{"id":49,"date":"2015-06-09T17:06:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T17:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/masteryusgovernment1x6xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=49"},"modified":"2017-09-07T20:11:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-07T20:11:53","slug":"oer-9","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/spokanecc-americangovernment\/chapter\/oer-9\/","title":{"raw":"Reading: Constitutional Principles and Provisions","rendered":"Reading: Constitutional Principles and Provisions"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

Learning Objectives<\/h2>\r\n

After reading this section, you should be able to answer the following questions:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n \t
  1. What is the separation of powers?<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. What are checks and balances?<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. What is bicameralism?<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. What are the Articles of the Constitution?<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. What is the Bill of Rights?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    The Principles Underlying the Constitution<\/h2>\r\n

    Federalism<\/h2>\r\n

    While the Constitution established a national government that did not rely on the support of the states, it limited the federal government\u2019s powers by listing (\u201cenumerating\u201d) them. This practice of\u00a0federalism<\/em><\/strong> means that some policy areas are exclusive to the federal government, some are exclusive to the states, and others are shared between the two levels.<\/p>\r\n

    Federalism aside, three key principles are the crux of the Constitution: separation of powers, checks and balances, and bicameralism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Separation of Powers<\/h2>\r\n

    Separation of powers<\/span><\/a> is the allocation of three domains of governmental action\u2014law making, law execution, and law adjudication\u2014into three distinct branches of government: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Each branch is assigned specific powers that only it can wield (see Table 1, \"The Separation of Powers and Bicameralism as Originally Established in the Constitution,\" below).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Table 1.<\/span> The Separation of Powers and Bicameralism as Originally Established in the Constitution<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Branch of Government<\/th>\r\nTerm<\/th>\r\nHow Selected<\/th>\r\nDistinct Powers<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
    Legislative<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    House of Representatives<\/td>\r\n2 years<\/td>\r\nPopular vote<\/td>\r\nInitiate revenue legislation; bring articles of impeachment<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Senate<\/td>\r\n6 years; 3 classes staggered<\/td>\r\nElection by state legislatures<\/td>\r\nConfirm executive appointments; confirm treaties; try impeachments<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Executive<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    President<\/td>\r\n4 years<\/td>\r\nElectoral College<\/td>\r\nCommander-in-chief; nominate executive officers and Supreme Court justices; veto; convene both houses of Congress; issue reprieves and pardons<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Judicial<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Supreme Court<\/td>\r\nLife (during good behavior)<\/td>\r\nPresidential appointment and Senate confirmation (stated more or less directly in Federalist No. 78)<\/td>\r\nJudicial review (implicitly in Constitution but stated more or less directly in Federalist No. 78)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    \r\n

    2.6<\/span><\/p>\r\n\"Plan<\/a>\r\n

    In perhaps the most abiding indicator of the separation of powers, Pierre L\u2019Enfant\u2019s plan of Washington, DC, placed the President\u2019s House and the Capitol at opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. The plan notes the importance of the two branches being both geographically and politically distinct.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    This separation is in the Constitution itself, which divides powers and responsibilities of each branch in three distinct articles: Article I for the legislature, Article II for the executive, and Article III for the judiciary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Checks and Balances<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

    At the same time, each branch lacks full control over all the powers allotted to it. Political scientist Richard Neustadt put it memorably: \u201cThe Constitutional Convention of 1787 is supposed to have created a government of \u2018separated powers.\u2019 It did nothing of the sort. Rather, it created a government of separated institutions sharing<\/em> powers.\u201d[footnote]Richard E. Neustadt, Presidential Power<\/em> (New York: Wiley, 1960), 33.[\/footnote] Of course, whether the founders intended this outcome is still open to dispute.<\/span> No branch can act effectively without the cooperation\u2014or passive consent\u2014of the other two.<\/p>\r\n

