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● Go to our canvas page
● Take a second to study
Structure of Constitution
Preamble and Articles
The United States Constitution
●Provides a framework
for our government
●Supreme Law of the
Land
●Symbolic
●4500 words long
(short!)
●Broken into 9
sections
The Preamble
●Introduces the
Constitution
●Declares that the
power of the
government comes
from the people
●States the purpose of
the government
The Preamble:
States the Purposes of the Government
●What do the following
statements mean
exactly?
o “To form a more perfect
union”
o “To establish justice”
o “To insure domestic
tranquility”
The Articles of the Constitution
●Follows the
preamble
●Seven articles total
o Roman numerals I
through VII
The Articles of the Constitution
Articles I-III
●Article I
o Outlines the powers
of Legislative branch
o Longest section
o Lawmaking branch
●Article II
o Outlines the powers
of the Executive
branch
●Article III
o Outlines the powers
of the Judicial branch
A Closer Look:
Article I and the Necessary and Proper
Clause
●Lists the powers of
Congress
●Necessary and Proper
Clause
o Also known as the
elastic clause or
Implied powers
●Controversial
The Necessary and Proper Clause
●Also known as the elastic
clause
o it stretches the power of
Congress!
●Federalists supported the
elastic clause
o Favored a loose interpretation
of the Constitution
●Anti Federalists opposed
the elastic clause
o Favored a strict
interpretation of the
Necessary and Proper Clause:
Example
●Does Congress have the
power to set a national
minimum wage?
o Yes, according to the
Necessary and Proper Clause
o Setting a national minimum
wage is necessary to carry
out the power of regulating
interstate commerce
The Articles of Constitution
Articles IV-VI
●Article IV
o State relationships (how
states must interact with one
another), admitting new
states, state gov’ts
●Article V
o Explains how the Constitution
can be amended
●Article VI
o Declares the Constitution is
the “Supreme Law of the
Land”
A Closer Look:
Article VI and the Supremacy Clause
●Article VI, Clause 2
contains the “Supremacy
Clause”
●Federalism
o when power is shared by
both the national and state
governments
Federalism and the Supremacy
Clause
●What happens when state
and federal laws conflict?
o Framers included the
supremacy clause in the
Constitution to answer this
question
●State governments can not
do anything that goes
against the Constitution or
federal law
The Articles of the Constitution
Article VII
●Final article of the
Constitution
●Nine states must ratify
the Constitution for it to
go into effect
Write Down These Questions Relating
to McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
●Who were the major players in the case?
●What was at the root of the conflict?
●What did the Court decide in the case
of McCulloch v. Maryland?
●What reasons did the Court give for its
decision?
Court Case:
McCulloch v. Maryland
●McCulloch v.
Maryland court case
illustrates both the:
o Necessary and Proper
Clause
o Supremacy Clause
McCulloch v. Maryland:
Background
●In 1816, Congress
chartered the Second Bank
of the United States
●In 1818, the state of
Maryland taxed the
Baltimore branch of the
bank
●James M. McCulloch
o cashier at the Baltimore
branch refused to pay the tax
McCulloch v. Maryland:
Two Important Questions
●The landmark court
case answered two
important questions:
1.Does Congress have the
authority to charter a
national bank?
2. Would the state of
Maryland be in violation
of the Constitution for
taxing a national bank?
McCulloch v Maryland (1819):
Decision
●Unanimous decision in
favor of James McCulloch
●Chief Justice John Marshall
●Established two important
principles:
1. Creation of a national bank was
constitutional
2. It is unconstitutional for the state
of Maryland to tax a national
bank
McCulloch v. Maryland:
Necessary and Proper Clause
●Constitution did not
specifically give Congress
the power to create a
national bank
●How is it constitutional for
Congress to have the right
to create a national bank?
o Yes, because of the Necessary
and Proper Clause
McCulloch v. Maryland:
Supremacy Clause
●Can the state of Maryland
tax a national bank?
o No, because of the
Supremacy Clause
●“They control the
constitution and laws of
the respective states, and
cannot be controlled by
them.”
-John Marshall
Let’s Review!
●Here is an easy mnemonic device
to help you remember the
content in each Article of the
Constitution!
o Larry Eats Jelly So Apple Sauce Rocks
 L-legislative
 E-Executive
 J-Judicial
 S-States rights
 A-Amendment process
 S-Supremacy of the Constitution
 R-Ratification
Constitution Booklet
●Label the Cover of your Constitution Booklet with
a title (your choice) and your first and last name
●Inside of Cover should be labeled Preamble and
Articles I-VII
●Label the 27 Amendments and include the roman
numerals for each (do not write on the back of each
amendment yet!)
●Mark last 3 flaps as
oMcCulloch v Maryland
oMarbury v. Madison
oGibbons v. Ogden