the constitution. section 1: a blueprint for governmenta blueprint for government section 2: an...

The ConstitutionThe Constitution


Section 1: A Blueprint for Government

Section 2: An Enduring Document

Section 3: Applying the Constitution

Chapter 3: The Constitution


Section 1 at a Glance

A Blueprint for Government• The Constitution establishes six goals for the U.S. government to

meet.

• The Constitution outlines six basic principles of U.S. government and a system that safely and fairly distributes and balances power.

• Under the Constitution, the powers of government are limited in order to protect individual rights.

• The Constitution divides the powers of government among three separate branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

• The Constitution includes checks on and balances of government power to prevent any one branch of government from overpowering the others.


Reading Focus

• What are the six goals of the Constitution?

• What are the six principles of government in the Constitution?

• What is popular sovereignty?

• What is limited government?

Main Idea

Drawing lessons from history, the Framers wrote a constitution that divided, limited, and balanced power among three branches of government.

A Blueprint for Government


Reading Focus (cont’d)

• How does the Constitution create a separation of the powers of government?

• How does the system of checks and balances limit the powers of government?

• Why is the principle of judicial review so powerful?

• Why is the principle of federation still a topic of debate?

A Blueprint for Government


Checks and Balances


The Framers stated six goals in the Preamble:

form a more perfect union; establish justice;

ensure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense;

promote the general welfare; and secure the blessings of liberty

• Raise an army

• Pay its bills

• Conduct relations with foreign countries

Government tasks

Goals of the Constitution

• Some Framers with strong reservations

• Some completely opposed

• Worried about strong national government

Concerns


The Framers were concerned with government suppressing the liberty of its citizens.

• Framers fought American Revolution to stop British government from infringing on natural rights

• Were students of political philosophy and history

• Achievements and failures of past governments well-known

British legacy

• Greek city-states

• Roman Empire

• European monarchies

• Constitution of the Iroquois League

• Decisions with long-lasting consequences—no repeat of past mistakes

Examples

Governing after a Revolution


Government obliged “to control itself”• Locke, “where there is no law, there is no freedom”

• Laws help maintain order, protect rights, property, and lives

• Laws must be enforceable, with explicit threat of punishment

• Power to make laws and punish lawbreakers

• Must keep government in check

Dilemma of democratic government• Allowing people substantial freedom

• Controlling worst aspects of human behavior

• Author of Federalist Paper No. 51 describes dilemma

• System of law essential

Addressing the Problem of Governing


Identifying the Main Idea

What problems of governing did the Framers face?

Answer(s): giving people freedom while controlling them, establishing a system of law, and the knowledge that decisions would have long-lasting consequences


Framers’ solution

• Create governing document

• Divide, distribute, and balance governmental power

Bill of Rights

• Final check on power

• Inclusion of Bill of Rights in 1791

Uses of power

• Government power subject to will of the people

• Power as voters

Restraints

• Placed specific restraints on power of government

• Cannot violate basic rights of citizens

Principles of Government in the Constitution


4,500 words

• Constitution blended ideas from the past with uniquely American principles of governing

• Three main parts

• Preamble—states broad goals

• The seven articles—create structure of the U.S. government

• The amendments—27 changes added during the nation’s history

Basic principles

• Structure and language expresses six basic principles

Popular sovereignty

Limited government

Separation of powers

Checks and balances

Judicial review

Federalism

The Constitution is the Blueprint

Framers believed if federal government reflected and remained true to

basic principles, goals of U.S. Constitution could be accomplished.



Describe how the Constitution provides a blueprint for governing the nation.

