Unit 4: Articles of Confederation and Constitution Part 2

Legislative Branch

This branch is given the powers to makes the laws and is a bicameral legislature that is known as Congress. Every state gets two senators in the Senate. Each state's representation in the House is based on its population, but each state must have at least 1 representative. All laws that are passed first start out as bills. A bill must pass through both houses of Congress before it is sent to the executive branch in the process to become a law.

House of Representatives

This is the lower house of Congress. House members are directly elected by popular vote. All tax and spending bills must originate in this house. This house also brings formal charges of impeachment on any federal official suspected of wrongdoing or misconduct. Members in the House must represent their constituents and promote the interests of their constituents.

Senate

Senators were originally chosen by each state's government but since the 17th Amendment are now directly elected. Acts as a court to try an accused official if they have been impeached. Must ratify treaties made by the President. Must confirm presidential appointments of federal officials (department heads, ambassadors, and federal judges). Members in the Senate must represent their constituents and promote the interests of their constituents.

Executive Branch

This branch is given the power to enforce the laws. It consists of the President, the Vice President, the various executive offices, departments, and agencies.

President

The president is the head of the executive branch. They are in charge of carrying out the nation's laws. They act as the chief diplomat to foreign nations. The president is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and give orders to the military and direct its operations but must have Congressional approval to send troops to foreign nations if they will be stationed their for more then 60 days. The president can propose that Congress pass laws and work to see that they are passed. The President must give a State of the Union address each year which helps the president to present their goals for legislation in the upcoming year. The president does not enforce the laws all by themselves and has help from the various departments and agencies established by the government.

Cabinet

A group of advisers to the president. These advisers are called secretaries and head the various departments of the United States Government. The cabinet members help the president to set policies and make decisions. Cabinet members are selected by the President and approved by the Senate.

Judicial Branch

This branch interprets the laws and actions of the Legislative and Executive Branch. All the courts use the Constitution to make their decisions when the review and evaluate laws. They look a the laws and see whether or not the laws follow the Constitution. There are 94 lower courts called district courts. These courts review federal cases both criminal and civil cases that come under federal authority. The next level of courts are the 14 appeals courts that consider the district court's decision and can overturn the verdict or order a retrial. The next level of courts is the Supreme Court. This is the highest court in the land and is mostly an appeals court. It does try foreign diplomats or disputes between the states directly.

Judicial Review

The process by which the Supreme Court has the final authority to interpret the Constitution. This is an implied power from the Constitution because it is not specifically listed. This give the Supreme Court the right to review laws passed by Congress or actions by the executive branch and make a decision on whether or not the laws or actions are constitutional or unconstitutional. If a law or action is deemed constitutional it means that law is lawful and it may stay. If a law or action is unconstitutional that law or action needs to end or be stopped.

Bill/Law

A member of Congress introduces a bill which is sent to a committee. After review the committee decides if the bill should die or it should be sent to the House or Senate floor for review. The bill is debated in the House or Senate and revisions may or may not be made. Once they are done debate the bill can die or it can be passed to the opposite house for their revision. The bill repeats the process in the opposite house. Once a bill is passed in both houses, the houses create a committee to meet and review the different versions of the bill and make a compromise if they are different. The bill is then sent to both houses and voted on. If the bill passes both Houses it it is sent to the President to sign. If it is voted down it dies. The President can either sign the bill into law or veto it. If a President vetoes a bill both the House and Senate must override the veto with a 2/3rds vote. If they get the necessary majority to override the veto the bill becomes a law.

Elastic Clause

Also called the necessary and proper clause this clause says that Congress has the power, "To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States or in any depart of office thereof." This means that Congress can create laws and agencies to make sure that it can carry out its delegated or enumerate powers.

Supremacy Clause

This cause says that the United States Constitution is the law of the land. It says that laws passed by Congress are superior to those passed by states and local governments States and local government must obey the Constitution and laws passed by Congress.

Delegated/Enumerated Powers

Powers that are given to the Federal government and are specifically listed in the Constitution. These are powers to declaring war, regulating foreign and interstate commerce, admitting new states, maintaining an army and a navy, and regulating foreign and interstate commerce.

Reserved Powers

Powers that the Constitution does not give to the national government are kept by the states. These powers include establishing schools and local governments, regulating business withing the state, and regulating marriages.

Concurrent Powers

Powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments. These are the powers to create taxes, borrow money, protect the health and safety of the people, and establish courts.

