[ ESSENTIAL QUESTION ] What Is the Right Balance of Power in

Good Government?

3 The Constitution

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 Topic 3 The Constitution

Enduring Understandings
• The U.S. Constitution provides the basic
principles upon which the government is
constructed and operates.
• The Constitution is built around six basic
principles: popular sovereignty, limited
government, separation of powers, checks and
balances, judicial review, and federalism.
• The Constitution also provides the methods
required to propose and ratify amendments,
allowing for changes in its laws and procedures.
• The U.S. system of government is federalism,
wherein the powers are divided between the
National Government, with a set of powers given
to it explicitly by the Constitution, and the States.

>> Opening line of the Preamble of

the United States Constitution

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 3.1
The Articles of Confederation
had provided the new nation with
domestic and international legitimacy,
at the price of a weak general
government. The new Constitution
created a stronger federal government
with a chief executive, the power to
tax, and a court system.

>> The U.S. Constitution is on display in the

Rotunda of the National Archives Building
in Washington, D.C. At night, it is stored in a
highly secure underground vault.

Flipped Video

>> Objectives
Understand the basic outline of the
Constitution.
An Overview of the
Understand the basic principles of the
Constitution: popular sovereignty, limited
government, and separation of powers.
Constitution
Understand the basic principles of the
Constitution: checks and balances, judicial
review, and federalism. An Outline of the U.S.
Constitution
>> Key Terms The Constitution of the United States begins with the Preamble.
bicameral
Executive Article “We the People of the United States, in Order
inferior courts
popular sovereignty to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice,
limited government
constitutionalism
insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
rule of law common defence, promote the general Welfare,
separation of powers
checks and balances and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
veto and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
judicial review
unconstitutional Constitution for the United States of America.”
federalism
James Madison
—United States Constitution
Alexander Hamilton
Andrew Johnson The Constitution of the United States dates from the latter part of
Barack Obama the eighteenth century. Written in 1787, it took effect in 1789. The fact
Donald Trump that it is more than 220 years old does not mean, however, that in the
twenty-first century, it is only an interesting historical artifact, best

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 left to museums and dusty shelves. On the contrary, it growth and change. One of the Constitution’s greatest
remains a vitally important and vibrant document. strengths is that it deals largely with matters of basic
The Constitution is this nation’s fundamental law. It principle. Unlike most other constitutions—those of the
is, by its own terms, “the supreme Law of the Land”— 50 States and those of other nations—the Constitution
the highest form of law in the United States. of the United States is not weighted down with detailed
and cumbersome provisions.
Sets the Rules The Constitution sets out the basic As you read the Constitution, you will also see that
principles upon which government in the United States it is organized in a simple and straightforward way. It
was built and operates today. The document lays out the begins with a short introduction, the Preamble. The
ways in which the Federal Government is organized, balance of the original document is divided into seven
how the leaders of that government are selected, and numbered sections called articles.
many of the procedures those leaders must follow as The first three articles deal with the three branches
they perform their duties. Of utmost importance, it sets of the National Government: Congress, the presidency,
out the limits within which government must conduct and the federal court system. These articles outline
itself. the basic organization and powers of each branch, and
The Constitution also lays out the basic rules of the methods by which the members of Congress, the
American politics. By doing so, it helps to determine President and Vice President, and federal judges are
who wins and who loses in the political arena. To really chosen.
understand government and politics in this country, Article IV deals mostly with the place of the States
we must know a good deal about the Constitution and in the American Union and their relationships with the
how it has been interpreted and applied throughout our National Government and with one another. Article V
history. indicates how formal amendments may be added to the
document. Article VI declares that the Constitution is
Amendments Even with its 27 amendments, the the nation’s supreme law; Article VII provided for the
Constitution is a fairly brief document. Its little more ratification of the Constitution.
than 7,000 words can be read in half an hour. Remember
that this document has successfully guided this
nation through more than two centuries of tremendous

Articles of the Constitution

SECTION SUBJECT

Preamble States the purpose of the Constitution

Article I Creates the Legislative branch

Article II Creates the Executive branch

Article III Creates the Judicial branch

Article IV Relations among the States

Article V Amending the Constitution

Article VI National debts, supremacy of national law, and oaths of office

Article VII Ratifying the Constitution

>> The body of the Constitution is made up of seven articles. These articles set out the
basic shape of the Federal Government. Analyze Charts What is the purpose of the
first three articles?

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 The 7 articles of the original document are followed Practical The Framers had to create a two-chambered
by 27 amendments, printed in the order in which each body to settle the conflict between the Virginia and the
provision was adopted. New Jersey Plans at Philadelphia in 1787. Recall, the
most populous States wanted to distribute the seats in
CATEGORIZE Describe the basic organization of Congress in proportion to the population of each State,
the Constitution and why this organization was used while the smaller States demanded an equal voice in
by the Framers. Congress.
Bicameralism is a reflection of federalism. Each of
the States is equally represented in the Senate and
Article I each is represented in line with its population in the
House.
Immediately, the Constitution establishes a
bicameral legislature—that is, a legislature made up
Theoretical The Framers favored a bicameral
of two houses. It does so for historical, practical, and
Congress in order that one house might act as a check
theoretical reasons.
on the other.
Historical The British Parliament had consisted of two A leading constitutional historian recounts a
houses since the 1300s. The Framers and most other conversation between Thomas Jefferson and George
Americans knew the British system of bicameralism Washington at Mount Vernon. Jefferson, who had
quite well. Most of the colonial assemblies and, in just returned from France, told Washington that he
1787, all but two of the new State legislatures were was opposed to a two-chambered legislature. As he
also bicameral. Among the original 13 colonies, only made his point, he poured his tea into his saucer, and
Georgia and Pennsylvania had unicameral colonial and Washington asked him why he did so. “To cool it,”
then State legislatures. Georgia’s legislature became replied Jefferson. “Even so,” said Washington, “we pour
bicameral in 1789 and Pennsylvania’s in 1790. (Only one legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.”
State, Nebraska, has a unicameral legislature today.) As a whole, the Framers were convinced that
the legislature would dominate the new National
Government. As Madison observed,