    Be sure to click on checks and balances and watch the short video<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Most governmental powers are shared among the various branches in a system of checks and balances<\/span><\/a>, whereby each branch has ways to respond to, and if necessary, block the actions of the others. For example, only Congress can pass a law. But the president can veto it. Supreme Court justices can declare an act of Congress unconstitutional through judicial review<\/span>. Figure 1, \"Checks and Balances,\"\u00a0below, shows the various checks and balances between the three branches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Figure 1.<\/span>\u00a0Checks and Balances<\/p>\r\nSource: Adapted from George C. Edwards, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman, 2011), 46.\r\n

    \r\n

    The logic of checks and balances echoes Madison\u2019s skeptical view of human nature<\/strong>. In Federalist No. 10 he contends that all individuals, even officials, follow their own selfish interests.<\/strong> Expanding on this point in Federalist No. 51, he claimed that officeholders in the three branches would seek influence and defend the powers of their respective branches. Therefore, he wrote, the Constitution provides \u201cto those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Bicameralism<\/h2>\r\n

    Government is made yet more complex by splitting the legislature into two separate and distinct chambers\u2014the House of Representatives and the Senate. Such bicameralism<\/span> was common in state legislatures. One chamber was supposed to provide a close link to the people, the other to add wisdom.[footnote]Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic<\/em> (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1969), chap. 6.[\/footnote]<\/span> The Constitution makes the two chambers of Congress roughly equal in power, embedding checks and balances inside the legislative branch itself.<\/p>\r\n

    Bicameralism recalls the founders\u2019 doubts about majority rule<\/strong>. To check the House, directly elected by the people, they created a Senate. Senators, with six-year terms and election by state legislatures, were expected to work slowly with a longer-range understanding of problems and to manage popular passions. A story, possibly fanciful, depicts the logic: Thomas Jefferson, back from France, sits down for coffee with Washington. Jefferson inquires why Congress will have two chambers. Washington asks Jefferson, \u201cWhy did you pour that coffee into your saucer?\u201d Jefferson replies, \u201cTo cool it,\u201d following the custom of the time. Washington concludes, \u201cEven so, we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.\u201d[footnote]This version comes from Richard F. Fenno Jr., The United States Senate: A Bicameral Perspective<\/em> (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute, 1982), 5.[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    The Bias of the System<\/h2>\r\n

    The US political system is designed to prevent quick agreement within the legislature and between the branches. Senators, representatives, presidents, and Supreme Court justices have varying terms of offices, distinctive means of selection, and different constituencies. Prospects for disagreement and conflict are high. Accomplishing any goal requires navigating a complex obstacle course. At any point in the process, action can be stopped. Maintaining the status quo is more likely than enacting significant changes. Exceptions occur in response to dire situations such as a financial crisis or external attacks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    What the Constitution Says<\/h2>\r\n

    The text of the Constitution<\/a> consists of a preamble and seven sections known as \u201carticles<\/strong>.\u201d The preamble is the opening rhetorical flourish. Its first words\u2014\u201cWe the People of the United States\u201d\u2014rebuke the \u201cWe the States\u201d mentality of the Articles of Confederation. The preamble lists reasons for establishing a national government.<\/p>\r\n

    The first three articles set up the branches of government<\/strong>. We briefly summarize them here, leaving the details of the powers and responsibilities given to these branches to specific chapters.<\/p>\r\n

    Article I establishes a legislature that the founders believed would make up the heart of the new government<\/strong>. By specifying many domains in which Congress is allowed to act, Article I also lays out the powers of the national government.<\/p>\r\n

    Article II takes up the cumbersome process of assembling an Electoral College and electing a president and a vice president<\/strong>\u2014a process that was later modified by the Twelfth Amendment. Article II also articulates\u00a0 presidential duties which include <\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    1) Chief executive<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    2) Head of State<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    3) Chief Diplomat<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    4) Commander-in-Chief (of the military)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    \u00a0Article III established the the Supreme Court<\/strong> and states that judges of all federal courts hold office for life \u201cduring good Behaviour.\u201d It authorizes the Supreme Court to decide all cases arising under federal law and in disputes involving states. Judicial review, the central power of the Supreme Court, is not mentioned<\/strong>. Asserted in the 1804 case of Marbury v. Madison<\/em><\/strong>, it is the ability of the Court to invalidate a law passed by Congress or a decision made by the executive on the basis that it violates the Constitution.<\/p>\r\n

