American Government Clep: Constitution

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Preamble

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• Has no force in law
• Establishes “Why is this document in existence?”
• Reflects the desire of the framers to improve the gov’t they currently had (More “perfect” than the Articles of Confederation):
o Ensuring gov’t would be just
o Gov’t would protect citizens from:
 Internal strife
 Attack from outside
o Be of benefit to the people, rather than to it’s detriment
o Intended to do the same for future generations of Americans

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Article 1

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Establishes the Legislature

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Article 1: Section 1

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Establishes name of the Legislature: The Congress
o Bicameral: Two part body

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Article 1: Section 2

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Defines House of Representatives (AKA the lower house of Congress)
o Establishes minimum requirements for members
 Age limit: 25
 People will elect the members
 Term: 2 years
o Members of House divided among states proportionally according to population
o Leader of the House of Reps: Speaker of the House
 Chosen by members

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Article 1: Section 3

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Defines Senate (AKA Upper House of Congress)
o Establishes minimum requirements for members
 Age limit: 30
 Senators originally appointed by legislatures of the individual states
 Term: 6 years
o Each state has equal suffrage in the Senate
 Each state has same number of Senators regaurless of population
 2 members each
o Leader of Senate: Vice President, referred to as President of the Senate
 Does not vote unless there is a tie

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Article 1: Section 4

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Election of Congress members and meeting mandate
o Each state may establish its own methods for electing members of Congress
o Mandates (requires) that Congress must meet once a year

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Article 1: Section 5

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Rules of meeting
o Must have a minimum number of members present in order to meet
o May set fines for members who do not show up
o Members may be expelled
o Each house must keep a journal to record proceedings and votes
o Neither house can adjourn without the permission of the other

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Article 1: Section 6

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o Members of Congress will be paid
o They cannot be detained while traveling to and from Congress
o They cannot hold any other office in the government while in the Congress

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Article 1: Section 7

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How bills become law

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Article 1: Section 8

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Specifies powers of Congress
o Establish and maintain army and navy
o Establish post offices
o Create courts
o Regulate commerce between the states
o Also contains Elastic Clause: Allows Congress to pass any law necessary for the carrying out of previously listed powers
o Declare war
o Raise money

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Article 1: Section 9

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Places limits on Congress
o Certain legal items (prohibited laws)
 Such as suspension of habeas corpus
 Bills of attainder
 Ex post facto laws
o No law can give preference to one state over another
o No money can be taken from treasury except by duly passed law
o No title of nobility will ever be established by the government
 Ex. King or Queen

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Article 1: Section 10

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Places limits on states
o Cannot make their own money
o Cannot declare war
o Cannot do most things prohibited in Section 9
o Cannot tax goods from other states
o Cannot create navies

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Article 2

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Establishes the Executive

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Article 2: Section 1

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Establishes offices of President and Vice President
o President and Vice President
 Term: 4 year
 Elected by Electoral College
 Each state has one for each member of Congress
 Originally, President was the candidate with the most votes and VP had second most (later changed)
 Minimum Age: 35
 Must be natural born citizen of United States
 President is to be paid salary
 Cannot increase or decrease as long as he is in office

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Article 2: Section 2

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Give President important powers
o He is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and of the militia (National Guard) of all the states
o Has a Cabinet to aid him
o Can pardon criminals
o Makes treaties with other nations
o Picks many of the judges and other members of the government
 With advice and approval of Senate

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Article 2: Section 3

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Establishes duties of President
o Give state of the union address
o Make suggestions to Congress
o Act as head of state by receiving ambassadors and other heads of state
o Ensure that laws of United States are carried out

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Article 2: Section 4

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Briefly discusses the removal of the President: Impeachment

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Article 3

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Establishes the Judiciary

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Article 3: Section 1

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Establishes Supreme Court
o Highest court in United States
o Sets the terms of judges (Both Supreme Court and lower courts)
 Judges serve as long as they are on “good behavior”
 Usually means life
 No Justice and only a few judges have ever been impeached
o Requires all judges shall be paid

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Article 3: Section 2

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Sets the kind of cases that may be heard by federal judiciary
o Cases the Supreme Court may hear first are called original jurisdiction
o All other cases heard by the Supreme Court are by appeal
o Guarantees trial by jury in criminal court

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Article 3: Section 3

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Defines, without any question, what the crime of treason is

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Article 4

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Concerns the states

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Article 4: Section 1

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Mandates that all states will honor the laws of all other states
o Ex: Marriage carries from state to state
o Ex. Someone convicted of a crime in one state is also guilty in the others

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Article 4: Section 2

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Fair and equal treatment for citizens from state to state
o If a person accused of a crime flees from one state to another, they will be returned to the state they fled from
o Clause dealing with fugitive slaves (no longer applies)

