What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Name of the Political
Concept
and related image.
Definition of the Political
Concept using page
262-265 of your blue text,
outside resources or in
stations around the room.
Explain why the writers (framers) Describe what this looks like Other important details related to this specific Bonus: Find an article
section from the
of the Constitution thought it was or how this works today in our concept that you should add - either answer andConstitution
that
important to have this idea in their
government:
questions that have been added or add your supports this belief.
government:
own info.
1.Representative
democracy
AKA
Republicanism
Give 2 examples of representative
democracy at work:
1.
2.
2. Federalism
Example of:
Concurrent
powers:
Define:
Concurrent powers:
Delegated powers
Delegated powers
Reserved powers
Reserved powers
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Name of the Political
Concept
and related image.
Definition of the Political
Concept using page
262-265 of your blue text,
outside resources or in
stations around the room.
3. Separation
of Powers
Explain why the writers (framers) Describe what this looks like Other important details related to this specific Bonus: Find an article
section from the
of the Constitution thought it was or how this works today in our concept that you should add - either answer andConstitution
that
important to have this idea in their
government:
questions that have been added or add your supports this belief.
government:
own info.
What are the
What is the main job of each:
separate powers? Legislative:
Executive:
Judicial:
4.
Bicameralism
Literally this
means:
_____________
_____________
however it
refers to the two
different law
making groups
of our current
Congress.
How many members
of the House of
Representatives are
there? _______
Identify at least 2 legislative powers
are given only to the House:
1.
2.
How many Senators Identify at least two legislative powers
are there? _______ given only to the Senate:
1.
2.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Name of the Political
Concept
and related image.
5. Popular
Sovereignty
6.
Individual
Rights
Definition of the Political
Concept using page
262-265 of your blue text,
outside resources or in
stations around the room.
Explain why the writers (framers) Describe what this looks like Other important details related to this specific Bonus: Find an article
section from the
of the Constitution thought it was or how this works today in our concept that you should add - either answer andConstitution
that
important to have this idea in their
government:
questions that have been added or add your supports this belief.
government:
own info.
Read the Preamble to
the Constitution - do In what other ways do the “people”
the first three words
run the US government?
support this concept
or not? Why?
Look at the Bill of Write down one right you think should
Rights - make a list be in the list but are not:
of two rights you
didn’t know where
included:
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Name of the Political
Concept
and related image.
Definition of the Political
Concept using page
262-265 of your blue text,
outside resources or in
stations around the room.
Explain why the writers (framers) Describe what this looks like Other important details related to this specific Bonus: Find an article
section from the
of the Constitution thought it was or how this works today in our concept that you should add - either answer andConstitution
that
important to have this idea in their
government:
questions that have been added or add your supports this belief.
government:
own info.
7. Limited
Government
8. Checks
and
Balances
Give one way that Judicial checks the Executive....
the ...
Executive checks the
Legislative branch.... Judicial checks the legislative.........
The Legislative
checks the
Executive.....
Legislative checks the judicial.....
Executive checks the
Judicial....
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
1.
Republicanism AKA Representative Democracy
Definition: The people run the government by voting for representatives to make
political decisions.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers of the Constitution wanted the people to have a voice in government. Yet, they feared that the people might not always
be able to make the smartest or best political decisions on their own. To solve that problem, they used the concept of republicanism.
According to the guys who wrote the Constitution (we call them the Framers), these representatives then play the key role in making
the government work. In fact, in addition to the US being run as a republic, the Constitution guarantees that each state will be able to
have a republican form of government as well.
We model this today by voting for all kinds of representatives who make our political decisions for
the US on a national level such as….
The electors who chose the President every four years.
The 435 members of the House of Representative elected by the people every two years.
The 100 members of the Senate elected by the people every six years.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
2.
FEDERALISM
Definition: Federalism is the concept of shared power between the states and the national
government.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers (those are the guys who wrote the Constitution) wanted the states and nation to become partners in government and to
cooperate. To build cooperation, the Framers turned to federalism. They used federalism to set up the Constitution. It’s cool because
they assigned certain powers exclusively to the states and those are called reserved powers and certain powers are given only to the
federal government and those are called delegated powers and certain powers with given to both the states and the national
government and those shared powers are called concurrent powers.
By the way, you need to know these definitions:
DELEGATED powers: Powers given ONLY to the national government
RESERVED powers: Powers given ONLY to the states.
CONCURRENT powers: Powers shared by the states and the national government.
If you notice, they share the power to TAX. Bummer, that sort is a double whammy on the taxpayer.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Federalism and the Division of Powers
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
3.
SEPARATION OF POWERS
Definition: The government is divided into three different roles or parts in the United
States.