    Article IV lists rights and obligations among the states and between the states and the national government.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    Article V specifies how to amend the Constitution<\/strong>. This shows that the framers intended to have a Constitution that could be adapted to changing conditions. There are two ways to propose amendments. States may call for a convention. (This has never been used due to fears it would reopen the entire Constitution for revision.) The other way to propose amendments is for Congress to pass them by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.<\/p>\r\n

    Then there are two ways to approve an amendment. One is through ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. Alternatively, an amendment can be ratified by three-fourths of specially convoked state conventions. This process has been used once. \u201cWets,\u201d favoring the end of Prohibition, feared that the Twenty-First Amendment\u2014which would have repealed the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol\u2014would be blocked by conservative (\u201cdry\u201d) state legislatures. The wets asked for specially called state conventions and rapidly ratified repeal\u2014on December 5, 1933.<\/p>\r\n

    Thus a constitutional amendment can be stopped by one-third of either chamber of Congress or one-fourth of state legislatures\u2014which explains why there have been only twenty-seven amendments in over two centuries.<\/p>\r\n

    Article VI includes a crucial provision that endorses the move away from a loose confederation to a federal system in which the national government superior to the states<\/strong>. Lifted from the New Jersey Plan, the supremacy clause\u00a0<\/span><\/a>states that the Constitution and all federal laws are \u201cthe supreme Law of the Land.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

    Article VII outlines how to ratify the new Constitution.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Constitutional Evolution<\/h2>\r\n

    The Constitution has remained essentially intact over time. The basic structure of governmental power is much the same in the twenty-first century as in the late eighteenth century. At the same time, the Constitution has been transformed in the centuries since 1787. Amendments have greatly expanded civil liberties and rights. Interpretations of its language by all three branches of government have taken the Constitution into realms not imagined by the founders. New practices have been grafted onto the Constitution\u2019s ancient procedures. Intermediary institutions not mentioned in the Constitution have developed important governmental roles.[footnote]Bruce Ackerman, The Failure of the Founding Fathers: Jefferson, Marshall and the Rise of Presidential Democracy<\/em> (Cambridge, MA.: Belknap Press of Harvard, 2005).[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Amendments<\/h2>\r\n

    Many crucial clauses of the Constitution today are in the amendments. The Bill of Rights,<\/strong> the first ten amendments ratified by the states in 1791, defines civil liberties to which individuals are entitled. After the slavery issue was resolved by a devastating civil war, equality entered the Constitution with the Fourteenth Amendment<\/strong>, which specified that \u201cNo State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.\u201d This amendment provides the basis for civil rights, and further democratization of the electorate was guaranteed in subsequent ones. The right to vote became anchored in the Constitution with the addition of the Fifteenth, Nineteenth<\/strong>, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments, which stated that such a right, granted to all citizens aged eighteen years or more, could not be denied on the basis of race or sex, nor could it be dependent on the payment of a poll tax.[footnote]See Alexander Keyssar, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States<\/em> (New York: Basic Books, 2000).[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Constitutional Interpretation<\/h2>\r\n

