The constitution is cool
Chapter 1 Introduction
The Constitution is an important document because it is the highest law of our land and we still use it to this day. American freedoms are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
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The constitution is cool
The preamble (beginning) of the Constitution is very famous. It goes like this: "We the people of United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
The constitution is cool
Chapter 2 Federalism Federalism is when the National Government and State Government share an amount of power. The Constitution is a division of power between the governments. Both governments used to have the exact same rights but over time this has changed. The National Government now has a little more power than the State Government. The National Government and State Government have some similar powers and some different powers. The National Government is a little more powerful then the State Government. The National Government can declare war and the State Government can not. This is called cooperative federalism. They both work together but one has a little more power.
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Chapter 3. Separation of Powers The Separation of Powers are the three branches of government. The legislative,executive and judicial branches make up the Separation of Powers. The Separation of powers were made so one of the branches wouldn't get all the power. The Separation of Powers is the division of the roles made into the three different branches. All three branches have different roles. The legislative branch is made up of congress. Congress is the legislative body of the country. The legislative branch has the power to declare war. Congress is made up of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The constitution is cool
Chapter 4 Checks and Balances There are three branches of government that are a part of checks and balances. The executive branch which is the president, the legislative branch who represent the congress, and the judicial brach is the Supreme Court. All of these branches have a power over each other to keep them in check and preform as a government. Not one branch has more power than another. If the legislative branch wants to make a law the executive branch can disapprove or veto the law.
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Chapter 5 Legislative Branch The legeslative branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate (aka Congress). They are in control of money, taxes, the Military and Navy, and they have the power to declare war. They create laws and if 2/3 of the congress votes on it they can still pass a law if the president vetos it or doesn't want to pass it. The Senate has 100 senators, 2 per state. The House of Representatives has 435 members and they are divided amongst the states according to population. This means that the states with more people have more people in the House of Representitives.
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Chapter 6. The Executive Branch The executive branch is made up of the president and the vice president. The main job of the executive branch is to enforce the laws.The president can call special sessions with congress and can suggest laws or send messages to congress. The president also has the power to veto or remove acts. Acts are laws that are made or going to be made. During State of the Union which is on TV, the president tells congress to make certain lawmaking goals. Continued on page 12.
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The president needs to be born in America and thirty-five or older to become president. The president commands the military, and makes foreign treaties only if the senate agrees. The president also gets to pick the federal judge. The president gets a four year term unless impeached. Impeached is getting kicked out of office or fired. Although the president can get reelected again for another four year term.
The constitution is cool
Chapter 7 Judicial Branch The judicial branch manages the laws. This branch is made up of all of the courts, including the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court began in 1803. The Supreme Court has 9 people currently and they are all appointed by the president. Once you are in the Supreme Court you are there until you die or retire. If you are in the Supreme Court you have the final say in a law made by the president or congress. You can say if a law is unconstitutional or illegal. This is called the judicial review.
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Chapter 8 Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. They were written in 1719. The amendments are all in favor of the people, like the right to bear arms, which means you have the right to a gun in your home, or the quartering amendment which says a soldier is not allowed to sleep in your home without you saying so. The first amendment says that you have freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition. This means you can say or write whatever you want, pray to whoever you want, and gather in big groups wherever you want. This amendment has caused trouble in the past with people saying or writing some things and people getting offended. The Bill of Rights was modeled off of the English Bill of Rights. We created the Bill of Rights to give people "protection from the government". We didn't want another King like in Britain so we gave people certain rights so that the government wouldn't be so powerful.
Bill of Rights 1- Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition. 2- Right to bear arms 3- "Quartering" troops 4- Search and seizure 5- Rights of accused people 6- Right to a speedy public trial 7- Right to a jury 8- No cruel and unusual punishment 9- Rights of people 10- Powers of states and people
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Chapter 9. Amendments
Amendment 11. Lawsuit Against States Amendment 12. Election of Executives Amendment 13. Slavery Abolished Amendment 14. Civil Rights Amendment 15. Right to Vote Amendment 16. Income Tax Amendment 17. Direct Election of Senators Amendment 18. Prohibition Amendment 19. Woman Suffrage Amendment 20. "Lame Duck" sessions Amendment 21. Repeal of Prohibition Amendment 22. Limit on Presidential Terms Amendment 23. Voting in District of Columbia Amendment 24. Abolition of Poll Taxes Amendment 25. Presidential Disability, Succession Amendment 26. 18-year-old vote Amendment 27. Congressional Pay Continued on page 19.
The constitution is cool An amendment is a change in the constitution. The people who wrote the constitution made it like this because they knew the world would be changing.There are twenty-seven amendments to the United States constitution. The first ten amendments are a part of the Bill of Rights. The fifteenth amendment is the right to vote. This amendment was put into the constitution on March 30,1870. This amendment states that all citizens of the United States should not be denied the right to vote based on their race or color. The civil war had just ended and many southerners did not want African Americans to vote and ignored the amendment because they did not think of the African Americans as equals. After a lot of fighting, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 made a goal to get rid of legal barriers for state and local levels that deny blacks the right to vote.
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Chapter 10. Student Rights Student Rights are different from our outside rights. For instance your not allowed to swear or curse, but then when your outside of school you can swear. When the school says you can't swear in school that is called Student Rights. Your Student Rights are what you can do in school compared to out of school. Your school could look through your locker if you have one but they always need a reason before. This means schools can search your things without a reason even if it is the school's property. Continued on page 22.
The constitution is cool
The school can't search through your things without a good reason because you have right of privacy, but the school can search through your locker because they own it although they must have a reason. A school can get involved in cyber-bullying because it could be happening in school and be affecting the child's grades. We have different rights everywhere.