Answer(s): by setting out six principles of governing that, if followed, would allow its goals to be accomplished


• Government gets its authority from the people

• Ultimate political power remains with the people

• Creating a republic established the people’s authority

– Citizens did not have unlimited power

– Not a direct democracy

– Placed constitutional limits on popular sovereignty

• James Madison felt republic best way to guard against the dangers of factions

– Defined as number of citizens united by common interest

– Could be minority or majority

– Might act in a way that hurt the rights of other citizens or the interests of the nation

• Since factions certain to exist, must limit their effects

Popular Sovereignty


Popular sovereignty at heart of government • Each election is chance for citizens to exercise sovereignty

• Elected leaders work for you; can vote to “fire” elected officials when you step into voting booth

• Important power—important responsibility

• Citizens have obligation to vote wisely; choose leaders after thoughtful deliberation

Republican form of government

• Elected leaders represent broad and diverse group of citizens with competing interests

• Tend toward factions with broad interests

• Not narrowly partisan ones



How is popular sovereignty expressed in the Constitution?

Answer(s): The Preamble begins with the words “We the People of he United States,” indicating that government gets its authority from the people.


Opposition to control

• Most Americans opposed too much government control of business or private activities

• Framers felt limited government promoted goals, protected individual rights

Part of Constitution• Principle of limited government

spread throughout • List of powers extensive, but

powers not listed are excluded• Powers are explicitly denied• Bill of Rights a safeguard

Definition

• Principle that powers and functions of government are restricted

• Also know as rule of law—concept that every member of society must obey the law; is never above it

Vigorous civil society• Works to constrain government

power; part of political process,

helping educate and inform the

citizenry• Holds government accountable

when it fails or exceeds power

Limited Government


Drawing Conclusions

How might civil society support the principle of limited government?

Answer(s): By being active in the political process, citizens can make better choices when they vote and hold the government accountable when it exceeds its power or fails to address society’s needs.


Three distinct branches

• Created to ensure powers of government not concentrated in hands of a few officials or agencies

• Principle of separation of powers governing duties divided among three branches

Article II

• Establishes duties of the executive branch; the president, the vice-president, and the many executive departments

• Carries out laws passed by legislative branch

Article I

• Creates and empowers Congress, the lawmaking body of the nation

• House of Representatives and Senate; each with special powers

• House has “power of the purse”

Article III

• Establishes the judicial branch, including the Supreme Court

• Exercises the judicial power of the United States; interprets and applies the law

Separation of Powers


Summarizing

How does the structure of the Constitution reflect the separation of powers of

government?

Answer(s): The responsibilities of each of the three branches of government are listed in three separate articles.


• Each branch with own area of governmental responsibilities

• Not completely separate from each other

• Designed so none can dominate; no branch can control

• “Common good” maintained—policies and actions that benefit all of society, such as health, safety, and defense programs

• Checks and balances—each branch of government has the power to change or cancel acts of another branch

• System prevents exertion of too much power

System established• Congress checks executive by

controlling taxes and spending

• Can reject nominations; approve treaties

• Congress given power to declare war; limits president’s power

Balance

Checks and Balances


Primary Source Cartoon


Executive branch

• Power to veto, or reject, legislation

• Threat of veto sometimes sufficient to push revision of legislation so it has better chance of getting signed

• President can exercise veto power

Unconstitutional

• Judicial branch can declare acts unconstitutional—the power of judicial review

• Federal judges given lifetime terms; insulated from undue political influence

Veto limited

• Congress can override veto with two-thirds majority of both houses

• If Congress can muster enough votes, the bill passes

Judicial review balanced

• President has power to make federal judicial nominations

• Congress has power to approve all federal judicial nominations

Other branches have checks


• Famous example of annoyance at Supreme Court in 1930s

– President Franklin Roosevelt convinced Congress to pass measures to combat the Great Depression

– Court declared some measures to be unconstitutional

• Roosevelt responded by introducing legislation to reorganize the federal judiciary

– Wanted to increase the size of the Court by adding new justices

– Result would be larger Supreme Court with favorable majority

• Critics claimed Roosevelt trying to change balance of power with “court-packing” plan; Senate passed a watered-down plan

– Plan never implemented

– In second term, Roosevelt able to replace five of the Supreme Court justices; gained a sympathetic majority which upheld New Deal programs, including Social Security

Presidential frustrations


Identifying Supporting Details

Name at least one check or balance that each branch of government has on the

others.

