Anatomy of the Constitution

Anatomy of the U.S. Constitution DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION In 1777 the United States formally gained independence from British rule. The political leaders and representatives from the first thirteen unified states of America, otherwise known as the Framers, gathered to establish democracy by creating the Articles of Confederation. This document formed an organization of 13 separate state governments and a legislative branch. It created a government very different from the one we have today. There was neither a president nor an executive branch and judicial branch. This government did not work as well as they had hoped, so ten years later they held a convention to revise the Articles. After much debate, the Framers decided to throw away the old plan and start a new one. This new plan became the Constitution of the United States. THE RULE BOOK A constitution is a document that gives instructions for how a government should run. It is a rule book for creating the laws for an entire country. When the Framers went back to the drawing board, they had many questions to consider: What is the purpose and function of our new government? What powers should the government have, and what limits should be placed on the government? How do we protect the rights of the people? Can we make a document that will be useful to future generations? THE PREAMBLE The United States Constitution is one of the shortest constitutions in the world. It is just over 4,500 words and covers only four pages and is also the oldest written constitution that is still in use today. The Constitution is divided into nine part. The first paragraph is called the Preamble that introduces the Constitution by explaining what the constitution means, and describes the purpose of the new government. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect union, (to make better than before) (Not a king, but of the citizens) establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, (create a fair legal system and establish peace at home) provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, (join together to defend against attacks and help keep the people safe and healthy) and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, (make sure that freedom and liberty is lives today and for future generations) do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (the people have created and agreed to follow this new plan of government) HOW DO THEY GOVERN? The contents of the Constitution created the three branches of government and give directions for how the federal (national) government works. Although the Constitution was written over 220 years ago, it still guides our officials in running our country today. ARTICLE I: CREATING CONGRESS Article I is the first and longest part of the Constitution because the people who wrote the Constitution realized that a legislative branch is very important in a government that represents the citizens. Members of Congress are responsible for turning the wants and needs of the people into laws. Congress has the ability to write and pass bills (laws). Bill can pass Congress once both houses, House of Representatives and Senate approve with a two-thirds vote. Congress members care about and represent their constituents (the people who elected them to office) ARTICLE II: CREATING THE PRESIDENT Article II of the Constitution describes the job of the executive branch. The president heads this branch, which includes the vice president, the cabinet, and many civilian and military employees. A President has the ability to veto or approve a passed bill put forward by Congress and makes sure that the government carries out the law. The President is also able to engage in negotiations and agreements with other countries. A president cares about and represents all citizens of the United States. ARTICLE III: CREATING THE COURTS Article III created the judicial branch. The judicial branch has the job of interpreting laws to decide what they mean. Article III is the shortest of the first three articles because it only creates one court—the Supreme Court. All other federal courts are created by Congress. Federal judges are appointed and given terms that last until they retire, die, or are removed for bad behavior. The Supreme Court makes sure people are obeying the law and interpreting them. The judges care about the Constitution of the United States (in other words the rulebook for government) ARTICLE IV: THE STATES States have the power to create and enforce their own laws. Article Four describes how the states should interact with one another.  Each state has to respect the laws and court decisions of the other states.  If a criminal flees one state for another, the state where the crime was committed can request the criminal be returned to face criminal charges, called extradition.  All states must have a republican, or representative, type of government. ARTICLE V: AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION Article V describes how an amendment is added to the Constitution. There are only two steps necessary. First, the amendment needs to be proposed, or introduced. Then it needs to be ratified, or passed. Hundreds of amendment proposals are introduced in Congress each year. Only 33 have received enough votes to actually be proposed. Of those, 27 have become amendments to the Constitution. The process to add an amendment can take years. There are four different ways an amendment can be added to the Constitution. But in all cases, an amendment has to be approved at the state and national levels. Four Methods of Amending the U.S. Constitution ARTICLE VI: SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND Federalism is the idea that the national government shares power with the state governments. But if a state law disagrees with a federal law, Article Six states that the laws and treaties of the federal government are “the supreme law of the land.” If a state law disagrees with a federal law, federal law wins. This article also requires officials working in the state and federal governments to take an oath to support the Constitution no matter what. ARTICLE VII: RATIFICATION When most of the Constitution was written, the Framers had to decide the best way to get the American people to support it. Article Seven calls for at least nine of the thirteen states to ratify the Constitution. Each state had to hold a constitutional convention to discuss and vote on the new government plan. The debate was over the need for a Bill of Rights that would list specific rights not already mentioned in the Constitution. With the promise of the addition of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution became the law of the land in March of 1789 at the first meeting of Congress. Two years later, in 1791, the Bill of Rights was added as the first ten amendments to the Constitution.