Electoral College

The Electoral College is a group of people who formally elect the President and the Vice President of the United States. Each state is given a certain amount of electoral votes based on the number of representatives in the House of Representatives and two senators from the Senate. Each state varies on the number of electoral votes the minimum number of electors a state can have is 3. The person who gets 51% or more wins all of the electoral votes in that specific state with the exception of Maine and Nebraska. There are currently 538 electors. A candidate in the presidential election must reach the specific number (270) of electoral votes to win presidency. If no candidate reach 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives will vote for who will become the next president.

Amending the Constitution

There are two ways that the Constitution can be amended or changed. Congress can propose an amendment and vote to ratify it with a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate OR by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the current 27 amendments have been proposed by a constitutional convention. Proposed congressional amendments do not need to go to the executive branch for approval. An amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of states (38 states) for it to become part of the Constitution.

Ratify/Ratification

Ratify - to approve. Ratification - It is the official way to confirm that the Constitution would become the new form of government. The Framers set up a process that would improve the Constitution's chance for ratification. They recommended that instead of having the Constitution approved by state legislatures, it would be best if the document was sent to state constitutional conventions. Anti-federalists were opposed to signing the Constitution, unless there was a bill of rights that would be added to the end of the Constitution. Then, the Constitution would be ratified and become the new form of government for the United States.

Federalists

The main Federalists included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Other sources of support for the Federalists were large landowners who wanted the property protection a strong central government could provide, merchants and artisans living in large coastal cities (Congress' inability to regulate trade from the Articles of Confederation hurt these people), farmers near the coast or river, and farmers who shipped goods across states (wanted a strong central government that could regulate their trade). The federalists wanted people in New York to ratify the Constitution and protection of property rights. They wanted a strong central government with multiple branches who could use checks and balance to manage the power of the government. They wanted power to be divided between central and state governments. They also emphasized that the Constitution would create a federal government. They did not believed a bill of rights should be added to the Constitution because natural rights were already protected.

Antifederalists

The main Anti-federalists included Patrick Henry (VA), Samuel Adams (MA), John Hancock (MA), Richard Henry Lee (VA), George Clinton (NY), George Mason (VA) and Thomas Jefferson (VA). Other supporting groups included small states and western farmers living far from the coast (they were in debt and thought the Constitution was a way for wealthy creditors to get rid of paper money and foreclose their farms). Anti-federalists wanted strong state governments because they feared a strong central government. They were against the Constitution and wanted a bill of rights to protect the citizens rights against the government. They were not against federalism, though. They wanted the state governments to have more power than the national government.

Federalist Papers

The Federalist Papers are a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay to convince New York state to ratify the Constitution. The essays were published in New York newspapers and they defend the Constitution by say that separation of powers, checks and balances, and popular sovereignty were enough to protect the individual rights of a citizen. They argued that a bill of rights was not necessary because there were already checks and balances in place to prevent the government from taking too much power. There were 85 essays in total that answered the objection of those Anti-federalists who opposed the Constitution.

Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights was added onto the Constitution to protect the rights of the people from the new powerful government. The Anti-federalists wanted a bill of rights, or they would not agree with the Constitution. The first eight amendments protect the rights of individuals against the actions of the federal government (Freedom of expression, assembly, speech, religion and petition), right to bear arms, no quartering of soldiers, no unreasonable searches and seizures, rights to due process (the following of procedures established by law), protection from self incrimination or double jeopardy, fair and speedy trial (a right to a lawyer), trial by jury and no unusual punishment. The last two set limits on the powers of the new national government. The Ninth Amendment states that the people have other rights not listed. The Tenth Amendment states that any powers not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people.

James Madison

He was a prominent federalist. He was a Virginia delegate along with Edmund Randolph who played a crucial role in creating the Constitution. He wrote the bill of rights that was added to the Constitution. He was at the Constitutional Convention and became known as the "Father of the Constitution" because he introduced the ideas used as the foundation for the document, which was based on the Virginia Government. He took detailed notes of the proceedings and much of what we know about the decision made at the Convention are due to him. He wrote the Bill of Rights that was eventually added.

George Mason

He was a prominent anti-federalist. He was a respected Virginia politician who worried that the Constitution lacked sufficient safeguards to protect the individual liberties of the people. He and the rest of the respected Virginia politicians would only sign the Constitution if there was a bill of rights added. He was the delegate to the Constitutional convention and refused to sign the Constitution because he eventually became an anti-federalist. The anti-federalists wanted to add a bill of rights. He did not believe the central government should be given more power without protecting individual rights.

Gouverneur Morris

He was head of the Committee of Style and wrote the final draft of the Constitution. Much of the wording in the document is credited to him. He was a prominent Pennsylvania lawyer.