After America’s fight for Independence was over, the struggle for survival as a nation had just begun. . .

ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION our first constitution

1. No power to tax (How could the government get money to operate?)

2. No power to control trade

3. Could NOT raise money

· The states would not give money. They had war debts of their own.

· States were slow to voluntarily give the Continental Congress money to pay bills

PROBLEM! The economy sags

Unrest grows (particularly with farmers)

In Massachusetts farmers were losing land.

SHAYS’ REBELLION – Daniel Shays organized hundreds of farmers into an “army” to stop courts from foreclosing on their land.

A meeting was called in September 1786, at ANNAPOLIS, Maryland to discuss these problems and trade problems with the states.

Many delegates did not show up to this meeting. Why?

FEAR!

1. States would lose power if the central government became too powerful.

2. Delegates might try to change the Articles of Confederation.

SO. . .another meeting was called

Purpose: to discuss problems with the Articles of Confederation and to REVISE or improve it

Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Independence Hall

Time: May14, 1787

74 delegates appointed to attend; took until May 25 to reach a quorum. A quorum is the number necessary for a meeting to be legal, usually one more than half.

55 delegates from 12 states were present; Rhode Island would not attend. The tiny state was afraid of losing power.

The Constitutional Convention met from May – September in 1787 because the Articles of Confederation were too WEAK. They gave the states more power than the central government.

Our government needed to be improved.

The meetings for the convention were secret.

· windows of Independence Hall nailed closed

· no details released to the newspapers

· delegates sworn to secrecy

George Washington was chosen to preside. He was the “president” of the convention.

Benjamin Franklin at age 81 was the oldest delegate there.

Thomas Jefferson did not attend at all. He was our U.S. ambassador to France and was out of the country. John Adams did not attend. He was out of the country as our ambassador to Great Britain

James Madison was later called the Father of the Constitution

· We know so much about the daily progress of the convention because of Madison’s diary.

· He also brought much knowledge of other governments to the convention. Madison brought in many of the ideas used in the Constitution.

· parts of the Magna Charta (1215)

· English Bill of Rights (1689)

We also had our own tradition of self-government:

Virginia House of Burgesses (1619)

Mayflower Compact (1620)

Two unique principles that were part of the new Constitution were separation of powers and checks and balances

Separation of powers – no one branch of government would have all the power

· Legislative branch – makes the laws

· Executive Branch – carries out or enforces the laws

· Judicial Branch – interprets the laws (decides what the laws mean and whether they are “constitutional”)

Checks and Balances – one branch could check or block the actions of the other branches

Look for sections marked with a on the transparencies.

The United States Constitution is the SUPREME law of the land.

This is also stated in Article VI of the Constitution. Find it.

There was much conflict, discussion, and debate between the large states and the small states on how representation was to be in Congress. Finally a Great Compromise was reached.

The Congress would be bi-cameral (two houses).

Senate- Each state would have 2 senators (This came from the New Jersey Plan favored by the small states).

· Now 50 states x 2 senators = 100 senators

House of Representatives – number of representatives would be based on the state’s population. This came from the Virginia Plan favored by the large states.

· Now 435 members in the House

Congress = Senate + House

Congress = 100 + 435

Congress = 535

A census is a count of the population taken every 10 years.

The next census will be in the year 2010.

Presently, Illinois has 2 senators in the U.S. Senate and 19 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives for a total of 21 in Congress.

House of Representatives 19

Senate 2

21 in Congress

Article VII deals with how the Constitution must be ratified by 9 of the 13 states. It took until June 1788 for 9 states to approve.

To ratify means to be approved

A constitution is a plan of government.

The U.S. Constitution is divided into 3 parts:

the Preamble (the introduction that tells why)

7 Articles

27 Amendments (changes to the original document)

Article I

This is the article that deals with the legislative branch (also known as Congress). The Senate is sometimes called the upper house and the House of Representatives the lower house.

Congress makes the laws.

The House of Representatives

How many members does the House have?______

How are the number of House members for each state determined?_____

A representative to the House is elected for a term of 2 years.

Requirements for the U.S. House of Representatives:

· Must be at least 25 years old

· Must have been a U.S. citizen for 7 years

· Must live in the state he/she represents

The Speaker of the House is the leader or presiding officer of the House of Representatives.

Presently that position is held by Nancy Pelosi

· Know:Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

The primary duty of the House is to make the laws. It has other duties.

· The House also has the power to IMPEACH. (This was most recently done in 1998 when the House voted to impeach President Clinton).

· To impeach means to decide whether an official shall go on to trial for misbehavior in office.

· KNOW:

· The House decides to IMPEACH.

· The Senate holds the impeachment trial. The Senate tries the impeached official to decide whether he or she should be removed from office.

Note: The House voted to impeach Andrew Johnson in 1868. Bill Clinton was the second President to be impeached by the House in 1998. Neither President was removed from office when the Senate held the trial.

President Nixon probably would have been impeached by the House and removed from office by the Senate for his part in the Watergate scandal. He resigned before this could happen.

The Senate

How many members does the Senate have? _________

Each state has the same number of senators. How many? ________

A senator is elected for a term of 6 years.

Requirements for the U. S. Senate:

· Must be at least 30 years old

· Must have been a United States citizen for 9 years

· Must live in the state he/she represents

The leader of the Senate is called the President of the Senate. The Vice President of the United States holds this position. He presides over Senate meetings whenever possible. Presently Richard Cheney is the President of the Senate.

