US Government Basic Concepts

Here’s What We’ll Cover…

•Main principles of government•Structure of the Constitution•Federalism•Amending the Constitution•You get to change the

Constitution!

Basic Constitutional Principles

• Social Contract & Popular Sovereignty• Limited Government• Representative Government• Written Constitution• Separation of Powers• Checks & Balances• Federalism• Judicial Review

Structure of the Constitution

• Preamble• Articles

• 1: Congress• 2: Executive• 3: Judicial• 4: Relationship among the states (same

rights in each state)• 5: Supremacy clause

• Amendments

Powers & Federalism

• What is federalism?• Powers

• Expressed (Enumerated)• Implied Powers; Necessary & proper (carry

out enumerated)• Reserved (states)• Concurrent Powers• Denied Powers (tax exports)

State Guarantees in the Constitution

• Denied Powers• No treaties with foreign nations• Can’t coin money• Can’t grant titles of nobility

• Bill of Rights applies to states (after passing of 14th Amendment)

• What do states get?• Republican government• Protection• Territorial integrity (r-e-s-p-e-c-t!)

The Amendment Process

109th Congress Proposed Amendments

• To ensure reproductive rights of women• To force the Congress and President to agree to a

balanced budget, with overspending allowed only in the case of a three-fifths vote of Congress

• To ensure that all children who are citizens have a right to a "free and adequate education"

• To specifically permit prayer at school meetings and ceremonies

• To allow non-natural born citizens to become President if they have been a citizen for 20 years

• To specifically allow Congress to regulate the amount of personal funds a candidate to public office can expend in a campaign

More Proposed Amendments

• The "Every Vote Counts" Amendment - providing for direct election of the President and Vice President, abolishing the Electoral College

• To clarify eminent domain, specifically that no takings can be transferred to a private person except for transportation projects

• To allow the President to reduce any Congressional appropriation, or to disapprove of same (akin to a line-item veto)