Objectives You may wish to callstudents’ attention to the objectivesin the Section Preview. The objectivesare reflected in the main headings ofthe section.Bellringer Ask who has belonged toorganizations such as Boy Scouts,Girl Scouts, or 4H. Have studentsexplain the basic principles, or rules,of these organizations. Then discussthe value of such principles. Explainthat in this section, students willlearn about the basic principles ofthe Constitution. Vocabulary Builder Ask students topick out the terms from the PoliticalDictionary that they think might bebasic principles of the Constitution.Have them suggest a meaning foreach. As students read the section,have them revise their meanings.

Point-of-Use Resources

Block Scheduling with LessonStrategies Activities for Chapter 3are presented on p. 20.

The Six BasicPrinciples1

64

Customize forMore Advanced StudentsHave students conduct research to investigate thechanging role of the Speaker of the House. (Youmay wish to assign each student a specific speaker.)Ask students to summarize their research in briefreports and then lead a discussion on the changingrole.

Consider these suggestions to manage extendedclass time:■ Present students with the following scenario:They are Framers and are in the process of writ-ing the Constitution. Elicit from the class thedifferences between themselves and the realFramers; for example, the real Framers did notinclude women or minorities. Have small groupsof students write an additional section of theConstitution from their own perspectives.

■ After students complete the Learning StylesActivity on p. 69, have them review Chapter 2to determine historic precedents that may haveinspired the Framers of the Constitution to fol-low the six basic principles. For example, stu-dents could point out that the failure of theBritish to respect the political wishes of thecolonists might have encouraged the Framers tofollow the principle of popular sovereignty.

Block Scheduling Strategies

Lesson Plan

1. Focus Explain that the Constitutionis based on six principles. Ask studentsto discuss the value of basing such a document on a set of principlesrather than on detailed provisions.2. Instruct List the six basic princi-ples on the chalkboard, and circleLimited Government. Lead a discus-sion in which students try to link theprinciple of limited government withthe other principles.3. Close/Reteach Remind studentsthat the Constitution is fairly brief,because it deals with matters of basicprinciple. Next to the six principleslisted on the board, write their defini-tions in mixed-up order. Have studentsmatch each principle with its correctdefinition.

The Six Basic Principles

Objectives

1. Outline the importantelements of the Constitution.

2. List the six basic principles ofthe Constitution.

Why It Matters

The Constitution is a brief, straightforward document that has guided American governmentfor over 200 years. Its authors wrote theConstitution based on the principles that politicalpower resides with the people, and that theNational Government should be limited and divided into three branches to limit the power of any one of those three branches.

PoliticalDictionary

★ Preamble★ articles★ constitutionalism★ rule of law★ separation of powers★ checks and balances★ veto★ judicial review★ unconstitutional★ federalism

half an hour. You will find the text of theConstitution beginning on page 758. As youread it, remember that this brief document hassuccessfully guided this nation through twocenturies of tremendous growth and change.One of the Constitution’s greatest strengths isthat it deals largely with matters of basic prin-ciple. Unlike most other constitutions—thoseof the 50 States and those of most othernations—the Constitution of the United Statesis not weighted down with detailed and cum-bersome provisions.

As you read the Constitution, you will alsosee that it is organized in a simple and straight-forward way. It begins with a short, noteworthy

TThe Constitution of the United States datesfrom the latter part of the eighteenth

century. It was written in 1787, and took effectin 1789. The fact that the Constitution is morethan 200 years old does not mean, however, thatnow, in the twenty-first century, it is only aninteresting historical artifact, fit for museumsand dusty shelves. On the contrary, it remains avitally important and vibrant document.

The Constitution is this nation’s fundamentallaw. It is, by its own terms, “the supreme Law ofthe Land”—the highest form of law in theUnited States.

An Outline of the ConstitutionThe Constitution sets out the basic principlesupon which government in the United Stateswas built and operates today. The document laysout the basic framework and procedures of ourgovernment, and sets out the limits within whichthat government must conduct itself.