The president pro tempore (pro tem for short) leads the Senate when the Vice President cannot be there. Presently the president pro tempore is Robert Byrd.

Congress

· This is the 109th Congress. That number changes every 2 years.

· Congress must meet at least once a year.

· Congress must have a quorum (one more than half) to conduct business.

· The House must have 218 members for a quorum.

· The Senate must have 51 members for a quorum.

· The official record of congressional business is the

Congressional Record.

Congress vocabulary:

bill- a proposed law

committee – a small group that holds meetings and public hearings to gather information; ordinary citizens can testify at congressional hearings

revenue - money

ALL bills to raise revenue (money) MUST begin in the House of Representatives.

Check A bill becomes a law if:

and 1) BOTH Senate and House agree and

Balance 2) the President signs it.

if the President does not sign the bill within 10 days, it automatically becomes law. This is so that the President does not have to sign every piece of legislation that crosses his desk.

Check President can VETO (reject) the bill

and

Balance

but. . .

Check If 2/3 of the members of the House and

and Senate vote for the bill, it becomes a law anyway.

Balance This is called OVERRIDING a veto or an override.

How many votes are needed for an override in the House?

2/3 x 435 = ___________

How many votes are needed for an override in the Senate?

2/3 x 100= _____________

*An override is not easy to get especially when each political party is nearly equal in numbers

Pocket veto- If Congress is at the end of a session and the President does not sign the bill within 10 days after receiving it, it does NOT become a law automatically.

Your representative in the House of Representatives is from the newly formed 19th District.

§ John Shimkus (R). Represents your 19^th District.

§ Our two United States senators for Illinois are Richard Durbin (D) and Barak Obama (D). They represent all of the citizens of Illinois.

Expressed Powers of Congress

(Powers written in the Constitution)

Federalism (federal system) – system where power is divided between the state and central government. This is also known as federalism.

Article II – The Executive Branch

The President leads the executive branch. He carries out or enforces the laws. If the President is unable to carry out his/her duties, the Vice President takes over as President.

The President and Vice President are elected to a 4-year term of office.

The President cannot serve more than 2 terms (Amendment 22 – 1951).

· Note: Before the 22^nd Amendment, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected to 4 terms as President. He died during his 4^th term.

Qualifications for President and Vice President

1. Must be at least 35 years old

2. Must be a natural-born United States citizen

3. Must have lived in the United States for 14 years

· George Walker Bush (R-Texas) is the 43rd President of the United States.

· Richard Cheney (R- Wyoming) is the Vice President; he also serves as the President of the U.S. Senate.

The President’s group of advisors is the Cabinet. Presently there are 14 Cabinet positions. (A 15^th position, Homeland Security, has been proposed as a new Cabinet office).

· the Attorney General is Alberto Gonzales

· The Secretary of State is Condoleezza Rice

Line of Succession

1. Vice President

2. Speaker of the House

3. President Pro Tempore

4. Secretary of State

5.-17. Other members of the President’s cabinet

The President is the commander in chief of the armed forces. He is also a world leader.

He is required to make a State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress at least once a year. Now this is traditionally done in late January, and the address is televised to the nation.

Check The President has the power to make treaties

and but treaties must be approved by a 2/3 vote of

Balance the Senate.

Check The Senate must also approve the President’s

and appointments.

Balance

(examples: justices to the Supreme Court, U. S. Ambassadors, Cabinet members, etc.)

The President also has Check and Balance powers. He can VETO a bill passed by Congress.

Know the Election Process (see the Electing the President chart)

Vocabulary

candidate for President- any person who is interested in being elected President

The Constitution says that the President and Vice President cannot be from the same state.

delegate – an ordinary citizen voted by the members of state primaries and caucuses to represent the people at the nominating conventions; delegates choose the party’s Presidential nominee

nominee- the person chosen by delegates of one political party at the nominating convention to run for the office of President

running mate- the person chosen by the party’s nominee to run for the office of Vice President

Election Day – the Tuesday after the first Monday in November; registered voters go to the polls to cast their votes

Electoral College- electors are usually ordinary people chosen from each state to elect the President. Here the word “college” means “group.”

· Comes from a time when most Americans were not well enough informed about candidates. Some voters could not read of write. Electors voted in their place.

· 270 Electoral Votes are needed for a candidate to win the election.

There are 538 total electors. This number comes from the number in the House (435) and the Senate (100) + 3 from Washington D.C.

******What states would have the largest number of electoral votes?

· In the 2004 Election, Illinois had 21 electoral votes. This number came from our 19 members in the House and 2 members in the Senate.

Inauguration Day – Now on January 20. After the Vice President- elect is sworn in, the President-elect is given the Oath of Office at noon by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Oath of Office – the President’s promise to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. . .” George Washington added the words “so help me God.”

Many Presidents choose to add those words, too.

Article III – the Judicial Branch

The Supreme Court interprets the laws to see if they are “constitutional” or “unconstitutional.”

There are 9 justices (judges) for the Supreme Court.

A Chief Justice who has been appointed by the President leads the Supreme Court. Presently, he is Chief Justice John Roberts

Check Justices are APPOINTED to the Supreme Court

and by the President. There are no special

Balance requirements, but the Senate must approve by a 2/3 vote.

Justices serve for a life term or until they resign or are impeached.

· Chief Justice Roberts (Bush 2005)