The Constitution

1. The Constitution The Highest Law of the Land

2. The Articles of Confederation • 1st plan of government • Did not provide for strong central government • States formed a league of friendship • Formed one branch, the Legislative • Congress makes decisions and laws for nation • Weaknesses • Could not collect taxes from the states • Could not make rules regarding trade with other nations

3. The Constitutional Convention • A convention of delegates (representatives) from all the states except Rhode Island met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 1787. • They met in closed sessions here in Independence Hall.

4. Who participated in the Constitutional Convention? These men are our Founding Fathers and are also called the Framers of the Constitution. George Washington was chosen president of the convention. Click the picture below to find out who else was present.

5. What was their job? • The job of our Founding Fathers was to revise the Articles of Confederation to make it better. • But by the end of the month it was decided that the best solution to the young country's problems was to set aside the Articles of Confederation and write a new plan of government. • The new plan would create a stronger central government.

6. Why was this a difficult task? • The summer was hot and everyone had different ideas about the best way to run the new country. • There were many debates, or arguments, about what the new constitution should say. • The Framers had to make many compromises to reach agreements. The Framers worked for four months over the hot summer in Philadelphia to craft the Constitution.

7. What is the Constitution? • The Constitution is a strong document. It’s the highest law of the land. • The Constitution is known as a "living document" because it can be amended, or changed. Since its ratification, or approval, it has only been changed 27 times. • It divides the power of our government into three branches, or parts. • Each branch shares power with the other two branches so that none becomes more powerful than the other.

8. How does our government work under the Constitution? Power is divided.

9. Legislate: to create or pass laws • The Legislature makes the laws. • Congress meets at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Its primary duty is to write, debate, and pass bills, which are then passed on to the President for approval. • The U.S. Congress is made up of two parts: • theHouse of Representatives, also called the House • the Senate

10. How do you become a U.S. Representative? • The people elect the Representatives. They have the right to tell him or her how they feel about issues, like taxes, education, jobs, etc. • There are 435 Representatives. States with large populations have more Representatives and states with fewer people have fewer representatives. Every state has at least one. • Indiana has a total of 9 Representatives.

11. Peter Visclosky is the representative from Northwest Indiana. • Mr. Visclosky was born in Gary, owns a home in Merrillville and is a life long resident of Northwest Indiana. • Pete has focused on improving our quality of life by working on three concepts that are important to people here: • keeping jobs in steel • educating our children • creating employment opportunities for the future.

12. Senators are part of Congress, too. • The Senate is made up of 100 Senators. • There are two Senators from each state. The people elect Senators. • Senators should represent the interests of all of the people. • When the Congress wants to pass a law, both the House and the Senate must agree to the exact same law. • If they cannot agree, then the law cannot pass. • Both Senators and Representatives work in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

13. Who are the Senators representing Indiana? Evan Bayh Richard Lugar

14. What is the Executive branch? • The role of the Executive is mainly to make sure the law is carried out. He speaks for our country. • The President heads the Executive. The Executive also includes the Vice President. President Barak Obama Vice President Joseph Biden

15. What does the Judicial branch do? • The judicial branchof government is made up of the court system. • The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land. • Courts decide arguments about the meaning of laws, how they are applied, and whether they break the rules of the Constitution.

16. Review Time: What does the chart show?

17. How is the Constitution organized? • The Constitution is organized into three parts: • Preamble: Describes the purpose of the document and government. It’s similar to an introduction. • Articles: Establish how the government is structured (organized) and how the Constitution can be changed. There are seven articles. • Amendments: These are changes to the Constitution; the first ten are called the Bill of Rights.

18. Part 1: the Preamble • The Preamble describes the purpose of the Constitution. It is an introduction. • We the People of the 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.

19. Part 2: the Articles • There are 7 articles in the Constitution. • The first 3 tell how the government is divided into 3 branches.

20. Part 3: The Amendments • The amendments show the changes that have been made to the Constitution. • Click the image of the Constitution to learn about some of those changes.

21. The Bill of Rights • The first 10 amendments are called the bill of rights. They describe the rights we have as citizens of the USA. • What are those rights? • Click the picture to find out.