    The Constitution is sometimes silent or vague, making it flexible and adaptable to new circumstances. Interpretations of constitutional provisions by the three branches of government have resulted in changes in political organization and practice.[footnote]The power of all three branches to develop the vague language of the Constitution is well documented in Neal Devins and Louis Fisher, The Democratic Constitution<\/em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    For example, the Constitution is silent about the role, number, and jurisdictions of executive officers, such as cabinet secretaries; the judicial system below the Supreme Court; and the number of House members or Supreme Court justices. The first Congress had to fill in the blanks, often by altering the law.\u00a0David P. Currie, The Constitution in Congress: The Federalist Period, 1789\u20131801<\/em> (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Supreme Court is today at center stage in interpreting the Constitution. Before becoming chief justice in 1910, Charles Evans Hughes proclaimed, \u201cWe are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the Court says it is.\u201d\u00a0Hughes was then Governor of New York.[footnote]Quoted in Edward S. Corwin,\u00a0The Constitution and What It Means Today<\/em> (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1954), xiii.[\/footnote]\u00a0<\/span>By examining the Constitution\u2019s clauses and applying them to specific cases, the justices expand or limit the reach of constitutional rights and requirements. However, the Supreme Court does not always have the last word, since state officials and members of the national government\u2019s legislative and executive branches have their own understanding of the Constitution that they apply on a daily basis, responding to, challenging, and sometimes modifying what the Court has held.[footnote]See Neal Devins and Louis Fisher, The Democratic Constitution<\/em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    New Practices<\/h2>\r\n

    Specific sections of the Constitution have evolved greatly through new practices. Article II gives the presidency few formal powers and responsibilities. During the first hundred years of the republic, presidents acted in limited ways, except during war or massive social change, and they rarely campaigned for a legislative agenda.[footnote]See Jeffrey Tulis, The Rhetorical Presidency<\/em> (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987).[\/footnote]<\/span> Article II\u2019s brevity would be turned to the office\u2019s advantage by President Theodore Roosevelt at the dawn of the twentieth century. He argued that the president is \u201ca steward of the people . . . bound actively and affirmatively to do all he could for the people.\u201d So the president is obliged to do whatever is best for the nation as long as it is not specifically forbidden by the Constitution.[footnote]Jeffrey K. Tulis, \u201cThe Two Constitutional Presidencies,\u201d in The Presidency and the Political System<\/em>, 6th ed., ed. Michael Nelson (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2000), 93\u2013124.[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

    \r\n

    Intermediary Institutions<\/h2>\r\n

    The Constitution is silent about various intermediary institutions<\/span>\u2014political parties, interest groups, and the media\u2014that link government with the people<\/strong> and bridge gaps caused by a separation-of-powers system. The political process might stall in their absence.<\/strong> For example, presidential elections and the internal organization of Congress rely on the party system. Interest groups represent different people and are actively involved in the policy process. The media are fundamental for conveying information to the public about government policies as well as for letting government officials know what the public is thinking, a process that is essential in a democratic system.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n

    Key Takeaways<\/h2>\r\n

    The Constitution established a national government distinguished by federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, republicanism, and bicameralism.<\/strong> It divided power and created conflicting institutions\u2014between three branches of government, across two chambers of the legislature, and between national and state levels. While the structure it created remains the same, the Constitution has been changed by amendments, interpretation, new practices, and intermediary institutions. Thus the Constitution operates in a system that is democratic far beyond the founders\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

    \n

    Learning Objectives<\/h2>\n

    After reading this section, you should be able to answer the following questions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. What is the separation of powers?<\/li>\n
    2. What are checks and balances?<\/li>\n
    3. What is bicameralism?<\/li>\n
    4. What are the Articles of the Constitution?<\/li>\n
    5. What is the Bill of Rights?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      The Principles Underlying the Constitution<\/h2>\n

      Federalism<\/h2>\n

      While the Constitution established a national government that did not rely on the support of the states, it limited the federal government\u2019s powers by listing (\u201cenumerating\u201d) them. This practice of\u00a0federalism<\/em><\/strong> means that some policy areas are exclusive to the federal government, some are exclusive to the states, and others are shared between the two levels.<\/p>\n

      Federalism aside, three key principles are the crux of the Constitution: separation of powers, checks and balances, and bicameralism.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Separation of Powers<\/h2>\n

      Separation of powers<\/span><\/a> is the allocation of three domains of governmental action\u2014law making, law execution, and law adjudication\u2014into three distinct branches of government: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Each branch is assigned specific powers that only it can wield (see Table 1, “The Separation of Powers and Bicameralism as Originally Established in the Constitution,” below).<\/p>\n