The Constitution is a fairly brief document.Its little more than 7,000 words can be read in

� Although the members of the Federal Government are con-tinually changing, from leaders of the past like Senator HenryCabot Lodge (R., Massachusetts) to contemporary lawmakerssuch as Senator Mary Landrieu (D., Louisiana), the Constitutionprovides a lasting link between the past and present.

Teaching the Main Ideas L3

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To make sure students understand the mainpoints of this section, you may wish to use theweb graphic organizer to the right.

Tell students that a web shows a main idea and its supporting details. Ask students to usethe web to outline the basic principles of theConstitution.

Teaching Tip A template for this graphic organizercan be found in the Section SupportTransparencies, Transparency 1.

Organizing Information

Reading StrategySelf-QuestioningAsk students to write seven com-prehension questions as they read—one about how the Constitution isorganized and one about each ofthe six principles. When they finishthe section, have them answer thequestions they wrote.

Point-of-Use Resources

Guided Reading and Review Unit 1booklet, p. 18 provides students withpractice identifying the main ideasand key terms of this section.

Lesson Planner For completelesson planning suggestions, see theLesson Planner booklet, section 1.

Political Cartoons See p. 12 of the Political Cartoons booklet for acartoon relevant to this section.

Section Support TransparenciesTransparency 15, Visual Learning;Transparency 114, Political Cartoon

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Background NoteCommon MisconceptionsThe great principle of popular sover-eignty set forth in the Constitution washardly embraced by all of the Framers.In fact, the idea of granting the peopleas a whole too much say in governmentfrightened many of them. AlexanderHamilton, for example, wrote that the“turbulent and changing” opinions ofthe masses “seldom judge or determineright,” and referred to the “imprudenceof democracy.” George Washington, pre-siding at the Constitutional Convention,admonished the delegates not to pro-duce a document that would simply“please the people.”

Chapter 3 • Section 1

Answer to . . .Interpreting Tables The first threeoutline the basic structure of thegovernment, while the ones thatfollow address more specific topics.

introduction, the Preamble, and the balance ofthe original document is divided into seven num-bered sections called articles. The first three arti-cles deal with the three branches of the NationalGovernment: Congress, the presidency, and thefederal court system. These articles outline thebasic organization and powers of each branchand the methods by which the members ofCongress, the President and Vice President, andfederal judges are chosen. Article IV deals mostlywith the place of the States in the AmericanUnion and with their relationship with theNational Government and with one another.Article V explains how formal amendments maybe added to the document. Article VI declaresthat the Constitution is the nation’s supremelaw; Article VII provided for the ratification ofthe Constitution.

The seven articles of the original document arefollowed by 27 amendments, printed in theorder in which they were adopted.

The Basic PrinciplesThe Constitution is built around six basic prin-ciples: popular sovereignty, limited government,separation of powers, checks and balances, judi-cial review, and federalism.

Popular SovereigntyIn the United States, all political power residesin the people. The people are sovereign. Theyare the only source for any and all governmen-tal power. Government can govern only withthe consent of the governed.

The principle of popular sovereignty, so boldlyproclaimed bythe Declaration of Independence, is

Articles of the Constitution

Section Subject

Preamble

Article I

Article II

Article III

Article IV

Article V

Article VI

Article VII

States the purpose of the Constitution

Legislative branch

Executive branch

Judicial branch

Relations among the States

Amending the Constitution

National debts, supremacy of national law, and oaths of office

Ratifying the Constitution

Interpreting Tables The Constitution sets up the basic struc-ture of our Federal Government. How do the first three arti-cles differ from those that follow?

woven throughout the Constitution. In its veryopening words, in the Preamble, theConstitution declares: “We the People of theUnited States . . . do ordain and establish thisConstitution for the United States of America.”

In essence, the National Government drawsits power from the people of the United States,and the people have given their government thepower that it has through the Constitution.Similarly, each one of the State governmentsdraws its authority from the people of that State,through that State’s constitution.

