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1、Constitution NotesnTitle the next page in your notebook Constitution Notes. nCopy the following notes in Cornell style.n nYou will be writing questions at home tonight.n nThere are 14 slides of information to take notes on.The ConstitutionnnThe Constitution is the supreme law of the landPreamblen nT
2、he introduction to the Constitution is called the Preamble.n nThe Preamble begins with the phrase “We the people”n nThis means that the government is based on the consent of the people. Amendmentn nA change in the Constitutionn nThere have been 27 amendments to the Constitution.n nThe first 10 amend
3、ments are called the Bill of Rights.The Branches of Governmentn nThere are three branches of government: 1. The legislative - which makes the laws 2. The executive - which enforces the laws or make sure the laws are carried out 3. The judicial - which interprets the laws or explains the laws and mak
4、es sure they are fairLegislative Branchn nThe legislative branch is called Congress and is made up of two Houses (parts): The House of Representatives and the Senate.The House of Representativesn nStates with the largest populations have the most representatives in the House.n nHouse members must be
5、 at least 25 years old or older to serve. n nHouse members are elected to a two year term.n nThere are 435 members in the House of Representatives. The Senaten nThe Senate is the other part of the Congressn nThere are two senators for each state, which means of course there are 100 Senators.n nSenat
6、ors must be at least 30 years old.n nSenators are elected to a six year term.The Executive Branchn nThe executive branch is headed by the president.n nThe president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.The Presidentn nThe president is elected to a four year term.n nThe president can only se
7、rve two terms.n nThe president must be a citizen by birthn nThe president must be at least 35 years old.The Judicial Branchn nThe Judicial Branch of the federal government is headed by the Supreme Court.n nSupreme Court justices are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate. n nThere are
8、 9 Supreme Court justices, who are appointed for life. Checks and Balancesn nThe framers of the Constitution established a system of checks and balances to prevent any branch government from getting too powerful. n nExample: Congress has the right to pass bills into law, but the president can veto t
9、hem, which means the bill does not become a law.More examplesn nIf the president vetoes a law, the Congress can override his veto by a 2/3 majority. n nThe Supreme Court can say that any law is unconstitutional. The law no longer exists. Federalismn nThe power of government is also split between the
10、 states and the federal government. n nThis is called Federalism.n nIf the Constitution does not have a law, the states can do what they want. n nState law cannot contradict federal law.Dual Sovereigntyn nDual Sovereignty means that whatever the federal government does not make a law about, the states can act however they choose.n nThat is why there is different state laws regarding the age of drinking alcohol, driving, the death penalty, and many more.