Answer(s): legislative: can reject the executive branch’s job appointments; executive: can veto laws passed by legislative branch; judicial: can rule acts of other branches unconstitutional


Judicial review not mentioned in Constitution• Writers of Federalist Papers made it clear courts were to have such

power; an independent judiciary would serve as precaution against one branch becoming predominant over the others

• In 1803 the Supreme Court established the principle of judicial review with the landmark case Marbury v. Madison

Deciding constitutionality

• Courts exercise judicial review—power to determine whether actions of legislative and judicial branch are constitutional

• Any law or government action (federal or state) found to violate a part of the Constitution is said to be unconstitutional; act deemed illegal and cannot be enforced or carried out by the government

Judicial Review


Making Inferences

How might the power of judicial review affect ordinary citizens?

Answer(s): Judicial review can strike down laws that restrict citizens’ rights.


Landmark Supreme Court CasesMarbury v. Madison (1803)

Why It Matters:

Marbury v. Madison established the Supreme Court’s power to decide whether laws are constitutional. This power, called judicial review, is a basic principle of American government.


• The powers of government are distributed between the national government and state governments—federalism

• Framers struggled to find acceptable distribution of powers with the rights of states and sufficient national government strength

• Two clauses spell this out, Article I, Section 8 and Article VI

• Advocates for states rights found clauses troubling—where was limit to federal power

• Amendment X addresses issue

• Powers not delegated are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people

Supremacy clause

• Language allows for strong federal government but guarantees states retain powers and rights

• Strong federal authority for national defense, disaster response, and highway construction accepted; disagreement with other issues

Flexibility

Federalism


Drawing Conclusions

Why do supporters of states’ rights refer to the Tenth Amendment to strengthen their

arguments? Answer(s): because the amendment guarantees that powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states or to the people.


Debating the Issue: The Constitution and Privacy

Does the Constitution protect your right of privacy?

The Constitution does not explicitly mention such a right, but many people argue that the Constitution and Bill of Rights, when read as a whole, protect an implied right of privacy.

This approach to constitutional interpretation is sometimes called “loose construction.”

Other people, calling for “strict construction,” argue that the Constitution should be read literally: The words on the page mean exactly—and only—what they say. When the Constitution is read strictly, people argue, it is improper to protect a broad right to privacy.


Debating the IssueThe Constitution and Privacy



An Enduring Document

• The Constitution is an enduring document that has the ability to grow and change over time.

• The Constitution includes a formal process for adding amendments to the Constitution.

• The Constitution has been amended 27 times. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.


Reading Focus

• How did Jefferson and Madison differ in their views on amending the Constitution?

• Why might the Constitution be called a document for all time?

• By what processes can the Constitution be amended?

• What types of amendments have been added to the Constitution over the last 220 years?

Main Idea

The Constitution is both a product of its time and a document for all time. It can be changed as society’s needs change.

An Enduring Document


A Constitution for All Generations


Jefferson’s views

• Jefferson felt Constitution should not be changed on a whim but could be changed as society and circumstances changed

• Believed in each generation as “a distinct nation,” with the right to govern itself but not to bind succeeding generations

• Jefferson made his arguments in exchange of letters with fellow Virginian James Madison

Madison’s views

• Madison felt laws and constitutions grow in authority and acceptance the longer they go unchanged

• Worried that changing Constitution too often could split the country into factions

• Feared sectional rivalry would leave the nation prey to foreign powers and influence

• Madison feared periods of chaos might occur between periods of revision

Jefferson and Madison on Amending the Constitution


Summarizing

Why was Madison opposed to frequent changes to the Constitution?

Answer(s): He felt that the Constitution would gain authority the longer it went unchanged and that changing it too often could split the country into factions.