Limited GovernmentThe principle of limited government holds thatno government is all-powerful, that a govern-ment may do only those things that the peoplehave given it the power to do.

In effect, the principle of limited governmentis the other side of the coin of popular sover-eignty. It is that principle stated the other wayaround: The people are the only source of anyand all of government’s authority; and govern-ment has only that authority the people havegiven to it.

The concept of limited government can be ex-pressed another way: Government must obey thelaw. Stated this way, the principle is often calledconstitutionalism—that is, that governmentmust be conducted according to constitutional

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Point-of-Use Resources

Close Up on Primary Sources TheMayflower Compact (1620), p. 52;Fundamental Orders of Connecticut(1639), p. 53

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Background NoteRoots of DemocracyAs Americans we take great pride inthe ringing phrases of the Declarationof Independence, but few realize howheavily Thomas Jefferson relied on theworks of John Locke (1632–1704)—the great philosopher who hailed from,of all places, England. The Framers’ideas on limited government and popularsovereignty were influenced by Locke’smost important work, Two Treatises onGovernment (1690). In this book Lockestated that the legitimacy of governmentsprang from the individual, or, asJefferson would later write, from “theconsent of the governed.” Locke arguedthat the individual was born free andwas entitled to the Natural Rights of“life, liberty, and estate”—a phraseJefferson refashioned as the “certaininalienable rights” among which were“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-ness.” If governments failed to protectthese rights, subjects were entitled towithdraw their support. The AmericanDeclaration of Independence, which wasbased on Locke’s ideas, inspired exactlythat—the withdrawal of colonists’ sup-port of the British government.

Chapter 3 • Section 1Section 2 of Chapter 1. In a parliamentary system the legislative, executive, and judicialpowers of government are all gathered in thehands of a single agency. British government is aleading example. In a presidential system, thesebasic powers are distributed—separated—among three distinct and independent branchesof the government.

This concept is known as separation of powers.The idea had been written into each of the Stateconstitutions adopted during the Revolution. Aclassic expression of the doctrine can be found inthe Massachusetts constitution of 1780:

“ In the government of thiscommonwealth, the legislative

department shall never exercise the executiveand judicial powers, or either of them: Theexecutive shall never exercise the legislativeand judicial powers, or either of them: Thejudicial shall never exercise the legislative and executive powers, or either of them: to the end it may be a government of lawsand not of men.”

—Part the First, Article XXX

The Constitution of the United States distrib-utes the powers of the National Governmentamong the Congress (the legislative branch), thePresident (the executive branch), and the courts(the judicial branch). This separation of powersis clearly set forth in the opening words of eachof the first three Articles of the Constitution.

Article I, Section 1 declares: “All legislativePowers herein granted shall be vested in aCongress of the United States. . . .” Thus,Congress is the lawmaking branch of theNational Government.

Article II, Section 1 declares: “The executivePower shall be vested in a President of theUnited States of America.” Thus, the President isgiven the law-executing, law-enforcing, law-administering powers of the NationalGovernment.

Article III, Section 1 declares: “The judicialPower of the United States shall be vested in onesupreme Court, and in such inferior Courts asthe Congress may from time to time ordain andestablish.” Thus, the federal courts, and mostimportantly the Supreme Court, interpret andapply the laws of the United States in casesbrought before them.

principles. The concept of limited government isalso described as the rule of law, which holds thatgovernment and its officers are always subjectto—never above—the law.

In large part, the Constitution is a statementof limited government. Much of it reads as clearprohibitions of power to government.1 Forexample, notice the Constitution’s guarantees offreedom of expression. Those great guaran-tees—of freedom of religion, of speech, of press,of assembly, and of petition—are vital to demo-cratic government. They are set out in the FirstAmendment, which begins with the words:“Congress shall make no law. . . .’’

