Principles Underlying the Constitution
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Transcript Principles Underlying the Constitution
Principles Underlying the Constitution
Objective: I can explain how the U.S. Constitution
incorporates basic principles which help define the
government of the United States as a federal
republic including its structure, powers, and
relationship with the governed.
Major Principles of Government
● Details in the Constitution fall under 5
fundamental principles
o popular sovereignty; rule of law; separation
of powers; checks and balances; and
federalism
● These principles are the foundation on
which our government is built.
Major Principles of Government
● Article IV guarantees the American
people “a Republican Form of
Government.”
● Republic can mean any representative
government headed by an elected
president or similar leader rather than a
leader who inherits the position
Major Principles of Government
● However, to the framers a republic was a
representative democracy
● Representative democracy=power
belongs to the people, who express their
will through elected representatives
● This idea was important to the early
English colonists who came to America.
Popular Sovereignty
● The idea that the power of gov’t lies with
the people
● Popular in this case=the population or
public; Sovereignty=the right to rule
Popular Sovereignty
● Decl. of Ind. is a statement about popular
sovereignty
o It says that gov’ts should draw their powers
“from the consent of the governed”
● Same idea echoed in the “We the
People” phrase in the beginning of the
Constitution
Popular Sovereignty
● Constitution includes several provisions that
protect and ensure or guarantee, the sovereignty
of the people.
● The will of the people is expressed most strongly
through elections.
● By a majority vote, citizens decide who will represent
them in Congress.
● Through the Electoral College, the people also choose
the president and vice president.
Popular Sovereignty
● Elected officials are always accountable to
the people.
● Elections are regularly scheduled, and
voters can reject and replace representatives
who serve them poorly.
Partner Questions
1. What is popular sovereignty?
2. What are two examples of popular
sovereignty?
3. How are the peoples’ sovereignty
protected in the Constitution?
Rule of Law
● Framers believed gov’t should be strong,
but not too strong
● Included in the Constitution the principle of
limited government, which means that
government can do only what the people
allow it to do
Rule of Law
● “In framing a government which is to be
administered by men over men, the great
difficulty lies in this: you must first enable
the government to control the governed;
and in the next place oblige it to control
itself”
o James Madison, The Federalist, No. 51
Partner Question
1. What does James Madison’s quote
mean? Explain
Rule of Law
● Under the Constitution, the gov’t is also
limited by the rule of law.
● This means that the law applies to
everyone, even those who govern.
● No one may break the law or escape its
reach.
Partner Question
1. What is limited government?
2. What is the rule of law?
Separation of Powers
● To protect against abuse of power and
the possibility of one person or group
gaining too much power, the Framers
divided the federal gov’t into 3 branches,
each with diff. functions
Separation of Powers
● The Framers were influenced by the ideas of French
philosopher Baron de Montesquieu
● Montesquieu believed that the best way to safeguard the
liberty of the people was to clearly separate the
legislative, executive, and judicial functions of gov’t
and assign, or appoint, each to a separate branch of
gov’t
● This division of authority is called separation of
Partner Questions
1. What is the separation of powers?
2. How many branches are there in the
Constitution?
3. Identify each branch found in the
Constitution.
Checks and Balances
● Even with the separation of powers, the
Framers feared that one branch of gov’t could
dominate the other two.
● In order to prevent any one of the three
branches from becoming too powerful, the
Framers of the Constitution also included a
system of checks and balances.
Checks and Balances
● Under this system, each branch of gov’t
is able to check, or limit, the power of
the others.
Partner Questions
1. What is checks and balances?
2. Look at the chart on page 88 of checks
and balances-circle=HOMEWORK
Answer questions 1 & 2
Federalism
● Federalism=power is shared by the national
gov’t and the states.
● Each level of gov’t-national and state-has
independent authority over people at the same
time
● Americans must obey both federal and state
laws
Federalism
● Three Types of Power
o Enumerated or Expressed Powers
Powers specifically granted to the national
gov’t
o Reserved Powers
Powers that the Constitution does not give to
the national gov’t are kept by the states
o Concurrent Powers
Powers that both levels of gov’t can exercise
Federalism
● Expressed Powers (National Gov’t)
o Coin Money, Maintain army and navy,
Declare war, Regulate trade between
states and with foreign nations, Carry
out all expressed powers
Federalism
● Reserved Powers (State Gov’ts)
o Regulate trade within a state, protect
public welfare and safety, establishing
schools, making rules for marriage
and divorce, conduct elections,
establish local gov’ts
Federalism
● Concurrent Powers (National and State
Gov’ts)
o Establish courts, enforce laws, collect
taxes, borrow money, provide for
general welfare, Set up prisons
Partner Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is federalism?
What is expressed powers?
What is reserved powers?
What is concurrent powers?
***Be Sure to Know Examples of Expressed,
Reserved, and Concurrent Powers***
The Supremacy Clause
● In a federal system, the laws of a state and the
laws of the nation may conflict. To deal with
this possibility, the Framers included the
supremacy clause. Found in Article VI, the
supremacy clause states that the Constitution
and other laws and treaties made by the
national gov’t “shall be the supreme Law of
the Land.”
The Supremacy Clause
● Because the Constitution is the highest law,
the national gov’t is not supposed to act in
violation of it. Likewise, states may do
nothing that goes against either the
Constitution or federal law
Partner Question
1. What is the supremacy clause?
2. Can laws conflict with the Constitution?
Why or why not?
The Supremacy Clause
● “I am persuaded no constitution was
ever before so well calculated as ours
for...self-government.”
o Thomas Jefferson’s letter to James
Madison
Partner Question pg. 90
1. Write a paragraph about the U.S.
Constitution using the following group of
words-popular sovereignty, rule of law,
separation of powers, checks and balances,
expressed powers, reserved powers,
concurrent powers.
Partner Questions pg. 90
2. Why did the Framers include the
principles they did in writing the
Constitution?
3. How is the power to govern shared under
the principle of federalism?
Partner Questions pg. 90
4. What are the five principles of
government embodied in the United
States Constitution?
5. Explain each of the listed principles in
the Constitution-Popular Sovereignty,
Rule of Law, Separation of Powers,
Checks and Balances
Partner Questions pg. 90
6. In what ways has the system of checks
and balances helped avoid conflict
between the branches of government?