      \n

      Table 1.<\/span> The Separation of Powers and Bicameralism as Originally Established in the Constitution<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Branch of Government<\/th>\nTerm<\/th>\nHow Selected<\/th>\nDistinct Powers<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      Legislative<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      House of Representatives<\/td>\n2 years<\/td>\nPopular vote<\/td>\nInitiate revenue legislation; bring articles of impeachment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Senate<\/td>\n6 years; 3 classes staggered<\/td>\nElection by state legislatures<\/td>\nConfirm executive appointments; confirm treaties; try impeachments<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Executive<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      President<\/td>\n4 years<\/td>\nElectoral College<\/td>\nCommander-in-chief; nominate executive officers and Supreme Court justices; veto; convene both houses of Congress; issue reprieves and pardons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Judicial<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Supreme Court<\/td>\nLife (during good behavior)<\/td>\nPresidential appointment and Senate confirmation (stated more or less directly in Federalist No. 78)<\/td>\nJudicial review (implicitly in Constitution but stated more or less directly in Federalist No. 78)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      2.6<\/span><\/p>\n

      \"Plan<\/a><\/p>\n

      In perhaps the most abiding indicator of the separation of powers, Pierre L\u2019Enfant\u2019s plan of Washington, DC, placed the President\u2019s House and the Capitol at opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. The plan notes the importance of the two branches being both geographically and politically distinct.<\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      This separation is in the Constitution itself, which divides powers and responsibilities of each branch in three distinct articles: Article I for the legislature, Article II for the executive, and Article III for the judiciary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Checks and Balances<\/span><\/h2>\n

      At the same time, each branch lacks full control over all the powers allotted to it. Political scientist Richard Neustadt put it memorably: \u201cThe Constitutional Convention of 1787 is supposed to have created a government of \u2018separated powers.\u2019 It did nothing of the sort. Rather, it created a government of separated institutions sharing<\/em> powers.\u201d[1]<\/sup><\/a> Of course, whether the founders intended this outcome is still open to dispute.<\/span> No branch can act effectively without the cooperation\u2014or passive consent\u2014of the other two.<\/p>\n

      Be sure to click on checks and balances and watch the short video<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      Most governmental powers are shared among the various branches in a system of checks and balances<\/span><\/a>, whereby each branch has ways to respond to, and if necessary, block the actions of the others. For example, only Congress can pass a law. But the president can veto it. Supreme Court justices can declare an act of Congress unconstitutional through judicial review<\/span>. Figure 1, “Checks and Balances,”\u00a0below, shows the various checks and balances between the three branches.<\/p>\n

      \n

      Figure 1.<\/span>\u00a0Checks and Balances<\/p>\n

      Source: Adapted from George C. Edwards, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy (White Plains, NY: Pearson Longman, 2011), 46.\"image\"<\/p>\n

      \n

      The logic of checks and balances echoes Madison\u2019s skeptical view of human nature<\/strong>. In Federalist No. 10 he contends that all individuals, even officials, follow their own selfish interests.<\/strong> Expanding on this point in Federalist No. 51, he claimed that officeholders in the three branches would seek influence and defend the powers of their respective branches. Therefore, he wrote, the Constitution provides \u201cto those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Bicameralism<\/h2>\n

      Government is made yet more complex by splitting the legislature into two separate and distinct chambers\u2014the House of Representatives and the Senate. Such bicameralism<\/span> was common in state legislatures. One chamber was supposed to provide a close link to the people, the other to add wisdom.[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The Constitution makes the two chambers of Congress roughly equal in power, embedding checks and balances inside the legislative branch itself.<\/p>\n

