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U.S. Constitution study guide: Difference between revisions
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==Original Constitution == | ==Original Constitution == | ||
* The '''<u>constitution</u>''' <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";>a "'''constitution'''"<br>* = fundamental law<br>* = sets the underlying rules and structures for a government or organization<br>* in the United States it is the supreme law of the land<br>* the United States Constitution is the oldest and shortest written constitution in the world. <br>* the purpose of the U.S. Constitution was to structure a new government and to set the extents (powers) and limits of it.<br>* the Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments being known as the "Bill of Rights | * The '''<u>constitution</u>''' <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";>a "'''constitution'''"<br>* = fundamental law<br>* = sets the underlying rules and structures for a government or organization<br>* in the United States it is the supreme law of the land<br>* the United States Constitution is the oldest and shortest written constitution in the world. <br>* the purpose of the U.S. Constitution was to structure a new government and to set the extents (powers) and limits of it.<br>* the Constitution has been amended 27 times, with the first ten amendments being known as the "Bill of Rights"<br> * the U.S. Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and went into effect once it was ratified by nine of the thirteen original states.<br>* the new government it formed was opened on March 4, 1789.</div> as adopted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 | ||
==Preamble== | ==Preamble== | ||
'''<u>Preamble</u> | * '''<u>Preamble</u>''' <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";>* the opening paragraph of the Constitution which states its general purposes and source of power (the people)</div> | ||
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, 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. | * <u>'''We the People of the United States'''</u>, <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";>"'''We the people"'''<br>= declaration of self-government<br>* the statement is important because it states that the ultimate authority of the nation belongs to the people and not the states or the new government itself</div> <u>'''in Order to form a more perfect Union/u>''', <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";>* to improve upon the loose union created <br>* by the Articles of Confederation<br> * = statement of the importance of "union"</div> establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, <u>'''promote the general Welfare</u>''', <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"; div style="background-color:#f2f2f2";> * called the "general welfare clause"<br>* = statement of purpose in the Preamble<br> * that the Constitution is to benefit the general welfare of the nation<br>* = an enumerated power of Congress that is expressed in Article I, Section 8<br>* this clause does not enumerate (explicitly state) what is meant by the "general welfare,"<br>** so this clause has become for Congress a very expansive, or broad expression of the powers of Congress (i.e., an implied power)</div> and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. | ||
== Article I [legislative branch] == | |||
* [Article I establishes the structures, duties, and powers of the legislative branch] | |||
= the Congress | |||
= | |||
===Section 1.=== All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. | ===Section 1.=== All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. | ||
=== Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. | === Section 2. === The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. | ||
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. | No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. | ||