Separation of PowersRecall the brief discussion of the parliamentaryand the presidential forms of government in

1See, especially, Article I, Sections 9 and 10; the 1st through the10th amendments; and the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26thamendments.

�The Rule of Law During the Watergate scandal prosecutorsaccused many of President Richard Nixon’s closest advisers ofbreaking the law. This poster implies that Nixon shared theirguilt and would soon be exposed.

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Enrichment Have students write eachpower of the branches of governmenton individual index cards. (See thechart on p. 68.) Distribute the cardsamong three students so that each student has all the cards related toone branch. One student reads acard for a branch of government.Other students must find a card thatchecks or balances the power chosenby the first student.

Have students read the Primary Sources selection from The Federalist onthis page and then answer the question below.

From the passage, you can infer that Madison believed tyranny

A results when power is held equally by many groups.

B could not happen in a democracy.

C is a result of having a strong executive branch.

D is a threat when powers are not separated among the branches of government.

Preparing for Standardized Tests

Chapter 3 • Section 1

Answer to . . .Interpreting Political CartoonsSome students may answer thatthe speaker means that theConstitution can change with thetimes as necessary. Others mayargue that the speaker is usingirony to support the notion thatthe Constitution should be inter-preted strictly, according to theFramers’ original intent.

Make It Relevant

Robbyn Mitchell sets her sightsfar beyond her home town ofWashington, D.C. Her involve-ment in Operation Day’s Workhas taken her to Norway toobserve the operation of the orig-inal ODW program, and to theODW-USA constitutional con-vention near Philadelphia.

Sponsored by the U.S. Agencyfor International Development,ODW-USA encourages Americanstudents to learn about othercountries and to help other students—both locally and globally—through volunteer ser-vice. Robbyn says that, for her,ODW “is about taking a standand helping to save the world.”That is why she convinced theprincipal of her high school toadopt the program. At the ODW-USA convention, Robbyn andabout 100 other students, teach-ers, and sponsors debated issuesand procedures, and drafted aconstitution for the organization.

Students Make a Difference

Remember, the Framers of the Constitutionintended to create a stronger government for theUnited States. Yet they also intended to limit thepowers of that government. The doctrine of sep-aration of powers was designed to that end.

Defending this arrangement, James Madisonwrote:

“ The accumulation of allpowers, legislative, executive,

and judiciary, in the same hands, whether ofone, a few, or many . . . may justly bepronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

—The Federalist No. 47

Checks and BalancesThe National Government is organized aroundthree separate branches. As you have just seen,the Constitution gives to each branch its ownfield of governmental authority: legislative, executive, and judicial.

These three branches are not entirely separated nor completely independent of oneanother. Rather, they are tied together by a com-plex system of checks and balances. This meansthat each branch is subject to a number of con-stitutional checks (restraints) by the otherbranches. In other words, each branch has cer-tain powers with which it can check the opera-tions of the other two.

The chart on the next page describes themajor features of the check-and-balancearrangement. As you can see, the Congress hasthe power to make law, but the President mayveto (reject) any act of Congress. In its turn,Congress can override a presidential veto by atwo-thirds vote in each house. Congress canrefuse to provide funds requested by thePresident, or the Senate may refuse to approve atreaty or an appointment made by the President.The President is the commander in chief of thearmed forces, but Congress provides that mili-tary force; and so on.

The chart also shows how the system ofchecks and balances links the judicial branch tothe legislative and the executive branches. ThePresident has the power to name all federaljudges. Each appointment, however, must beapproved by a majority vote in the Senate. At thesame time, the courts have the power to deter-mine the constitutionality of acts of Congress

and of presidential actions, and to strike downthose they find unconstitutional.

Head-on clashes between the branches donot often happen. The checks-and-balances sys-tem operates all the time, however, and in rou-tine fashion. The very fact that it exists—thateach branch has its several checks—affects muchof what happens in Washington, D.C.

