After
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
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
Many delegates did not show up to this meeting.
Why?
1. States
would lose power if the central government became too powerful.
2. Delegates
might try to change the Articles of Confederation.
Purpose:
to discuss problems with the Articles of Confederation and to REVISE or improve it
Place:
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;
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
James
Madison was later called the Father of the Constitution
· We
know so much about the daily progress of the convention because of
· He
also brought much knowledge of other governments to the convention.
·
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
· 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
A census
is a count of the population taken every 10
years.
The next census will be in the year 2010.
Presently,
House of Representatives 19
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
·
Must
be at least 25 years old
·
Must
have been a
·
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
·
Must
be at least 30 years old
·
Must
have been a
·
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.
Or
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 19th District.
§
Our two
Expressed Powers of Congress
(Powers written in the Constitution)
1.
Raise money by taxing
2.
Control trade with other countries
3. Coin money
4.
Provide post offices
5.
Set up courts
6. Declare war
7. Raise an
army and navy
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 22nd Amendment,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was elected to 4 terms
as President. He died during his 4th
term.
Qualifications
for President and Vice President
1.
Must
be at least 35 years old
2.
Must
be a natural-born
3. Must
have lived in the
·
George Walker Bush (R-Texas) is the 43rd President of the
·
Richard Cheney (R- Wyoming) is the Vice President; he also serves as
the President of the
The President’s
group of advisors is the Cabinet. Presently there are 14 Cabinet
positions. (A
15th 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,
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
******What states would
have the largest number of electoral votes?
·
In the 2004 Election,
Inauguration
Day – Now on January 20. After the Vice President- elect is sworn in,
the President-elect is given the Oath of
Office at
Oath of Office – the President’s promise to
protect and defend the Constitution of the
“I do solemnly
swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the
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)
·
Justice Stevens (Ford 1975)
·
Justice
Alito (Bush 2005)
·
Justice Scalia (Reagan 1986)
·
Justice Kennedy (Reagan 1988)
·
Justice Souter (Bush 1990)
·
Justice Thomas (Bush 1991)
·
Justice Ginsburg (
·
Justice Breyer (
Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor was the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. She retired in 2005 and
was replaced by Justice Alito.
Grand jury – a jury that listens to the evidence and
decides whether there is enough evidence
to issue an indictment and have a trial
Petit jury- a jury that listens to the evidence and
decides guilt or innocence; “guilty” or
“not guilty”
Article IV - Gives powers not given to the federal government to the states.
Article
V - Amending the Constitution
Amendments must
be suggested
and then ratified (approved).
To Suggest: 1. By 2/3
of the Senate and House
OR
2. By 2/3
of the state legislatures or
special conventions
To Ratify: 1.
Legislatures in 3/4 of the states can ratify
(approve) OR
2. Conventions in 3/4 of
the states can ratify
Note:
The House and the Senate cannot ratify.
Neither the Executive Branch nor the Judicial Branch has anything to do
with making amendments!
To amend is to change.
There have been 27 changes (Amendments) to the Constitution.
The 1st
10 Amendments are known as the Bill of
Rights. These were ratified
(adopted) is 1791. Some states would not
ratify the Constitution unless a Bill of
Rights was added. Once work began on
this, 9 states ratified the
Constitution in 1788.
Our
Constitution without a Bill of Rights only guaranteed two rights: trial by jury and habeas corpus (a citizen
must be charged with a crime soon after arrest; he cannot be imprisoned
illegally with no charge against him)
Know these
specific Amendments from the Bill of
Rights:
Amendment # 1: Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and redress of
grievances.
Amendment #4: Protects against unreasonable search and
seizure
*Must
have a search warrant that states where they will search and what they are looking for
Amendment #5: no one can force you to say anything in
court that would help convict you of a crime.
You have the right to remain silent.
“I plead the 5th Amendment.”
Know these other Amendments:
Amendment # 12 – If no presidential candidate receives a
majority of the electoral votes, the
House of Representatives elects the President. Thomas
Jefferson was elected this way.
Amendment #13: Abolished slavery
Amendment #15: Black suffrage; black men’s the right to vote
Amendment #18: Prohibition
of alcohol
Amendment #21: Repealed
(cancelled) Amendment #18; sale and
manufacture of alcohol legal again
Amendment #19: Women’s
suffrage (right to vote)
(1920)
Amendment #26: 18-year old suffrage (right to vote)