      Bicameralism recalls the founders\u2019 doubts about majority rule<\/strong>. To check the House, directly elected by the people, they created a Senate. Senators, with six-year terms and election by state legislatures, were expected to work slowly with a longer-range understanding of problems and to manage popular passions. A story, possibly fanciful, depicts the logic: Thomas Jefferson, back from France, sits down for coffee with Washington. Jefferson inquires why Congress will have two chambers. Washington asks Jefferson, \u201cWhy did you pour that coffee into your saucer?\u201d Jefferson replies, \u201cTo cool it,\u201d following the custom of the time. Washington concludes, \u201cEven so, we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      The Bias of the System<\/h2>\n

      The US political system is designed to prevent quick agreement within the legislature and between the branches. Senators, representatives, presidents, and Supreme Court justices have varying terms of offices, distinctive means of selection, and different constituencies. Prospects for disagreement and conflict are high. Accomplishing any goal requires navigating a complex obstacle course. At any point in the process, action can be stopped. Maintaining the status quo is more likely than enacting significant changes. Exceptions occur in response to dire situations such as a financial crisis or external attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      What the Constitution Says<\/h2>\n

      The text of the Constitution<\/a> consists of a preamble and seven sections known as \u201carticles<\/strong>.\u201d The preamble is the opening rhetorical flourish. Its first words\u2014\u201cWe the People of the United States\u201d\u2014rebuke the \u201cWe the States\u201d mentality of the Articles of Confederation. The preamble lists reasons for establishing a national government.<\/p>\n

      The first three articles set up the branches of government<\/strong>. We briefly summarize them here, leaving the details of the powers and responsibilities given to these branches to specific chapters.<\/p>\n

      Article I establishes a legislature that the founders believed would make up the heart of the new government<\/strong>. By specifying many domains in which Congress is allowed to act, Article I also lays out the powers of the national government.<\/p>\n

      Article II takes up the cumbersome process of assembling an Electoral College and electing a president and a vice president<\/strong>\u2014a process that was later modified by the Twelfth Amendment. Article II also articulates\u00a0 presidential duties which include <\/strong><\/p>\n

      1) Chief executive<\/strong><\/p>\n

      2) Head of State<\/strong><\/p>\n

      3) Chief Diplomat<\/strong><\/p>\n

      4) Commander-in-Chief (of the military)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \u00a0Article III established the the Supreme Court<\/strong> and states that judges of all federal courts hold office for life \u201cduring good Behaviour.\u201d It authorizes the Supreme Court to decide all cases arising under federal law and in disputes involving states. Judicial review, the central power of the Supreme Court, is not mentioned<\/strong>. Asserted in the 1804 case of Marbury v. Madison<\/em><\/strong>, it is the ability of the Court to invalidate a law passed by Congress or a decision made by the executive on the basis that it violates the Constitution.<\/p>\n

      Article IV lists rights and obligations among the states and between the states and the national government.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Article V specifies how to amend the Constitution<\/strong>. This shows that the framers intended to have a Constitution that could be adapted to changing conditions. There are two ways to propose amendments. States may call for a convention. (This has never been used due to fears it would reopen the entire Constitution for revision.) The other way to propose amendments is for Congress to pass them by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

      Then there are two ways to approve an amendment. One is through ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. Alternatively, an amendment can be ratified by three-fourths of specially convoked state conventions. This process has been used once. \u201cWets,\u201d favoring the end of Prohibition, feared that the Twenty-First Amendment\u2014which would have repealed the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol\u2014would be blocked by conservative (\u201cdry\u201d) state legislatures. The wets asked for specially called state conventions and rapidly ratified repeal\u2014on December 5, 1933.<\/p>\n

      Thus a constitutional amendment can be stopped by one-third of either chamber of Congress or one-fourth of state legislatures\u2014which explains why there have been only twenty-seven amendments in over two centuries.<\/p>\n

      Article VI includes a crucial provision that endorses the move away from a loose confederation to a federal system in which the national government superior to the states<\/strong>. Lifted from the New Jersey Plan, the supremacy clause\u00a0<\/span><\/a>states that the Constitution and all federal laws are \u201cthe supreme Law of the Land.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Article VII outlines how to ratify the new Constitution.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      Constitutional Evolution<\/h2>\n