A Document for All Time

• Original Constitution a product of its time

– Reflects wisdom and biases of the Framers; relatively few changes in over 220 years

– Survived the Civil War, presidential assassinations, and economic crises to become world’s oldest written constitution

• Original document not perfect

– Perpetuated injustices with compromises permitting slavery and the slave trade

– States given power to set qualifications for voting; women, nonwhites, and poor people denied right to vote

– Decisions reflected societal attitudes of the times

• Ability to incorporate changing ideas of freedom and liberty keeps document relevant to each new generation since 1789


Drawing Conclusions

What makes the U.S. Constitution an enduring document?

Answer(s): It has lasted for more than 220 years with few changes.


• Gives Americans the power to change the Constitution

• Is difficult in order to prevent momentary passions and prejudices of the majority from violating the rights of the rest of the citizens

• Might threaten the democratic structure of the government

• Describes process for amending the Constitution

• States that amendments must first be proposed, then ratified, or approved

• Provides two ways of proposing and two ways of ratifying

Article V

• Two-step process required ratification by the states and so restricted power of Congress to change the Constitution

• Ensured that any change would reflect national will

• Supported principle of popular sovereignty

Different paths

The Amendment Process


• Each step in process requires supermajority—a majority that is larger than a simple majority

• Difficult process would weed out frivolous amendments

Two ways can be proposed:

• by Congress, with the approval of at least two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate

• by delegates at a national convention that is called by Congress at the request of at least two-thirds of the state legislatures

Proposing an Amendment

• All of the amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by Congress

• Required number of states for a national convention has been nearly reached twice

• Convention supporters have never persuaded the last few needed states

Facts

Supermajority required


Issues of convention

• Wording of Article V does not specify if convention is limited to proposing only the amendment it was called to consider

• Nonspecific wording could allow rest of Constitution to be opened for reconsideration and change

• Problem—convention could propose amendment to repeal First or Fourteenth Amendments that provide foundation for many rights enjoyed today

• Method of national convention has remained unused

Ratifying an Amendment

• Congress sends proposed amendment to 50 states for ratification; states can ratify in two ways—Congress determines which way is to be used

• To be voted on by state legislatures; at least three-fourths of state legislatures must approve an amendment

• Citizens elect delegates to conventions called in each state specifically to consider the amendment; passage requires approval by conventions in at least three-fourths of the states.


Example

• Passage and repeal of amendment on prohibition good example of ratification methods

• Prohibition—ban on production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages

Eighteenth Amendment

• 1917: Responding to public demand, Congress proposed amendment

• 1919: Enough state legislatures had ratified the proposal to make it the Eighteenth Amendment; but drinking alcohol not banned

Reformers

• 1800s and early 1900s: WCTU and Prohibition Party campaigned to outlaw alcoholic beverages

• Argued drinking alcohol led to idleness, violence, and increase in crime

Prohibition unpopular

• Lucrative trade in illegal alcohol; led to organized crime, political corruption, and violence

• Groups of citizens led movement for reform; used many of same arguments

Rise and fall of prohibition


Twenty-first Amendment

• Congress responded to new reform movement

• Proposed to repeal prohibition and to give states power to regulate transportation and distribution of alcoholic beverages

• To repeal a law—to cancel or revoke it by a legislative act

• Only time method of ratification by state conventions of delegates elected specifically to vote on the issue used

• 36 states ratified within the year; Amendment XVIII was repealed by Amendment XXI

The Fate of Amendments

• Changing the Constitution difficult

• More than 10,000 attempts have been suggested or proposed

• Only 33 amendments have been passed by Congress and sent to states for ratification

• 27 amendments have been adopted

• 6 have been rejected


Summarizing

What are the four ways of amending the Constitution?

Answer(s): proposed by Congress and ratified by state legislatures; proposed by Congress and ratified by state conventions; proposed by national convention and ratified by Congress; proposed by national convention and ratified by state conventions.


