U.S. Constitution
Created by Dan McCaulley, author of
Continuous Improvement in the Social Studies Classroom
(Designed to accompany From LtoJ® U.S.US Constitution PowerPoint)
Section 1 - History of the Constitution
1. The Constitution was written and signed in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA. This is also where the Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation were written.
2. The United States has had two written Constitutions in its history; : the Articles of Confederation, which provided for a weak central government, and our present Constitution of the United States. An example of the weakness of the Articles is that it did not provide for a court system.
3. The framers who wrote the Constitution originally met to revise the Articles of Confederation but rather then scrapped it and started all over.
4. Of the seventy men chosen to meet and revise the Articles of Confederation, only about 55 fifty-five attended on a regular basis and only 39 thirty-nine of these signed the final product. Rhode Island chose not to send any delegates to the convention.
5. The Bill of Rights, as it is called, is the first 10 ten amendments. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1789 and was ratified in 1791. There were actually 12 twelve proposed, but one of them never became a part of the Constitution and the other wasn't added for 201 years, becoming the 27th Amendment.
6. John Adams, one of the most influential of the framers, went on to become the first Vice vice President president of the United States and the second Presidentpresident.
7. According to the Constitution, if no candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, the President president is chosen by the House of Representatives. Thomas Jefferson is the only President president to be chosen by the House.
8. The Constitution was completed and signed on September 17, 1787. September 17 is now celebrated as Constitution Day for our nation.
9. One of the delegates elected to serve at the convention from Virginia was Patrick Henry. He refused to attend saying that he, "smelt a rat."
10. James Madison, who showed up in Philadelphia with an entire draft for a proposed Constitution, is now called the "Father of the Constitution."
11. Benjamin Franklin, at 81 the oldest delegate, was considered the "Sage of the Constitution." His mind was sharp but his body was deteriorating as he had to be carried into the hall on a chair by four men.
12. The largest city at the time of the writing of the Constitution was Philadelphia, with 40,000 population. America had only 4 four million population at that time.
13. The first African American to serve on the Supreme Court was Thurgood Marshall. He was confirmed in 1967.
14. The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O,ConnorO’Connor, appointed in 1981.
15. Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to "pack" the Supreme Court with his own nominees. He did not succeed. Although there were six justices when the Court began its proceedings under the new Constitution, there are now 9nine; one Chief chief Justice justice and 8 eight Associate associate Justicesjustices.
16. The two parties vying to either ratify or defeat the new Constitution were the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. The Federalists were in favor of the proposed Constitution and the Anti-federalists were opposed to it.
17. Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed what became known as the "Great Compromise." That compromise dealt with how the states would be represented in Congress and is said to have saved the Constitution.
18. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founders of our country, thought that the Constitution should be rewritten every generation.
19. God is mentioned only once in the U.S. Constitution. It is found in Article 7 where it says, "the Seventeenth day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven..." . . ."
20. A series of essay written jointly by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay encouraging citizens to ratify the Constitution, were called the Federalist Papers.
21. In order for the Constitution to become the law of the land, 2/3two-thirds of the states or about 9 nine states had to ratify (approve) it. All thirteen states eventually ratified it with Rhode Island being the last to do so.
Section 2 - The Document
22. The introduction to the Constitution is called the Preamble. It begins with the words, "We the People of the United States" because that is where the power for the Constitution is derived. This concept is called "popular sovereignty."
23. There are seven articles in the Constitution and 27 twenty-seven amendments have been added to it since 1788, the year it was ratified.
24. The first 10 ten amendments were added all at once in 1791 and are collectively called the Bill of Rights.
25. Article 6 of the Constitution states that it is the highest law of the land. No state or local law can be greater than the Constitution. For example, no state may allow slavery since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (a higher law) forbids it.
26. The original Constitution document is kept at the National Archives in Washington, D.CDC.
27. The United States Constitution is the shortest and oldest written constitution of any government in the world today.
28. The Constitution guarantees to every state a republican form of government.
Section 3 - The Law of the Land
29. U.S.US Representatives representatives must be at least 25 twenty-five years of age, have lived in the U.S.United States for 7 seven years, must be a U.S.US citizen and of the state they represent, and serve a term of two years.
30. U.S.US Senators senators must be at least 30 thirty years old, must have lived in the U.S.United States for 9 nine years, must be a U.S.US citizen and of the state they represent, and serve a term of six years.
31. The President president must be a natural born citizen of the U.S.United States, must have lived in the U.S.United States for 14 fourteen years, and must be at least 35 thirty-five years old. He serves a term of 4 four years. He is elected by winning a majority of the electoral votes.
32. Representatives are elected every two years. One-third of Senators senators are elected every two years.
33. Article 1 of the Constitution describes the powers and duties of the legislative branch. Article 2 describes the powers and duties of the executive branch, and Article 3 describes the duties and powers of the judicial branch.
34. Congress (legislative branch) makes the laws, the Ppresident (executive branch) enforces or carries out the laws, and the Supreme Court (judicial branch) interprets and explains the laws.
