Anatomy of the Constitution PDF

Name __________________________ Anatomy of the Constitution How Do They Govern? National Archives The U.S. Constitution is the document that established our natio...

Name __________________________ Anatomy of the Constitution How Do They Govern? National Archives The U.S. Constitution is the document that established our nation’s government. The contents of the Constitution created the three branches of our government with directions for how the federal government works. (It did this with a little over 4,500 words covering only four sheets of paper!) Although the Constitution was written in 1787, more than 200 years ago, it still The Constitution on display at the National Archives in guides our officials in running our country today. It is the oldest written constitution in the Washington, D.C. world that is still in use. Introducing… The Preamble Our Constitution is divided into nine parts. The first paragraph is called the Preamble and it is short but mighty. Its job is to introduce the Constitution, explain what the document is meant to do, and describe the purpose of the new government. The first three words — ”We the People”—contain the important idea of self-government and of unity in our diversity. It states that this nation will be founded on the ideals of justice, peace, and freedom for all. But what we wanted to be, was not quite who we were at that moment. Defining “We the People” So, who was this “we?” The Constitution was written for all people living within the United States, but the rights and freedoms for some people were limited in 1787. To start, voting was not granted to every person. And voting is the most formal way that people have power in a democracy. Voting qualifications were left to the states, and in 1787 many people were not allowed to vote. This included many groups such as women, white men without property, free and enslaved Black people, and Native Americans. For white women, it was assumed that they were represented by their husbands and fathers. For others, their humanity was not even recognized under the law. But over time, groups have worked to change that. Even without the formal power to vote, people have organized and protested to bring attention to a cause. Everyone can help make sure the nation moves closer to ensuring justice, peace, and freedom for all. Creating Congress: Article I National Archives Article I is the first and longest part of the Constitution. It creates the legislative branch of our government. Legislative means law-making. This section is the longest because the people who wrote the Constitution believed that a legislative branch is very important in a government that represents the people. Members of the legislature, or law-making body, are responsible for turning their constituents’ wants and needs into laws. They also answer most directly to the people who elect them. Charles Thomson designed Represent Me! this seal for the Continental Congress in 1782. The olive The legislative branch makes our government a representative branch and the arrows held democracy. This means that people elect representatives to represent in the eagle’s talons represent the power of peace and war. their needs and concerns. Article I creates a legislature called Congress and divides it into two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives. It also describes How is this seal how Congress should be organized, tells what qualifications legislators must have, and says similar to the how often Congress should hold elections and meet as a group. It explains how the House of original? How does this seal reflect the Representatives and Senate should work. At first, the people only directly elected members of the job of Congress? House of Representatives but now we vote for Senators too. © 2023 iCivics, Inc. 2  Name __________________________ Anatomy of the Constitution The Senate The House of Representatives Qualifications You must be at least 30 years old, have been a U.S. citizen You must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least for at least 9 years, and live in the state you represent. 7 years, and live in the state you represent. Size 2 senators per state = 100 total Number per state depends on population = 435 total They represent… the interests of the residents of the entire state for 6 years the interests of the residents who live in the district (within the state) per term. they represent for 2 years per term. Special Duties The Senate acts as a court during impeachments. All bills that raise money must start in the House of Representatives. Role in Lawmaking A bill must be approved in the same form by BOTH houses of Congress before it can go to the President to become law. What differences do you notice between the House of Representatives and the Senate? Why do you think the Framers wrote it that way? The Powers of Congress Article I Section 8 lists the powers Congress has. Even though Congress is a law-making body, their powers are limited to what is on this list: Collect taxes Establish post offices Punish pirates Borrow money and pay debts Coin money and Declare war and support an army Make rules for how to become a citizen punish counterfeiters and navy Regulate commerce (trade) between the states, with Give patents to new inventions Make any other laws that are Native American nations, and with foreign countries Create the lower federal courts “necessary and proper” to carry out the powers in this list. Creating the President: Article II Adam Schultz, White House Article II of the Constitution describes the job of the executive branch. This branch executes, or carries out, laws. The president heads this branch, which also includes the vice president and many departments that are in charge of carrying out the government’s day-to-day business. Article II describes who qualifies for the position, what powers the office has, and what happens if that person President Biden, VP Harris and the misbehaves. It also explains how the president is selected through the Electoral Cabinet Members in July of 2021. College. And even though the 12th Amendment changed how we elected the President and Vice President, it has mostly been the same process since the beginning. Presidential Powers The overall job of the executive branch is to carry out and enforce laws, but Article II gives the president a list of specific duties: Act as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court Justices,federal court judges, Maintain a cabinet of advisors (Today there are 15 who and Cabinet members run the executive departments like the Department of Represent the United States when dealing with foreign countries Education and the Treasury) Make sure that laws are carried out (executed) Make a State of the Union address to Congress Grant pardons in all federal criminal offenses, and reprieves Negotiate treaties with other countries (postponing punishments like executions) Creating the Courts: Article III Here come the judges! Article III creates the judicial branch. This branch interprets laws to decide what they mean and whether they have been followed in cases. © 2023 iCivics, Inc. 3  Name __________________________ Anatomy of the Constitution Article III creates the Supreme Court and authorizes Congress to create lower federal courts. They deal with United States laws, not state laws. Article III also gives directions Toshi Kazama, U.S. Supreme Court about what kinds of cases the Supreme Court and federal courts can hear. Under Article III, federal judges are chosen by the President and approved by the Senate, not elected by the people. They stay on the bench until they retire, die, or are removed for bad behavior. Article III also guarantees trial by jury for criminal cases and explains the crime of treason. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the first The States: Article IV woman to serve on the U.S. States have the power to create and enforce their own laws. Article IV of the Supreme Court. Constitution describes how states should interact with each other. Each state has to respect the laws and court decisions (such as custody agreements) of the other states. If an accused person flees from one state to another, the state where the crime was committed can request that they be returned to face charges. This is called extradition. New states can be admitted to the Union with the authorization of Congress and the president. All states must have a republican, or representative, type of government. (Sorry, states can’t have kings.) Amending the Constitution: Article V But the Constitution is not final because the Framers wanted the people to have the ability to change the law, if needed. In fact, they believed it was the duty of the people to make the country stronger by making it better. And over time, people have done just that. Article V describes how the Constitution can be changed. A change or addition to the Constitution is called an amendment. But they did not make it easy.. Why do you think they wanted to make the amendment process long and with a lot of checks? What do you think they feared if it was easy to change? Supreme Law of the Land: Article VI Federalism is the idea that the national government shares power with the state Fred Schilling, Collection of the Supreme Court governments. But what happens if a state law disagrees with a national or federal law? Article VI states that the laws and treaties of the U.S. government are “the supreme law of the land.” If a state and federal law disagree, the federal one wins. This article also requires officials working in state and federal governments to take an oath to support and defend the Constitution no matter what. Ratification: Article VII Chief Justice Roberts looks on as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Article VII says the Constitution could not take effect until at least Delaware signs the Oaths of Office in nine out of the thirteen states approved it. (Back then, there were Pennsylvania the Justices’ Conference Room, New Jersey Supreme Court Building. only thirteen states.) Each state held its own convention to discuss GeorgiaI E D A TIF and vote on the Constitution’s plan for government. Voters and their Connecticut R Massachusetts representatives decided, but many ordinary people read about the proposed Constitution, Maryland and discussed and debated its strengths and weaknesses. With all of these opinions, getting South Carolina New Hampshire approval wasn’t easy. After much debate over whether this new government would be too The list of states in order of weak or too powerful, a compromise was reached. It was agreed that ten amendments would ratification of the Constitution. be added to the Constitution. These amendments, called the Bill of Rights, would list specific rights not already mentioned in the Constitution. This put people’s minds at ease, and the Constitution became the law of the land in March 1789. The Bill of Rights was added in 1791. © 2023 iCivics, Inc. 4