INTRODUCTION TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation (1781) were
the basis of the new American government. But this weak government
did not work very well. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention
of 1787 revised the Articles of Confederation. The result was the U.S.
Constitution. Three main principles form the basis of the Constitution:
1. the separation of powers of the three branches of government
2. government of, for, any by the people
3. basic human rights (individual freedom, equality, and justice)
The Constitution has three parts:
1. The Preamble tells its purposes: to protect the nation and to
assure justice, peace, and liberty for all.
2. The document contains seven articles.
3. Twenty-six Amendments guarantee individual rights and freedom
and establish other basic principles of government.
 Write the words from above
1. After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation (1781)
were the basis of the new American government.
2. The result of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was
.
3. One of the main principles of the Constitution is the
of powers of the three
of government.
4. Another principle is government of, for, and
by
.
5. The third principle is basic
, such as individual
,equality, and
.
6. The three parts of the Constitution are
, the
seven
of the Document, and the twenty-six
The Document
Article One created the Legislative Branch of government. It
established these principles, among others:
1. Congress makes the laws of the nation.
2. The two houses of Congress are the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
3. The people of each state elect two Senators.
4. The population of each state determines the number of
Representatives.
Article Two establishes the Executive Branch of government, the
Presidency. Here are a few of its principles:
1. The Electoral College elects the President.
2. The President is the chief executive of the nation and Commander
in Chief of the armed forces.
3. The president has certain powers, such as to enforce laws.
4. The president may initiate the law-making process.
Article Three created the judicial Branch under these principles:
1. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the land. It is a court of
last appeal, and its decisions are final.
2. It is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to defend and
interpret the principles of the Constitution.
3. Residents of the U.S. have the right to trial by jury.
Article Four defined the relationship among the states and the
relationship of the states to the Federal government. It included these
principles:
1. U.S. residents have the same rights in all states.
2. All states have a republican form of government.
3. Congress may admit new states and make laws for U.S. territories.
Article Five describes ways to amend (change) the Constitution.
1. Congress may propose (suggest) an amendment if two-thirds of
both houses vote for it.
2. The states may initiate an amendment. If two-thirds of all state
legislatures agree to propose it, Congress will call a national
convention.
3. To add the amendment to the Constitution, three-fourths of the
state legislatures or special state conventions must ratify
(officially approve) it.
Article Six declared the Constitution the Supreme Law of the Land.
1. No state constitution or law or judge may contradict (state the
opposite of) the Constitution.
2. All public officials must promise to support the Constitution in an
official oath.
Article Seven declared that nine states must ratify the Constitution for
it to become law.
Cloze
Read the following information about the branches of the U.S. government.
The Constitution of the United States, written over (1)………………..years
ago, gives Americans a set of rules to run their government. This document
(2)……………the government into three branches, of parts, so no one group or
person can have too much power.
The first (3)………………of government is called the executive branch. It is
led by the president from the (4)………………..in Washington, D.C. His
responsibility is to see that all the (5)………………..are enforced. He represents
the country in all matters, both at home and (6)………………….The president is
elected for a term of 4 years and can serve for no more than
(7)………………terms. He also chooses a “cabinet” of thirteen advisors, called
(8)……………They give the president advice on what is happening in different
parts of the government. One member of the (9)…………….is the Secretary of
State. He or she heads the Department of State and advises the president on
(10)………………..affairs.
The second branch of government is the (11)………………………..branch.
It is made up of Congress, a group of elected (12)…………………whose job is to
make laws and decide how to spend the country’s (13)…………………….
Congress is the largest part of the government and (14)……………………in the
Capitol Building, not too far away from the White House. It is
(15)…………….into two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Senate has (16)…………………..members- that’s 2 senators from every
state- who are elected for a (17)………………..of 6 years. The House of
Representatives includes one representative for about every 500,000
(18)…………….living in each state. Now, there are 435 representatives. They
serve for (19)…………………years. It is interesting that small states with a lot of
(20)………….., like Delaware, send many more representatives to Congress
than big states with (21)……………..populations, like Wyoming.
The Congress works in this way: the people of the (22)………………...tell
their senators and representatives what laws they want made and how they
want their (23)……………money spent. Then these elected officials go to
Washington and give this (24)………………to their groups, either the Senate or
the House of Representatives. Next the two groups meet together to
(25)……………………..what is most important. They vote and send the most
important plans for the new laws, called (26)………………., to the President. If
the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. Sometimes the president
(27)…………………the bill, or refuses to sign it. In this case, the
(28)………………….can still pass a law if enough members vote for it.
Most (29)……………….of Congress come from the two major political
parties, the Democratic and the (30)………………..parties. There are other
parties in the U.S.A. such as the Socialist (31)…………………., but they are very
small in comparison to the two big parties.
The (32)……………….branch of government is the judicial branch, or the
courts. There are several levels of (33)……………………..in the U.S.A. The
Supreme Court is the highest and most (34)………………..court in the country. It
meets in the Supreme Court Building near the (35)…………………..The Court is
made up of nine judges, called justices, who are (36)……………….by the
president to serve for life. The leader of the judges is called the
(37)………………..justice. The job of the Supreme Court is to explain the
meaning of (38)…………..It decides if laws made by Congress and decisions of
other (39)………………..agree with the Constitution. Decisions of the Supreme
Court can affect the (40)………………………of millions of Americans.
