Government_Ch3_info

=**The Constitution Background Information**=

**Structure and Principles:**
There are three parts of the Constitution: the Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments. The Preamble states why the Constitution was written - the goals of the Constitution. Those goals were to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. The articles are the part of the Constitution that explains how the government works. Article I is on the legislative branch, which makes the laws and consists of the Congress divided into the Senate and House of Representatives. Article II sets up the executive branch, which carries out the laws and consists of the presidency. Article III is on the judicial branch, which interprets that laws and consists of the Supreme Court. Article IV explains relations between states and the national government. Article V explains how the Constitution is amended, or changed. Article VI consists of the Supremacy Clause, which says the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Finally, Article VII says that 9 of the 13 states must ratify the Constitution. The third part of the Constitution are the amendments, which were not part of the original Constitution since amendments are changes. There are a total of 27 amendments.

There are several principles of the Constitution that influence the character of the government. One is popular sovereignty, which means that the authority for government comes from the people. A second is federalism, or the system of government in which power is divided between national and state levels with the national level acting for the country as a whole and states having power over many local matters. A third principle is separation of powers, which power is divided among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches with each having its own responsibilities. A fourth is checks and balances in which each branch has some control over the others. A fifth is judicial review, which is the power of the courts to declare laws and actions of local, state, and national governments illegal if they violate the Constitution. This was established in the court case //Marbury v. Madison//. A court ruling can only change if there's an amendment put onto the Constitution or the court reverses its decision. The sixth principle is limited government, which means the Constitution limits the actions of the government by specifically listing powers it does and does not have.

**Three Branches of Government:**
The first branch set up by the Constitution is the legislative branch. The Founding Fathers expected the Congress to be the most important branch. The enumerated powers are those powers expressly stated in the Constitution and include the powers (of the Congress) to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, declare war, raise armed forces, and others. In addition, the elastic clause is a name given to the Necessary and Proper Clause, which says the Congress has the power to make laws that are "necessary and proper" to carry out the other powers. This stretches the powers of the Congress. The Supreme Court allowed broad interpretation of this clause in the court case //McCulloch v. Maryland//.

The second branch set up is the executive branch. The Founding Fathers wanted a strong executive to carry out the laws of Congress. The powers given are broad but some are specific such as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, appoint (with the Senate's consent) heads of departments, ambassadors, and federal judges, pardon people convicted of federal crimes, make treaties with the Senate's consent, and control the bureaucracy, which are the executive branch agencies that are part of the executive branch that help enforce the laws passed by the Congress.

The third branch set up is the judicial branch. It consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Federal judges and Supreme Court justices hold their offices for life. John Jay was appointed first Chief Justice. The court case //Marbury v. Madison// in 1803 was the first case in which the Supreme Court declared a law unconstitutional, or use of judicial review.

**Amending the Constitution:**
In order to change the Constitution, an amendment has to be proposed and then ratified, or approved. There are two methods of the process that allows an amendment to be proposed - (1) if 2/3 of the House and Senate agrees or (2) if a national convention called for by Congress with the request of 2/3 of the states convenes. There are two possible ways an amendment can be ratified and put onto the Constitution - (1) approved by legislatures in 3/4 of the states or (2) approval of 3/4 of special conventions.

There are informal changes that often take place. One is change through laws passed by Congress that enlarge or clarify provisions of the Constitution. Another is change through practices such as method to impeach (accuse) federal officials - for example, treason and bribery are clear listed crimes that bring about impeachment, but the Constitution also says "other high crimes and misdemeanors," which would require Congress to determine the meaning. A third informal change example is presidential succession. When William Henry Harrison died, John Tyler took the oath of office and became the next president. That became the process since no one knew if there should be new elections or not.

Court decisions also impact the Constitution. Judicial review (the power of the Supreme Court to declare a law or act of the government unconstitutional) gives the Supreme Court the ability to interpret the Constitution as they see fit. Judicial restraint refers to the court avoiding rulings that make major changes to society, while judicial activism holds that the court should play a role in shaping national policies. In terms of issues such as abortion, judicial restraint is the belief that the court should leave the decision to the Congress or the states, while judicial activism is the belief that the court should make the overall decision.

**The Amendments:**
The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The 1st amendment gives the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. This means, for example, the press is not subject to prior restraint (government censorship). These freedoms come with limits such as slander, which is a spoken lie that hurts a person's reputation. The 2nd amendment provides the right to keep and bear arms. Before the Revolution, the British tried to take weapons away from colonial militia, or the armed forces of citizens. The 3rd amendment says that the government can't force people to provide shelter for soldiers in their homes (another practice of the British before the Revolution). The 4th amendment says no illegal searches or seizures. A search or arrest must be based on probable cause (police must have a reasonable basis to believe the person or premises is linked to a crime) or a search warrant (orders signed by a judge describing a specific place to be searched for specific items). The 5th amendment has several parts. It says a grand jury decides if there's enough evidence for a trial. An innocent person can't be tried again for the same offense, also called no double jeopardy. No one can be forced to testify against himself or herself, or no self-incrimination. No person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law, which means proper procedures must be followed. Finally, the amendment defines the government's right of eminent domain, or the power to take private property for public use. The 6th amendment provides the right to a speedy and public trial with an impartial jury. The 7th amendment gives the right to a jury trial in federal courts to settle disputes about property worth more than $20. The 8th amendment says no excessive bails or fines and no cruel or unusual punishment. The 9th amendment says that all other rights not spelled out in the Constitution are retained by the people, which protects all basic or natural rights not specifically noted. The 10th amendment says any powers not delegated (given by the Constitution) to the federal government or prohibited to the states, are reserved to the states or the people.

