The US CONSTITUTION slides

MGiordano
The US Constitution-slides
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The Constitution of
the United States of America
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"We the People
of the United
States…
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Index
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ORIGINS OF THE U.S.CONSTITUTION
THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
(1781)
THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION
(1787)
ADOPTING THE CONSTITUTION (1789)
PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION
STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTION
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(source: U.S. Politics Today: Chapter III – The US Constitution)
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The Constitution
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The U.S.A. is one of the youngest
nations in the world, but its Constitution
is among the oldest.
n The Constitution of the United States is a
document that outlines the basis of the
federal (national) government of the
USA.
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MGiordano
The US Constitution-slides
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The US Constitution
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There is a well-established faith in the US
Constitution, the document upon which the
US was founded.
n But there is still much political controversy
about the interpretation of the principles
upon which the Costitution is based
rather than the fundamental worth/value of
those principles.
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Origins of the Constitution
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During the XVIII century, the 13 American
colonies were ruled by Britain.
n The colonists had many grievances.
n They demanded “no taxation without
representation”: they did not want to pay
taxes if they were not represented in the
British Parliament.
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Origins of the Constitution
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Resentments intensified during the 1770s.
n The “Declaration of Independence” and
the following “American Revolution” or
“War of Independence” brought colonial
rule to an end.
n British were defeated in October 1781.
n In 1781 Americans adopted their first
constitution,
the
ARTICLES
OF
CONFEDERATION.
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MGiordano
The US Constitution-slides
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Articles of Confederation (1781)
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The 13 former colonies, now independent
states, initially created a system of government
based upon a weak national government.
Each state maintained its sovereignty, freedom
and independence but Congress had only
limited powers.
Important decisions to national law required the
backing/support of 9 of the 13 states.
There was no separate Executive nor a Judicial
branch.
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The Philadelphia Convention
(1787)
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At the "Constitutional Convention," held
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787,
there were 55 delegates.
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They are called the "Founding
Fathers" of the USA, and they are also
known as the “Framers or the
Founders of the Constitution."
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The Founding Fathers
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Some of the more famous of the framers are George
Washington (the first President of the USA), and
Benjamin Franklin.
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The US Constitution-slides
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The Philadelphia Convention
(1787)
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At the convention there was a debate around
two models of government.
1) the Virginia Plan asked for a strong national
government;
2) the New Jersey plan offered a weak national
government and left power in the hands of the
states.
§ The result was a compromise between the
different political forces at the convention.
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Adopting the Constitution (1789)
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The Constitution was drafted in 1787
and ratified (accepted) in 1789.
n Initially only 9 out of the 13 states ratified
the document.
n The debate was between supporters of the
new Constitution, the Federalists, and its
opponents, the Antifederalists.
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Federalists VS Antifederalists
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Federalists argued that the new Constitution
would create a strong system of government but
would not threaten the fundamental rights and
liberties of states and people.
Antifederalists feared that the Constitution
would lead to an overcentralisation of power in
the hands of federal government, and this would
threaten the independence of states and the
rights of citizens.
Therefore, ten amendments were added in
1791: they became the Bill of Rights.
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The US Constitution-slides
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Principles of the Constitution:
Separation of powers
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§ The division of the government into three
§
§
branches is an example of separation of
powers.
The Constitution established that the three
functions, legislative, executive and judicial,
would be carried out by separate institutions:
Congress, the President and the Federal
Courts.
Each was assigned different powers, methods of
election or appointment, and terms of office.
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Principles of the Constitution:
Checks and Balances
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In this three-branch system, the separate groups
check the behaviour of each other, in order to
keep an even balance of power…
This is called checks and balances: the power
of a government is split into independent groups,
so that each group cannot become too powerful.
The Constitution requires that almost all
decisions must have the endorsement of more
than one branch.
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Structure of the Constitution
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The Constitution consists of one single
document of only 7000 words. It is divided
into:
§ a Preamble (an introduction),
§ the main body (seven articles),
§ amendments (additions made after the
Constitution was created).
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The US Constitution-slides
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The Preamble
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The Preamble is the short introduction to the
Constitution.
It begins with the phrase “We the people”
establishing that it is the people who have the
power to create the new Constitution.
It explains that the document proposes to
establish a more perfect government complete
with justice, tranquillity, and liberty.
It states, "We the People of the United States, in order to form a
more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of
America."
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“IL PREAMBOLO”
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“Noi, popolo degli Stati Uniti, allo scopo di
perfezionare ulteriormente la nostra Unione, di
garantire la giustizia, di assicurare la tranquillità
all’interno, di provvedere alla comune difesa, di
promuovere il benessere generale e di
salvaguardare per noi stessi e per i nostri posteri
il dono della libertà, decretiamo e stabiliamo
questa Costituzione degli Stati Uniti d’America.”