For example, when the President picks some-one to serve in some important office in theexecutive branch—as, say, secretary of state ordirector of the Central Intelligence Agency(CIA)—the President is quite aware that theSenate must confirm that appointment. So, thePresident is apt to pick someone who very likelywill be approved by the Senate. In a similarsense, when Congress makes law, it does so witha careful eye on both the President’s veto powerand the power of the courts to review its actions.

Spectacular clashes—direct applications ofthe check-and-balance system—do sometimesoccur, of course. The President does veto someacts of Congress. On rare occasion, Congressdoes override one of those vetoes. And, even

“Hey, the Constitution isn’t engraved in stone.”

Interpreting Political Cartoons Is the Constitution “carved in stone”?Why or why not?

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Remind students that two Presidentshave been impeached: AndrewJohnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in1998. Ask students to create a reportthat illustrates the similarities anddifferences between these two cases.Encourage students to include intheir reports information about thespecific charges that were filed, theoutcomes of the Senate votes toacquit in each case, and how theseproceedings affected each President’sremaining time in office. Ask volun-teers to present their findings to theclass.GT

American Government,American HumorShare the following quotation withstudents:

“The single most exciting thingyou encounter in government iscompetence, because it is sorare.”

—Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Discussion Ask students whatMoynihan, a former Senator of NewYork, meant by his remark. Thenhave students explain whether andwhy the Framers of the Constitutionmight have agreed with it. How doeach of the six principles guard againstthe incompetence Moynihan humor-ously refers to? What other bad traitsdo the principles guard against?

68

Chapter 3 • Section 1

Answer to . . .Interpreting Diagrams The Presidentappoints Supreme Court justicesand federal judges; Congress creates lower courts, may impeachjudges, and approves or rejectsappointment of judges (Senate).

intended it to do. It has prevented “an unjustcombination of the majority.’’ At the same time,the system of checks and balances has not oftenforestalled a close working relationship betweenthe executive and legislative branches of theFederal Government.

Note, however, that that working relation-ship runs more smoothly when the President anda majority in both houses of Congress have beenof the same political party. When the other partycontrols one or both houses, partisan frictionand conflict play a larger than usual part in thatrelationship.

Through most of our history, the Presidentand a majority of the members of both houses of

more rarely, the Senate does reject one of thePresident’s appointees. And twice in our history,the House of Representatives has impeached,or brought charges against, a President—Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in1998—although on both occasions the Presidentwas acquitted by the Senate.

But, again, these and other direct confronta-tions are not common. Congress, the President,and even the courts try to avoid them. Thecheck-and-balance system makes compromisenecessary—and compromise is a vital part ofdemocratic government.

Over time, the check-and-balance system hasworked quite well. It has done what the Framers

Checks and Balances

Judicial BranchInterprets the law

Legislative BranchMakes the law

Executive BranchCarries out the law

Judges are appointed for life, free from executive control; courts may declare executive actions to be unconstitutional

Congress makes laws, creates agencies and programs, appropriates funds to carry out laws and programs, may override veto with 2/3 vote, may remove President through impeachment; Senate approves treaties and presidential appointments

Congress creates lower courts, may remove judges through impeachment; Senate approves or rejects appointment of judges

Courts may declare acts of Congress to be unconstitutional

President may veto legislation, may call special sessions, recommend legislation, appeal to the people

President appoints Supreme Court justices and other federal judges

Interpreting Diagrams Under the system of checks and balances, each branch of governmentcan check the actions of the others. In what way can the power of the judiciary bechecked by the other branches?

