They write the laws. The Judicial Branch is the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts. They determine if laws are constitutional. Each branch is EQUAL. One is not more powerful than the other. |
Checks and BalancesChecks and balances - Each branch can check the power of the other. These checks keep any one branch from gaining too much power (Articles I, II, III). An example of checks and balances is the process by which a bill becomes a law. The bill must be passed by both houses of the Congress. Then President may sign it or veto it. If the bill is vetoed, then the Congress may override the president’s veto with a 2/3 vote.
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Important to KnowEach branch has certain rights over the other branches. This is to make sure no branch gets too much power.
This gaurantees that our President can't get too powerful, or to make sure the Congress can't get to powerful. |
Limited GovernmentLimited Government - Powers of the government are restricted by the Constitution as stated in Articles I, II, and III and by the Bill of Rights which protects the rights of the individual against excessive power by the government.
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Important to KnowOnce again, the Constitution makes sure that individuals keep their rights.
The Government cannot abuse it's people. |
Representative DemocracyRepresentative Democracy (republicanism) - The constitution recognizes that the authority of the government derives from “We, the people.” Voters hold the sovereign power but elect representatives to exercise power for them, including the president, Senators and Representatives (The Preamble and Article I, II).
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Important to KnowBasically, we elect people to vote for us. We have the sovereign power. If we don't like how the vote, we can elect somebody else next time.
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