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Article 4: Section 3

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Admittance of new states and control of federal lands

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Article 4: Section 4

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Ensure republican form of gov’t (AKA representative democracy)
o Both are apposed to a monarchical or aristocratic scheme
o The state derives its power from the people, not from King or Queen
o Guarantees the federal gov’t will protect the states against invasion and insurrection

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Article 5

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Details the method of amending the Constitution

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Article 6

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Concerns the United States itself
o The US under the Constitution would assume all debts and contracts entered into by the US under the Articles of Confederation
o Sets the Constitution and all laws and treaties of the US to be the supreme law of the country
o Requires all officers of the US and states to swear an oath of allegiance to the US and the Constitution when taking office

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Article 7

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Details the method of ratification of the Constitution
o 9 of the original 13 states had to accept the Constitution before it would officially go into effect

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Bill of Rights

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Amendments 1-10

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Amendment 1

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Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition
protects the people's right to practice religion, to speak freely, to assemble (meet), to address (petition) the government, and of the press to publish.

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Amendment 2

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Right to bear arms
protects the right to own guns. There is debate whether this is a right that protects the state, or a right that protects individuals

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Amendment 3

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Quartering of troops
guarantees that the army cannot force homeowners to give them room and board

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Amendment 4

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Search and seizure: warrants
protects the people from the government improperly taking property, papers, or people, without a valid warrant based on probable cause (good reason)

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Amendment 5

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Rights of accused persons
protects people from being held for committing a crime unless they are properly indicted, that they may not be tried twice for the same crime, that you need not be forced to testify against yourself, and from property being taken without just compensation. It also contains due process guarantees

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Amendment 6

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Right of speedy trial
guarantees a speedy trial, an impartial jury, that the accused can confront witnesses against them, and that the accused must be allowed to have a lawyer

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Amendment 7

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Jury trial in civil cases
guarantees a jury trial in federal civil court cases. This type of case is normally no longer heard in federal court

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Amendment 8

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Bail, fines, and punishment
guarantees that punishments will be fair, and not cruel, and that extraordinarily large fines will not be set

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Amendment 9

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Powers reserved to the people
is simply a statement that other rights aside from those listed may exist, and just because they are not listed doesn't mean they can be violated

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Amendment 10

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Powers reserved to the states
is the subject of some debate, but essentially it states that any power not granted to the federal government belongs to the states or to the people

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Amendment 11

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Suits against states
more clearly defines the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court concerning a suit brought against a state by a citizen of another state

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Amendment 12

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Election of President and Vice President
redefines how the President and Vice-President are chosen by the Electoral College, making the two positions cooperative, rather than first and second highest vote-getters. It also ensures that anyone who becomes Vice-President must be eligible to become President

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Amendment 13

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Slavery abolished
abolished slavery in the entire United States

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Amendment 14

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Powers prohibited the states; appointment of members of House of Representatives
ensured that all citizens of all states enjoyed not only rights on the federal level, but on the state level, too. It removed the three-fifths counting of slaves in the census. It ensured that the United States would not pay the debts of rebellious states. It also had several measures designed to ensure the loyalty of legislators who participated on the Confederate side of the Civil War

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Amendment 15

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Right of citizens to vote
ensures that race cannot be used as a criteria for voting

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Amendment 16

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Income tax
authorizes the United States to collect income tax without regard to the population of the states

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Amendment 17

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Direct election of senators
shifted the choosing of Senators from the state legislatures to the people of the states

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Amendment 18

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National prohibition
abolished the sale or manufacture of alcohol in the United States. This amendment was later repealed (erased)

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Amendment 19

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Women’s suffrage
ensures that gender cannot be used as a criteria for voting

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Amendment 20

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“Lame Duck” amendment
set new start dates for the terms of the Congress and the President, and clarifies how the deaths of Presidents before swearing-in would be handled

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Amendment 21

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Repeal of prohibition
repealed the 18th Amendment

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Amendment 22

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Two-term limit for president
set a limit on the number of times a President could be elected - two four-year terms. It has one exception for a Vice-President who assumes the Presidency after the death or removal of the President, establishing the maximum term of any President to 10 years

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Amendment 23

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Presidential electors for District of Columbia
grants the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) the right to three electors in Presidential elections

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Amendment 24

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Poll tax banned in national elections
ensured that no tax could be charged to vote for any federal office

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Amendment 25

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Presidential succession
clarifies even further the line of succession to the Presidency, and establishes rules for a President who becomes unable to perform his duties while in office

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Amendment 26

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Gives 18 yr olds right to vote
ensures that any person 18 or over may vote

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Amendment 27

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Congressional pay raises
requires that any law that increased the pay of legislators may not take effect until after an election