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Divide the class into six groups.Assign each group one of the sixbasic principles. Provide each groupwith 5–6 index cards. Have groupmembers write the definition of theirprinciple on one card, and examplesof the principle or terms associatedwith it on the rest of the cards.Cards from all of the groups shouldbe placed in a box and shuffled.After the teacher has listed the sixprinciples on the chalkboard, stu-dents should alternate turns pickinga card and placing it under theappropriate principle on the board.Groups earn one point for eachmember’s correct response.SN

Point-of-Use Resources

The Enduring ConstitutionJudicial Review, p. 7

Basic Principles of the ConstitutionTransparencies Transparencies 37-43,Judicial Review

69

Background NoteConstitutional IssuesAlthough the Civil War was certainly thebest-known dispute over the conceptof federalism, it was not the first threatto the Union. In 1814, New EnglandState delegates met at the HartfordConvention to protest the War of 1812and recommended secession for theregion unless Federal power was curtailed. In 1832, South Carolinathreatened secession after the FederalGovernment blocked its attempt toinvoke a doctrine of “nullification,”which would have exempted the Statefrom paying a tariff Southerners believedto favor the North.

Judicial Review In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the SupremeCourt chose not to exercise the power to forceSecretary of State James Madison to followthrough on President Adams’s appointment ofWilliam Marbury as justice of the peace. Ironically,by not choosing to use that power, the Courtestablished the process of judicial review—bywhich the Court dramatically expanded its power.

Activity Have students review Supreme Court cases thatdeal with judicial review in the Close Up onSupreme Court Cases booklet. Then have themconsider the rulings from these cases and write abrief essay on the importance of the power ofjudicial review. Ask students to consider whatmight happen if the courts did not have thepower of judicial review.

Constitutional Principles

Chapter 3 • Section 1

Answer to . . .Critical Thinking If it is deemedunconstitutional.

Congress have been of the same party. Over thepast 50 years or so, however, the Americanpeople have become quite familiar with divid-ed government—that is, with split control,with a political environment in which one ofthe major parties occupies the White Houseand the other controls Congress.

That is not the situation today. TheRepublican Party has firm control of both theexecutive and legislative branches of theNational Government—and it strengthenedthat dominant position with decisive victoriesin both the presidential and the congressionalelections of 2004.

Judicial ReviewOne aspect of the principle of checks and bal-ances is of such overriding importance in theAmerican constitutional system that it stands, byitself, as one of that system’s basic principles:judicial review.

The power of judicial review is the power ofcourts to determine whether what governmentdoes is in accord with what the Constitutionprovides. More precisely, judicial review may bedefined this way: It is the power of a court todetermine the constitutionality of a governmen-tal action.

In part, then, judicial review is the power todeclare unconstitutional—to declare illegal, null

2Generally, the power is held by all courts of record. These arecourts that keep a record of their proceedings and have the power topunish for contempt. Usually, only the lowest courts in a State—justiceof the peace courts, for example—are not courts of record.

� The Supreme Court has struck down federal laws that regulated child labor and outlawed theburning of the United States flag. Critical Thinking What characteristic of a law can lead theSupreme Court to overturn it?

and void, of no force and effect—a governmen-tal action found to violate some provision in theConstitution. The power of judicial review isheld by all federal courts and by most Statecourts, as well.2

The Constitution does not provide for judicialreview in so many words. Yet it seems clear thatthe Framers intended that the federal courts, andin particular the Supreme Court, should have thatpower. In The Federalist No. 78 AlexanderHamilton wrote that “independent judges”would prove to be “an essential safeguard againstthe effects of occasional ill humors in society.” InThe Federalist No. 51 James Madison called thejudicial power one of the “auxiliary precautions”against the possible dominance of one branch ofgovernment over another.

In practice, the Supreme Court establishedthe power of judicial review in the landmarkcase of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. (We shalltake a close look at that case and the doctrine ofjudicial review in Chapter 18.) Since Marbury,the Supreme Court and other federal and Statecourts have used the power in thousands ofcases. For the most part, the courts have L3

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Point-of-Use Resources

Guide to the Essentials Chapter 3,Section 1, p. 24 provides sup-

port for students who need additionalreview of section content. Spanishsupport is available in the Spanishedition of the Guide on p. 17.

Quiz Unit 1 booklet, p. 19includes matching and multiple-choicequestions to check students’ under-standing of Section 1 content.