• Process of adding to the Constitution began with the first ten amendments—the Bill of Rights; 17 more amendments added

• Identify, support, and protect some of most important rights

• Designed to protected specific individual freedoms

• Various states offered up a total of 210 suggestions for amendments

• 12 amendments drafted; Congress passed them and sent on to states

• 10 of the 12 amendments were ratified; Bill of Rights adopted 1791

The Bill of Rights

• Restrictive; declares what federal government may not do

• Intended to guarantee individual’s exercise of certain basic freedoms

• First Amendment—right to practice religion freely, protects freedom of expression, and the right to ask the government to correct injustices

First Amendment

More than 200 Years of Amendments


Amendment Guarantees

• 2nd gives right to bear arms

• 3rd prohibits government from forcing citizens to quarter, or shelter, military troops in their homes

• 4th protects individuals against unreasonable searches and seizures of private property

• 5th and 6th guarantee due process of law; no self-incrimination; right to a speedy trial and the right to an attorney

• 7th through 10th protect rights or powers that belong to the states and to the people

The Other Amendments

• After Civil War amendments passed to ban slavery, to recognize all African Americans as U.S. citizens, and to give African American men various rights, including the right to vote

• Not often enforced from 1877 to 1965 in the South; Jim Crow laws put into effect

• Vigorous social reform; prohibition came and went

• Popular election of senators; women granted right to vote

• Constitution provides stable, flexible government


Summarizing

What are the five issues that constitutional amendments have addressed?

Answer(s): guaranteeing basic personal freedoms and rights; states’ rights; status of African Americans; social issues: political issues



Applying the Constitution• Over time, the three branches of government—legislative,

executive, and judicial—have expanded the scope and application of the Constitution.

• Political parties, customs, and traditions have affected how the Constitution is applied and carried out.

• Political scholars have debated what some see as disadvantages of the framework of government established by the Constitution.


Reading Focus

• How have the three branches of government applied the Constitution?

• How have political parties, customs, and traditions changed how the Constitution is applied?

• What criticisms have some people made of the Constitution?

Main Idea

The scope and impact of the Constitution have expanded as it has been put into practice, interpreted, and applied to new or changing social and political challenges.

Applying the Constitution


A Few Words, a Long Reach


• Framers created framework to be followed and filled in by citizens then and in later generations; put into action, the Constitution has been extended in reach and meaning

• Section 1, Article III created the Supreme Court; Congress authorized to create “such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish”

• With Judiciary Act of 1789 created system of lower-level federal courts

• Congress has expanded the judicial branch as needed

Legislative Action

• The executive branch is defined by the Constitution

• Two passing references made to executive departments

• Congressional legislation brought today’s department and agencies into being

• Congress pushes into areas where Constitution is silent

Creating and Defining

The Federal Government Applies the Constitution


Uncertain ground

• New technologies—personal computers, cell phones

• Threatening international circumstances—possible attacks by terrorists

• Factors push Congress to test constitutional boundaries

• Supreme Court can strike down a new law; the Constitution remains unchanged

• Court upholds a new law; the application of the Constitution changes slightly

Executive Implementation

• Presidents make executive agreements—arrangements or compacts with foreign leaders or foreign governments

• Power not found in Constitution text; derived from acknowledged constitutional powers

• Executive agreements important to conducting foreign policy; can bypass long, formal treaty process

• Executive agreement used in 1990; created international coalition that defeated the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait


• Executive agreement has the force of a treaty; does not require Senate ratification

• Congress has authorized majority in advance or has approved them after signing; most require subsequent congressional action

• Actions of the executive department and agencies change way the Constitution applied or interpreted

• Agencies must define their operations; carry out programs Congress has assigned to them

• Executive branch agencies usually have rule-making power; rules have force of law; examples are medicine we take and tap water

• Code of Federal Regulations, collection of all of the rules made by executive agencies; about 135,000 pages long


Judicial Interpretation

• Modern-day cases a challenge

• “Unreasonable searches and seizures” in an era of airport screening devices, cell phones, and wireless Internet access

• Courts must interpret the Fourth Amendment in light of changing conditions; judges to apply the Constitution’s prohibitions to new technologies.