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The first three articles
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The first three articles of the US Constitution
consider the powers, responsibilities and
character of the 3 different branches of
government:
n the Legislative Branch (which consists of
Congress -- the House of Representatives
and the Senate);
n the
Executive Branch (headed by the
President);
n the Judicial Branch (which consists of judges in
a system of courts).
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The US Constitution-slides
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The Federal Government
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The Federal
Government
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Legislative
Judicial
Executive
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Supreme Court
Congress
Senate
President
House of
Representatives
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Cabinet
(Secretary of State,
Secretary of Treasury,
Secretary of Defence,
Secretary of the Interior,
etc.)
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Article 1: The Legislative branch
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The Legislative branch writes and passes laws. It
is the Congress. It is bicameral (divided into two
chambers):
The House of Representatives (Lower Chamber):
it is the directly elected chamber. The number of
seats that a state has in the House of
Representatives is based upon that state's
population: the more populous a state, the more
representatives it has.
The Senate (Upper Chamber), consists of 100
seats. Each state has two Senators, irrespective of
size and population.
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Article 2: The Executive branch
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The Executive branch is headed by the President.
He has important defence and foreign policy powers: he
can negotiate treaties with other countries and he is the
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
His domestic powers are limited: he has the
responsibility to ensure the laws are carried out and the
right to sign or veto bills passed by the Congress.
He is elected for a four-year term of office. (At the end of
this four-year term another election is held and the president may
be re-elected. He can serve for 8 years, but no more).
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In case the President dies or becomes unable to
complete his term of office the Vice President succeeds
to the Presidency.
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Article 3: The Judicial branch
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The Judicial branch consists of judges who
preside over the court system, interpreting the
US Constitution and laws.
The Supreme Court has the responsibility to
solve conflicts between state governments.
Now, it has also the power to declare a law or
action undertaken by the federal or state
government unconstitutional.
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The Amendaments
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Many amendments (changes to the Constitution)
have been made throughout the years.
The first 10 amendments, called the Bill of
Rights, were added in 1791; the Bill of Rights
preserves the rights of the people, including
the freedom of speech, religion, assembly,
the right to bear arms, the right to a speedy
trial, and others.
Later, 17 additional amendments were added.
So far, there have been 27 amendments to the
Constitution.
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Glossary of Terms Related to the US
Constitution (1)
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amendment - A change added onto the US Constitution (or other
document) that adds new meaning. There are 27 amendments to
the US Constitution (as of 2005); the first 10 amendments are called
the Bill of Rights.
Bill of Rights - The first 10 amendments to the US Constitution are
called the Bill of Rights.
bicameral - consisting of two legislative chambers
branches of government - In the US, there are three branches of
government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.
checks and balances - system in which separate, powerful entities
(like the three branches of the US government) check (monitor) the
behaviour of each other, having the effect of keeping an even
balance of power.
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Glossary of Terms Related to the
US Constitution (2)
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constitution - A document outlining the basis of the rules of a
country or organization.
convention - An official meeting.
executive branch - The part of the US government that
administers the laws and other affairs of the government; it
includes the President (also called the Chief Executive), and
Cabinet departments (like the State Department, the Dept. of
Defense, the Dept. of Agriculture, etc.).
Federal government - Pertaining to the national or central
government.
Founding Fathers - The men whose actions were responsible
for creating the United States of America and the US Constitution.
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Glossary of Terms Related to the
US Constitution (3)
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Framers of the US Constitution - The framers are the men who
wrote the US Constitution, including George Washington (the first
President of the USA), Benjamin Franklin, and others.
judicial branch - The part of the US government that settles
disputes and administers justice. The judicial branch is made up of
the court system and the Supreme Court.
legislative branch - The part of the US government that makes the
laws. The Legislative Branch includes the US House of
Representative and Senate. The number of seats that a state has in
the House of Representatives is based upon the state's population.
Each state has two Senators.
Preamble - The short introduction to the US Constitution.
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Glossary of Terms Related to the
US Constitution (4)
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President - The elected leader of the USA (and head of the
Executive Branch).
ratification - The states' approval, endorsement of the Constitution
or an amendment to the Constitution.
ratify: approve, endorse, confirm, authorize.
republic - A form of government in which citizens vote for
representatives who decide upon important issues.
separation of powers - The idea that the powers of a government
should be split between two or more independent groups, so that
any one person or group cannot gain too much power. For example,
in the US Constitution, governmental power is split among the
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches.
Supreme Court - The highest court in the USA.
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