Articles of the Constitution

Article 1

Legislative Branch

• Congress is divided into the Senate and House of Representatives. 

  • Senate: equal representation with two senators per state

  • House: representatives are apportioned by population.

•  This is different from the Articles because the Constitution has a bicameral legislature instead of unicameral. 

• Section 8: enumerated powers are outlined. 

  • Lay and collect taxes

  • Borrow money

  • Coin money

  • Declare war

  • Raise and support armies

  • Maintain a navy

  • Etc. 

• Necessary and Proper Clause (elastic clause): If congress needs to make any other laws that are needed for their enumerated powers, they are able to do so. 

  • Antifederalists were afraid that this would see congress making any law they wanted to.

Article 2

Executive Branch

• Establishes the electoral college

• Lists executive powers

  •  Establishes the president as commander in chief. 

  • Establishes the president as the enforcer of laws.

Article 3

Judicial Branch

• Establishes the SCOTUS & gives congress the ability to establish other courts

• Jurisdiction

  • Original jurisdiction - having heard a case for the first time

  • All cases affecting ambassadors and other public officials, the SCOTUS will have original jurisdiction. 

  • On other cases, the SCOTUS will have appellate jurisdiction. 

    1. Most of the cases heard are appeals from lower branches.

Article 4

State Relations

Relationships between the federal government and state governments as between the states themselves.

Article 5

Amendment Process

• 2 methods of proposal

  • ⅔ of both houses of congress

  • ⅔ of state governments

• Ratification

  • ¾ of state governments must approve. 

• There are currently only 27 amendments. 

Article 6

National Supremacy

• Supremacy Clause: 

  • Essentially, if the federal government and state governments create conflicting laws on the same subject, the federal law will be obeyed instead of the state law. 

  • FEDERAL TRUMPS STATE

  • This and the elastic clause made anti-federalists very nervous.

Article 7

Ratification Process