      The Constitution has remained essentially intact over time. The basic structure of governmental power is much the same in the twenty-first century as in the late eighteenth century. At the same time, the Constitution has been transformed in the centuries since 1787. Amendments have greatly expanded civil liberties and rights. Interpretations of its language by all three branches of government have taken the Constitution into realms not imagined by the founders. New practices have been grafted onto the Constitution\u2019s ancient procedures. Intermediary institutions not mentioned in the Constitution have developed important governmental roles.[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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      Amendments<\/h2>\n

      Many crucial clauses of the Constitution today are in the amendments. The Bill of Rights,<\/strong> the first ten amendments ratified by the states in 1791, defines civil liberties to which individuals are entitled. After the slavery issue was resolved by a devastating civil war, equality entered the Constitution with the Fourteenth Amendment<\/strong>, which specified that \u201cNo State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.\u201d This amendment provides the basis for civil rights, and further democratization of the electorate was guaranteed in subsequent ones. The right to vote became anchored in the Constitution with the addition of the Fifteenth, Nineteenth<\/strong>, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments, which stated that such a right, granted to all citizens aged eighteen years or more, could not be denied on the basis of race or sex, nor could it be dependent on the payment of a poll tax.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Constitutional Interpretation<\/h2>\n

      The Constitution is sometimes silent or vague, making it flexible and adaptable to new circumstances. Interpretations of constitutional provisions by the three branches of government have resulted in changes in political organization and practice.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

      For example, the Constitution is silent about the role, number, and jurisdictions of executive officers, such as cabinet secretaries; the judicial system below the Supreme Court; and the number of House members or Supreme Court justices. The first Congress had to fill in the blanks, often by altering the law.\u00a0David P. Currie, The Constitution in Congress: The Federalist Period, 1789\u20131801<\/em> (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997).<\/span><\/p>\n

      The Supreme Court is today at center stage in interpreting the Constitution. Before becoming chief justice in 1910, Charles Evans Hughes proclaimed, \u201cWe are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the Court says it is.\u201d\u00a0Hughes was then Governor of New York.[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>By examining the Constitution\u2019s clauses and applying them to specific cases, the justices expand or limit the reach of constitutional rights and requirements. However, the Supreme Court does not always have the last word, since state officials and members of the national government\u2019s legislative and executive branches have their own understanding of the Constitution that they apply on a daily basis, responding to, challenging, and sometimes modifying what the Court has held.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      New Practices<\/h2>\n

      Specific sections of the Constitution have evolved greatly through new practices. Article II gives the presidency few formal powers and responsibilities. During the first hundred years of the republic, presidents acted in limited ways, except during war or massive social change, and they rarely campaigned for a legislative agenda.[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Article II\u2019s brevity would be turned to the office\u2019s advantage by President Theodore Roosevelt at the dawn of the twentieth century. He argued that the president is \u201ca steward of the people . . . bound actively and affirmatively to do all he could for the people.\u201d So the president is obliged to do whatever is best for the nation as long as it is not specifically forbidden by the Constitution.[10]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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      Intermediary Institutions<\/h2>\n

      The Constitution is silent about various intermediary institutions<\/span>\u2014political parties, interest groups, and the media\u2014that link government with the people<\/strong> and bridge gaps caused by a separation-of-powers system. The political process might stall in their absence.<\/strong> For example, presidential elections and the internal organization of Congress rely on the party system. Interest groups represent different people and are actively involved in the policy process. The media are fundamental for conveying information to the public about government policies as well as for letting government officials know what the public is thinking, a process that is essential in a democratic system.<\/p>\n

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      Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n

      The Constitution established a national government distinguished by federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, republicanism, and bicameralism.<\/strong> It divided power and created conflicting institutions\u2014between three branches of government, across two chambers of the legislature, and between national and state levels. While the structure it created remains the same, the Constitution has been changed by amendments, interpretation, new practices, and intermediary institutions. Thus the Constitution operates in a system that is democratic far beyond the founders\u2019 expectations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t

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      Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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      CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>