Close Up on Primary SourcesMarbury v. Madison (1803), p. 64;William Rehnquist, On JudicialActivism (1998), p. 66

Presentation Pro CD-ROM Quizzesand multiple-choice questions

check students’ understanding ofSection 1 content.

Answers to . . .

Section 1 Assessment1. To state the broad purposes of the Constitution, and introduce theconcepts of popular sovereignty andrepresentative government that it willexplain in detail.2. Examples should include two of the following. Judicial: courtsdeclare executive actions or actionsof Congress to be unconstitutional.Legislative: impeach judges andoverride presidential vetoes; approveor reject appointments (Senate).Executive: appoint justices andjudges; veto legislation and call special sessions.3. The law is considered null andvoid.4. Definitions will vary, but shouldbe based on the text.5. The legislative branch makes thelaw: drafts laws and amendments,appropriates funds, approves treaties.The executive branch carries out thelaw: vetoes or recommends legislation,calls special sessions, and makesappeals to the people. The judicialbranch interprets the law: it triescases and executes judicial review.

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Chapter 3 • Section 1

6. Answers should reflect an under-standing that they wanted to respectself-government at the State level andprevent tyranny.7. Judges may be removed byCongress, and Congress is directlyaccountable to the people who electthem.

necessity. In Philadelphia, theFramers faced a number of difficult problems, not theleast of them: How to build anew, stronger, more effectiveNational Government whilepreserving the existing Statesand the concept of local self-government.

The colonists had rebelledagainst the harsh rule of a pow-erful and distant central govern-ment. They had fought for theright to manage their localaffairs without the meddlingand dictation of the king andhis ministers in far-off London.Surely, they would not nowagree to another such govern-ment.

The Framers found theirsolution in federalism. Inshort, they constructed thefederal arrangement, with itsdivision of powers, as a com-

promise. It was an alternative to the system ofnearly independent States, loosely tied to oneanother in the weak Articles of Confederation,and a much feared, too powerful central gov-ernment. We shall explore the federal system atlength in the next chapter.

upheld challenged governmentalactions. That is, in most cases inwhich the power of judicialreview is exercised, the actions ofgovernment are found to be con-stitutional.

That is not always the case. Todate, the Supreme Court hasdecided some 150 cases in which ithas found an act or some part ofan act of Congress to be unconsti-tutional. It has struck down sever-al presidential and other executivebranch actions as well. The Courthas also voided hundreds ofactions of the States and their localgovernments, including more than1,100 State laws.

FederalismAs you know, the American gov-ernmental system is federal inform. The powers held by gov-ernment are distributed on a ter-ritorial basis. The NationalGovernment holds some of those powers, andothers belong to the 50 States.

The principle of federalism—the division ofpower among a central government and several regional governments—came to theConstitution out of both experience and

� This statue in Concord, Massachusetts,pays tribute to the Minutemen who foughtBritish troops to protect self-government.

Key Terms and Main Ideas1. What is the purpose of the Preamble to the Constitution?2. List two examples of how checks and balances work in

the Federal Government.3. What is the immediate effect if a law is declared unconsti-

tutional?4. Explain federalism in your own words.

Critical Thinking5. Making Comparisons What are the different roles of the

executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch?6. Understanding Point of View Why were the Framers of the

Constitution careful to limit the powers of the FederalGovernment?

7. Drawing Conclusions Some people consider the judicialbranch the least democratic of the three branches of thegovernment because federal judges are not elected andcannot be easily removed. How can voters and their electedrepresentatives check the power of the judicial branch?

PHSchool.com

For: An activity on the separation of powers

Web Code: mqd-1031

Progress Monitoring OnlineFor: Self-Quiz and vocabulary practiceWeb Code: mqa-1031

PHSchool.com

Progress Monitoring OnlineFor: Self-quiz with vocabulary practiceWeb Code: mqa-1031

Typing in the Web Code whenprompted will bring students directly to detailedinstructions for this activity.

PHSchool.com

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