The story behind this political concept:
After their experience with England, the Framers (those are the guys who wrote the Constitution) were concerned that too much power
might fall into the hands of a small few. To avoid this problem, they built the idea of separating the power into a few different groups.
We call each part a “branch” of government. No one branch is given all the power. In the Constitution, Article One explains the
powers of the legislative branch, Article Two explains the role of the executive branch, and Article Three explains the power of the
Judicial branch.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Check out this chart and add the main powers of each branch into your chart.
8.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
CHECKS AND BALANCES
Definition: Each branch of the US government has a way to control or help or oversee
the other branches.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers of the Constitution wanted the three branches of
government to work together and to balance one another.
Even though they are separate, they rely on one another to
perform all the work of running the government. The Frames
included this system of checks and blances in the
Constitution to make sure they not only work together but
that they work together fairly. For example, only Congress
(the legislative branch) can create laws. But, the President
(executive branch) has to the sign them before they go into
effect. In turn, the Supreme Court (judicial branch) can
declare that a law that was already passed by Congress and
signed by the President violates the Constitution. Or the
Supreme Court might punish someone for breaking the law
that they other two put into actions.
There are a ton of other checks and balances
in our government. Check out this chart,
and explain another example of how all
three branches work together in your chart.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
4.
BICAMERALISM
Definition: Literally this is a Latin word meaning “two houses”.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers (those are the guys who wrote the Constitution) argued over how to set up the Legislative Assembly forever. Remember
the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan? Big states wanted representation based on population, small states wanted everyone to be
have the same number of representatives in the assembly. So, they decided that they would compromise and have two different
assemblies - one based on population and one with 2 senators per state. James Madison thought that the government needed two
houses from the beginning anyway. He wasn’t just trying to compromise, he wanted two houses so that they could check each other.
If two houses had to agree to laws and taxes, then they couldn’t get out of control. Must have been a good plan, because it’s still
working.
Our bicameral government is a legislature called Congress made up of:
House of Representatives – each state has a number of representatives based on their population
Senate – each state has a total of two Senators!
Even though they are both lawmakers, the two different parts (houses) each have a few separate powers of their own. For example….
Only the House of Representatives
Are elected for two year terms
Need only 7 years of US citizenship to be elected
Can impeach an elected official
Can start a bill related to raising money
Only the Senate
Are elected for six years
Need 9 years of US residency
Can confirm treaties
Can confirm presidential appointments
Can try impeachments
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
6.
Individual Rights
Definition: These are rights given to each American in the United States.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers (those are the guys who wrote the Constitution) gave a lot
more power to the federal government under the Constitution than the
federal government had been given under the Articles of Confederation.
Upon completion of the document, Anti-Federalists worried that TOO much
power had been given to the federal government. In the end, as part of a
compromise to ratify the Constitution, the Framers agreed to add a list of individual
rights guaranteed to all Americans in order to PROTECT Americans from the
government.
Our Individual Rights are written in the Bill of Rights.
Look at the attached list of the Bill of Rights - notice
that some of them are for individuals and some are
rights for the states as well.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
7.
Limited Government
Definition: A governing or controlling body whose power exists only within pre-defined limits that
are established by a constitution or other source of authority.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers of the Constitution wanted a stronger government, but they also wanted to
make sure that they never again were ruled by a tyrannical government. So, they created
a Constitution that included limits to the federal government power. In this way, they
hoped to ensure that the states and individual Americans would never again be ruled
under an “iron” fist.
Our government is limited in its power by the Constitution. In fact, Article
Six of the Constitution actually says that no-one is above the Constitution
and that the Constitution - not the President or Congress or anyone else is the Supreme Law of the Land. They also wrote into the Bill of Rights
that all powers not EXPLICITLY given to one of the branches of
governments, were automatically given to the states and the people. That
means that the people and the states have every other power imaginable
other than what is given to the three branches in the Constitution.
For example, no where in the Constitution does it say the government can tell you
internet you have to use, that means you can use any internet you want.
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution
What are Political Concepts in the US Constitution or What are the guiding themes behind our
government?
Name __________________ Page ___
5.
Popular Sovereignty
Definition: The concept that the “people” rule the government of the United States.
The story behind this political concept:
The Framers (those are the guys who wrote the Constitution) based their ideas about government on many Enlightenment thinkers.
Many of those thinkers suggested that the true power of government comes from the consent of the people. So, the Framers created
the Constitution so that the power of the government came from the consent of the people. If the people are unhappy, they can change
the government by voting out elected officials.
Preamble:
Introduction to the
Constitution
Target 6: Principles of the Constitution