• Setting legal standards for law-enforcement to follow when intercepting private conversations, monitoring e-mail, and using other “searching” methods

How to Interpret

• “Strict” versus “loose” construction of the Constitution

• Strict interpretation of the Constitution means giving the words in the document only their literal meaning

• Loose construction means following the words plus any reasonable inferences that can be drawn from them

• In debates over national bank Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist; Alexander Hamilton was a loose constructionist



How has each branch of government put the Constitution into action? Give one example for

each branch.

Answer(s): legislative: by passing the Judiciary Act of 1789; executive: by creating agencies to implement Congress’s laws; judicial: by establishing the principle of judicial review


• Political parties and entrenched customs and traditions affect how the Constitution is interpreted, applied, and carried out.

Political Parties, Customs, and Traditions

Political Parties

• Political party—an organized group that seeks to win elections in order to influence the activities of government

• Parties help determine the choice of candidates, policies, and programs presented to the voters

• Parties also help shape the judicial branch; deeply affect how government operates

Legacy of Political Movements

• Populists supported bank regulation; government regulation of railroads; unlimited coinage of silver; direct election of senators

• Progressives took same causes as Populists; helped the urban poor

• Federal government regulated banks, food and drug safety, railroads, and business monopolies

• Now have PACs, online political commentators, and bloggers


• Some traditions have become law; no president served more than two terms in office until Roosevelt broke with tradition with third and fourth terms as president in the 1940s

• Many Americans concerned; Congress passed the Twenty-second Amendment

• Presidents limited to two terms, formalizing the custom that began with Washington

• Strongly influence how American government behaves

• Constitution authorizes the president to “require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments”

• Washington relied on language in Article II to create a cabinet—a group of advisers consisting of the heads of the executive departments; in time tradition of cabinet and cabinet meetings born

Customs and Traditions



How do political parties and traditions affect the functioning of government?

Answer(s): possible answer—political parties: by determining the choice of candidates, policies, and programs presented to the voters; traditions: by influencing the way government behaves, such as the creation of the president’s cabinet


Imperfections

• Brevity, insight, and flexibility commands respect

• Some agree with Jefferson’s prediction that “the imperfections of a written Constitution will become apparent”

Questions about Representation

• Constitution falls short of truly representative democracy

• Most obvious in Senate; states with small populations have far more relative influence than residents of states with large populations

A System That Creates Gridlock

• Inability to govern effectively due to separation of powers—gridlock

• Can bring government to a standstill; 1995 budget dispute shut down the federal government for 27 days

The Electoral College

• Electoral college—the body of 538 people elected from the 50 states and the District of Columbia

• Critics point to the fact that the winner of the popular vote may not win the presidency

Criticisms of the Constitution


• In elections for U.S. Congress, the candidate who receives the most votes is elected to the House or Senate; candidate who comes in second or third goes home—even if he or she receives a large number of votes

• This type of election known as the winner-take-all system

• Many European parliaments use proportional representation

• Voters choose from party lists of candidates; seats are given to each party according to the percentage of the total votes they win

• More-popular parties will have a larger number of seats, but less-popular parties will not be entirely shut out of the parliament

• Supporters of proportional representation say it allows a larger variety of viewpoints to gain representation in the legislature

• Defenders of the U.S. system respond that proportional representation leads to fractured legislatures with many small parties, while the American process allows the party with the most support to govern

Winner-Take-All Elections


Contrasting

How does the winner-take-all election system differ from a system of proportional representation?

Answer(s): Under the winner-take-all system, the candidate in each district who receives the most votes wins the seat. Under proportional representation, seats in the legislature are given to each party according to the percentage of the total votes they win, giving less popular parties a voice. The proportional system allows a larger variety of viewpoints to be represented, but also leads to fractured legislatures with many small parties, whereas the American system allows the party with the most support to govern.


A New Constitution and a New Government

The Constitution was a plan for the new national government that described the new government, its powers, and the limits on it. The Framers wrote the Constitution as a general framework and left out details they knew would be added in the future.

• What are Congress’s constitutional powers?

• What are the president’s constitutional responsibilities?

• What are the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court?

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution

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