35. No holder of a public office can be required to take a religious test. Congress cannot make "ex post facto" laws which make an act illegal after it has been committed. Neither can Congress pass "Bills of Attainder" which is anare acts that declares someone guilty without a trial.
36. Among the powers of Congress according to Article 1 are the following: tax, borrow, regulate commerce, coin money, establish post offices, declare war, impeach the Ppresident or a Supreme Court Justicejustice, maintain a military, admit a new state, and many more. These powers are called "enumerated powers."
37. According to the Constitution, Congress must meet at least once each year.
38. The number of representatives a state gets is determined by population. Each state has two Senators senators so that one house has equal representation. This was the essence of the Great Compromise.
39. The President president is elected by the eElectoral cCollege. The number of electors each state gets is equal to the total of its Representatives representatives and Senatorssenators.
40. The President president is the Commandercommander- in- Chief chief of all armed forces of the United States.
41. The Constitution states that neither house of Congress, while in session, may adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other house.
42. The President president is elected on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years. He or she is sworn in on January 20 at noon following the election.
43. The President president must get the “advice and consent” of the Senate for treaties with foreign countries and it must pass by a 2/3two-thirds vote. Senate approval for nominees to federal offices need only a majority vote.
44. The Constitution states that no one may be convicted of treason against the United States without the testimony of two eyewitnesses.
45. An oddity of the Constitution is that the Vice vice President president (a member of the executive branch) presides as the president of the Senate (the legislative branch). When he is not there to preside, the President president Pro pro Tempore tempore of the Senate presides.
46. After a bill has been sent to the Presidentpresident, it becomes a law if he does not send it back after ten days while Congress is in session. If the President president takes no action on a bill while Congress is adjourned, this is called a “pocket veto” and the bill fails.
47. Supreme Court justices are nominated by the President president and confirmed by the Senate. They hold office for life or as the Constitution phrases it, “during good behavior.”
48. The Constitution provides for separation of powers and checks and balances. Separation of powers means, for example, that only the Congress can make the laws and the other branches cannot. Checks and balances mean that the other branches have some power over the decisions of the other branch. An example would be when the Supreme Court declares a law passed by Congress to be unconstitutional.
49. The Congress and the President president share the responsibility of establishing foreign policy for the United States.
50. A controversial part of Article 1 is section 8 is called “the elastic clause” because it allows Congress to make laws that reflect changing conditions in our nation.
Section 4 – The Principles of the Constitution
51. The power of the government comes from the consent of the governed. This is called "popular sovereignty."
52. The Constitution divides the powers of government between among the three branches. This is called “separation of powers.”
53. The powers of government are also divided between the national government and the states. This is called “federalism.” Powers that are shared between the federal and state governments are called “concurrent powers.” Powers given only to the federal government, such as the power to coin money, are called “delegated powers.”
54. Each branch of government has some power over the others. This is called “checks and balances.” An example of this would be when Congress overrides the veto of a bill by a 2/3two-thirds vote.
55. The Constitution strictly forbids the Congress to award titles of nobility, pass “ex post facto” laws, or “bills of attainder.”
56. The Constitution says that Congress can bring formal charges against a government official, such as the Presidentpresident, for crimes committed in office. This is called “impeachment.” Only two Presidents presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton and both were acquitted. Charges are brought by the House of Representatives and the trial takes place in the Senate with the Chief chief Justice justice presiding as judge.
Section 5 – The Bill of Rights
57. The 1st First Amendment contains 5 five of our most precious rights. These are freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government if we have grievances against it.
58. The 2nd Second Amendment grants the right to bear arms (guns) to citizens and to establish a well regulatedwell-regulated militia.
59. Before and during the American Revolution, the British were forcing Americans to house (quarter) its soldiers. This resulted in our 3rd Third Amendment known as “the Quartering Act” which forbids such action.
60. The 4th Fourth Amendment protects people against unreasonable search and seizure by government officials. This is why law enforcement officials must obtain a search warrant upon “probable cause” that there is evidence of a crime.
61. The 5th Fifth Amendment contains rights for people accused of crimes. These include the right not to be tried for the same offense twice (“double jeopardy”), not compelled to be a witness against himself (self incriminationself-incrimination), not to be held in jail without a charge (writ of habeas corpus), and not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without "due process of law."
62. The 6th Sixth Amendment guarantees rights to a fair trial for persons accused of a crime. These include the right to a speedy and public trial, the right to face one’s accusers, an impartial judge and jury, to call witnesses in one’s behalf, and to have the assistance of counsel for their defense.
63. The 7th Seventh Amendment grants the right to a jury trial for persons being sued for more than $20.00. While this amendment is obviously outdated since no one would call for a jury trial if being sued for only this amount, it remains a part of the Constitution.
64. The 8th Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, such as torture, and excessive bail and fines.
65. The 9th Ninth Amendment says that the listing of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean that other rights, not mentioned, are not retained by the people.