Introduction to the Constitution Six Basic Principles Preamble

The Six Basic Principles of the Constitution Popular Sovereignty Limited Government Separation of Powers Checks and Balances Judicial Review Federalism

Popular Sovereignty“Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Declaration of Independence

Popular Sovereignty Popular- of the people as a whole

Same root word as population Other uses: popular vote, popular discontent,

popular representation Sovereignty- the quality of having supreme,

independent authority over a territory Popular sovereignty- the people as a whole

have supreme authority

Popular Sovereignty The government’s right to rule comes from

the people. The U.S. system of government is based upon

the “consent of the governed.” The people give leaders their authority to

govern by electing them to office.

Popular Sovereignty The power to choose leaders has expanded

over time to include more voters. 15th Amendment- African American men 19th Amendment- women 26th Amendment- 18 year olds

Limited Government“That government is best which governs least.”

Henry David Thoreau

Limited Government The principle of Popular Sovereignty tells us

that the people are the source of government power.

Therefore, the government only has as much power as the people give it.

The Constitution lists not only powers that the government has, but the powers it is denied.

Limited Government- Bill of Rights The first 10 amendments to the Constitution

limit government from restricting freedom of expression, prevent warrantless searches, and require fair trials.

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Separation of Powers"The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many.”

Thomas Jefferson

Separation of Powers Not only is the power of the government

limited, but it is divided. The Constitution divides power among three

branches of government: Legislative- Congress Executive- President Judicial- federal courts

Each of the 3 branches has its own responsibilities and powers

Separation of Powers Early leaders hoped that separating powers

would prevent any single branch from gaining too much power.

Checks and Balances“The use of checks and balances in the forms of government, is to create delays and multiply diversities of interests, by which the tendency on a sudden to violate them may be counteracted.”

John Adams

Checks and Balances The United States government is intentionally

inefficient. Each branch of the government has the

authority to restrict the actions of the other two branches.

This prevents tyranny by any branch of government.

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Judicial ReviewThe judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made…

Section 2, Article III of Constitution

Judicial Review Since the Constitution is the highest authority

in the country, no one can violate it. Actions by the Executive or Legislative

branches of government can be invalidated by the Judicial Branch, if those actions are found to be unconstitutional.

Judicial Review A Supreme Court decision can be changed in

only two ways: If the Court itself changes its views If Congress proposes an amendment to the

Constitution, which then must be ratified by the states.

NOTE: This principle is not stated directly in the Constitution. In 1803, Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, interpreted Article III to mean that the Supreme Court had the power of judicial review.

Constitutional or Unconstitutional Public funding of school buses for parochial

students Public funding for parochial teacher salaries Teacher-led prayer (nonspecific religion) After-school student-led religious club Requiring all students to say the Pledge of

Allegiance Offering a moment of silence for voluntary

prayer

l Constitutional

Unconstitutional

Unconstitutional

Constitutional

Unconstitutional

Unconstitutional

Federalism“The true natural check on absolute democracy is the federal system, which limits the central government by the powers reserved, and the state governments by the powers they have ceded.”

Lord Acton, British historian

Federalism A federal system divides power between a

central government (Washington, D.C.) and several regional governments (Jefferson City)

This limits the power of the central government

Federalism also allows states to deal with local problems

Federalism Tenth Amendment:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

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The Six Constitutional Principles Find five specific examples of each principle

in action. Popular sovereignty Limited government Separation of powers Checks and balances Judicial review Federalism