Facts about Congress
Numbers of Members
Numbers of Members
Per State
Length of Term
Number of Terms
Age Requirement
Citizenship
Requirement
Dates of Regular
Session
The Senate
100
2
6 years
No limit
At least 30
At least 9 years
As a U.S. citizen
January 3 to
adjournment
The House
435
Determined by state
population
2 years
No limit
At least 25
At least 7 years
As a U.S. citizen
January 3 to a
adjournment
Choose the correct answer
1. The president is the leader of
the country, isn’t he?
2. YES NO
3. The cabinet is made up thirty
secretaries, ___________ it?
1. YES NO
2. The president serves for 3 years,
doesn’t he?
3. YES NO
4. The president is the head of the
4. YES NO
5. The Senate is made up of the
100 senators, ___________ it?
6. YES NO
7. A justice of the Supreme Court
serves for 6 years, __________he?
8. YES NO
9. The secretary of state gives the
president advice on foreign
policy, ___________ he?
10. YES NO
11. The Congress decides if laws
are constitutional, _________ it?
12. YES NO
Executive Branch, ___________ he?
5. YES NO
6. Supreme Court justices are
appointed by Congress,
____________they?
7. YES NO
8. The chief justice signs and vetoes
bills, _____________ he?
9. YES NO
10. People elect the president’s
cabinet, __________ they?
11. YES NO
12. The Constitution describes a
separation of power, _____________it?
HOW CONGRESS MAKES LAW
1. A Senator
Representative writes
a bill.
2. The bill goes to a
Committee of the Senate
or House.
The committee can call public
hearings.
It can table (postpone) the bill.
It can send the bill back to the full
house without a recommendation.
It can amend (change) the bill.
3. The full Senate or House
the bill.
debates the bill and can
amend it.
The Senate or House defeats
The Senate or House defeats the bill.
4. The bill goes to a
committee of the other
house.
5. The second house
bill.
debates the bill.
The second house defeats the
The second house passes the bill.
6. The bill goes to the
and it
President.
The President signs the bill,
becomes law.
The President vetoes (rejects) the
bill.
7. Congress overrides the
law.
veto (passes the bill)
The bill does not become
8. The bill becomes law.
The Political System
The United States is an indirect democracy that is, the people rule
through representatives they elect. Over time, the vote has been given to
more and more people. In the beginning, only white men with property
could vote. Today any citizen who is at least 18 years old can vote.
The Constitution
The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the
country’s political system and is the basis for its laws. In 200 years, the
United States has experienced enormous growth and change. Yet the
Constitution works as well today as when it was written. One reason is
that the Constitution can be amended, or changed. (For example, the
Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to vote and the
Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote.) Another reason
is that the Constitution is flexible: its basic principles can be applied and
interpreted differently at different times.
Federalism
The United States has a federalist system. This means that there are
individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal,
or national, government. The Constitution gives certain powers to the
federal government, other powers to the state governments, and yet
other powers to both. For example, only the national government can
print money, the states establish their own school systems, and both the
national and the state governments can collect taxes.
Three Branches of Government
Within the national government, power is divided among three
branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts- the
House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress’s main function is to
make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435
representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the
state’s population).
The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The
executive branch administers the laws (decides how the laws should be
carried out). In addition to the President, the Vice President, and their
staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and agencies.
There are now 14 departments, including Treasury, State, Defense, and
Health and Human Services. Each department has different
responsibilities. For example, the Treasury Department managers the
nation’s money, while the State Department helps make foreign policy.
The President appoints the department heads, who together make up
the President’s Cabinet, or advisers. The agencies regulate specific areas.
For example, the Environmental Protection Agency tries to control
pollution, while the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the
stock markets.
The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws
are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal
courts. It has nine members, who are appointed for life.
The system of checks and balances, established by the Constitution, is
meant to prevent any branch from having too much power. Each branch
has certain controls over the other branches. For example, Congress
makes the laws but the president can veto, or reject, a law and the
Supreme Court can decide a law is unconstitutional.
State and Local Government
Each state has its own constitution. Like the national government, state
governments are divided into legislative, executive, and judicial
branches. There are state senators and representatives and state court
systems. Just as the President is the leader of the national government,
each state has a government, there are country and city governments.
Two- Party System
The United States has two main political parties- the Democratic and
Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role.
Voters elect the president, as well as senators, representatives,
governor, etc. A voter can choose candidates from different parties (e.g.,
vote for Republicans for President and Vice president and a Democrat
for senator), party that has a majority in Congress. In recent years, in
fact, voters have tended to choose Republican presidents and
Democratic congresspeople.
There are not clear differences between the Republican and Democratic
parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to
have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend
to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes
and the poor.
Recent Trends
In the twentieth century, as society has become more complex,
government has taken a much more active role. However, many
Americans worry about too much government interference in their lives.
Still, compared to many other countries, the role of the U.S. government
remains limited.
In recent years, fewer people are voting. In the 1988 presidential
election, for example, only 50 percent of people of voting age actually
voted. Some experts think television may have contributed to the
problem. Candidates today often campaign mainly through brief TV
appearances and commercials. Instead of explaining their view in detail,
they try to make their opponents look bad. Understandably, in the end
many voters may not feel enthusiastic about any candidate.
Discussion Points
 How many main political parties does your country have? Are there
clear differences between the parties?
 What are some of the bad effects of a low voter turnout? What can be
done to increase voter turnout? In your country, is voter turnout high or
low?