There are 17 other amendments that were put onto the Constitution. There are basically three categories for the other amendments. The 11th and 12th amendments are considered additions to the Bill of Rights. The 11th amendment prohibits a state from being sued in federal court by citizens of another state or nation. The 12th amendment says that separate ballots should be used to elect president and vice president (before this amendment, electors cast two votes for president. The candidate for president who got over 50% of the electoral votes would be president and the second highest number of votes would be vice president. Today, the electoral system works off of which candidate wins the popular vote in each state. The Civil War amendments refer to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments that grew out of the Civil War. The 13th amendment abolished slavery. The 14th amendment said that blacks were citizens and all have the right to equal protection. The 15th amendment gave blacks the right to vote. Finally, the later amendments dealt with a variety of issues. The 16th amendment began the income tax (remember, the income tax was unconstitutional until this amendment since it was a direct tax - this was part of the start of America entering a force shift). The 17th amendment allows the people to elect their U.S. senators (previously state legislatures chose the U.S. senators - this was also part of the force shift since it took power away from the states over the federal government). The 18th amendment was the prohibition of alcohol, but was repealed by the 21st amendment. The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. The 20th amendment set a new presidential inauguration date of January 20 (was March 4). The 22nd amendment set the presidential two term limit. The 23rd amendment allowed the citizens of D.C. to vote for president giving D.C. electoral votes. The 24th amendment outlawed the poll tax (charge at the polls to vote). The 25th amendment set the line of succession to the presidency. The 26th amendment lowered the voting age to 18. The 27th amendment put in a stipulation that congressional pay raises don't take effect until the following term (Congress can't give themselves as raise as they're leaving office).

**The Federal System:**
America has a federal system of government, which means we have a strong central government while the subdivisions (we call states) have power as well. The powers of the federal level are also called delegated powers. These delegated powers include the expressed powers, or the powers directly stated in the Constitution, which are also called the enumerated powers. There are also powers delegated to the federal level called implied powers, which aren't written but are based on the necessary and proper clause, or the elastic clause, which stretches the powers to be able to do what is "necessary and proper" to carry out their other powers. Finally, the federal level has inherent powers, or powers that a free nation's government has. The Constitution does deny some powers to the federal government. The federal government cannot tax exports for example.

The states also have power as well. Reserved powers are the powers of the states. The term reserved powers comes from the 10th amendment, which says all powers not delegated to the federal government or denied to the states are reserved to the states. State laws cannot conflict with federal laws, which comes from the Supremacy Clause, which says the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Sometimes, there are powers that the federal government and the states both have, such as the power to tax, maintain courts, and define crimes. Shared powers are known as the concurrent powers. The Constitution does deny some powers to the states. States can't make separate treaties with other nations.

The Constitution makes several guarantees to the states. The Constitution guarantees each state a republican form of government (this doesn't mean the political party, but rather that each state is able to hold elections to have the people choose the leaders). States are also guaranteed protection (from invasion, domestic violence, and natural disasters for example). Each state is also guaranteed its territorial integrity. For the admission of new states, Congress must pass an enabling act for the people of a territory to prepare a state constitution and then the Congress votes again on whether or not to admit the territory as a state. There is a National Governors' Association, which helps governors of the states in policy making and influencing national policy. The Supreme Court plays a role by deciding cases when the federal and state levels conflict. //McCulloch v. Maryland// reaffirmed that the federal laws are supreme to the state laws.

The Constitution states specifics on how the states relate to one another. The Full Faith and Credit Clause says full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state (for example car registration). This applies to civil law. Public acts are laws passed by state legislatures. Records are documents such as mortgages, deeds, leases, wills, marriage licenses, car registration, and birth certificates. Judicial proceedings are various court actions such as judgment to pay a debt. The Privileges and Immunities Clause says that states cannot discriminate against citizens of another state. This includes passing through a state, living in a state after moving from another state, using the courts, making contracts, buying, selling, and holding property. Extradition is also a guarantee, which means that fugitives of one state must be returned to the state of the crime. Finally, there are interstate compacts, or written agreements between two or more states. These must meet the approval of the U.S. Congress.

Federalism continues to adapt and change with the times. In terms of dealing with problems and issues, states' rights is the view that the states and local levels should deal with issues, while a nationalist position favors the national government dealing with matters. The Founding Fathers set up a system where the states dealt with most of the issues and the federal government was ONLY do have the powers to do what the states weren't competent to handle, such as national defense. Since the Progressive Era and entering a force shift, the national government has grown in power at the expense of the states and individual freedom. The government has expanded in war powers as presidents have been able to commit soldiers into combat with merely congressional approval through funding, not actual declarations of war. Most congressional power has expanded under the Commerce Clause. Commerce is trade. The Supreme Court in 1936 has allowed the Congress to have powers that even affect trade in any way. Congress's tax powers have increased as well as what the federal government spends and borrows. The federal government provides a large portion of funding to the states in the form of grants. Federal mandates are often also put on states, which are federal orders requiring states to provide a service or undertake an activity in a manner than meets minimum national standards set by Congress. Many times, the federal government puts mandates on the states, but don't fund them or only fund the federal mandates for a short period of time. Unfunded mandates have become a burden for state budgets.

Policies often begin at the state or local levels and grow to the national level if working well. For example, sunset laws began in Colorado, which require checks on government agencies to see if their still needed. Sunshine laws began in Florida to prohibit public officials from holding closed meetings - meetings have to be public. Both became federal laws too. Federalism increases political participation. The road to a candidate getting into national politics begins at the state and local levels.

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