THE CAPITOL

THE HOUSE

435
MEMBERS

THE SENATE

100
Old House
House Chamber The Rotunda
Chamber (Statuary Senate
Hall) Chamber
Old Senate
Chamber

MEMBERS

>> Congress meets in the Capitol, which has undergone several additions as both the
nation and Congress have grown. Analyze Maps Why are both chambers in the
same building?

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 In republican government, the
legislative authority necessarily
predominates. The remedy for
this inconveniency is to divide the
legislature into different branches.
—The Federalist No. 51

The Framers saw bicameralism as a way to

diffuse the power of Congress and so prevent it from
overwhelming the other two branches of government.
For more than 200 years now, some people have
argued that equal representation of the States in the
Senate is undemocratic and should be eliminated.
They often point to the two extremes to make their
case. The State with the least population, Wyoming,
has only some 560,000 residents. The most populous
State, California, now has a population of more than 37
million. Yet each of these States has two senators.
Those who object to State equality in the Senate
ignore a vital fact. The Senate was purposely created
as a body in which the States would be represented
>> Patricia Schroeder (D., Colorado) was the first woman
as coequal members and partners in the Union.
from Colorado to be elected to Congress. She served in
Remember, if the Framers had been unable to agree that the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997.
the States would be equally represented in the Senate,
the Constitution might never have been written.

SYNTHESIZE What practical problem did the

Framers solve by creating a bicameral legislature?

Article II
Article II of the Constitution is known as the Executive
Article, which in only a few words established the
presidency. It begins this way:

The executive Power shall be vested

in a President of the United States of
America.
—Article II, Section 1

With this one sentence, the Framers laid the basis

for the vast power and influence that the nation’s chief
executive possesses today.
The Constitution also sets out other, somewhat
more specific grants of presidential power. Thus, the
President is given the power to command the armed
forces, to make treaties, to approve or veto acts of >> Mount Rushmore in South Dakota features four U.S.
Congress and call special sessions of that body, to send Presidents—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,
and receive diplomatic representatives, and to “take Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—representing
Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” the first 130 years of U.S. history.

Still, the Constitution lays out the powers of the

presidency in a very sketchy fashion. Article II reads

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 almost like an outline. It has been called “the most depository of the supreme will of the
loosely drawn chapter” in the nation’s fundamental law. Society.
It does not define “the executive Power,” and the other
grants of presidential power are couched in similarly —James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal
Convention of 1787
broad terms.
Much of our political history can be told in terms As you know, those delegates who argued for
of the struggle over the meaning of the constitutional a stronger executive carried the day. The Framers
phrase “executive Power”—that is, over the extent of established a single executive, chosen independently
presidential power. That struggle has pitted those of Congress and with its own distinct field of powers.
who have argued for a weaker presidency, subordinate
to Congress, against those who have pressed for a COMPARE POINTS OF VIEW What two points of
stronger, independent, coequal chief executive. view of the presidency were debated by the Framers?
That never-ending contest began at the Philadelphia
Convention in 1787. There, several of the Framers agreed
with Roger Sherman of Connecticut, who, according to
James Madison,
Article III
During the years the Articles of Confederation were
in force (1781–1789), there was no provision for federal
considered the Executive Magistracy
courts or a national judiciary. The laws of the United
as nothing more than an institution States were interpreted and applied as each State saw
for carrying the will of the legislature fit, and sometimes not at all. Disputes between States
into effect, that the person or persons and between persons who lived in different States
were decided, if at all, by the courts in one of the States
[occupying the presidency] ought to involved. Often, decisions by the courts in one State
be appointed by and accountable to were ignored by courts in the other States.
the Legislature only, which was the Alexander Hamilton spoke to the point in The
Federalist No. 22. He described “the want of a judiciary
power” as a “circumstance which crowns the defects of
the Confederation.” Arguing the need for a federal court
system, he added, “Laws are a dead letter without
courts to expound and define their true meaning and
operation.” The Framers created a national judiciary
for the United States in a single sentence in the
Constitution:

The judicial Power of the United

States shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as
the Congress may from time to time
ordain and establish.
—Article III, Section 1

Congress also is given the expressed power “to

constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court”—
that is, create the rest of the federal court system—in
Article I, Section 8, Clause 9.
Keep in mind this important point: There are two
separate court systems in the United States. On one
hand, the national judiciary spans the country with its
more than 100 courts. On the other hand, each of the 50
>> Until the late 1700s, U.S. laws were interpreted States has its own system of courts. Their numbers run
by State courts. In a 1735 trial, Andrew Hamilton’s well into the thousands, and most of the cases that are
successful defense of John Peter Zenger set a precedent heard in court today are heard in those State, not the
for freedom of the press.
federal, courts.

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 The Constitution establishes the Supreme Court
and leaves to Congress the creation of the inferior
courts—the lower federal courts under the Supreme
Court. Over the years, Congress has created two
distinct types of federal courts: (1) the constitutional
courts, and (2) the special courts.
The constitutional courts are those federal courts
that Congress has formed under Article III to exercise
“the judicial Power of the United States.” Together
with the Supreme Court, they now include the courts
of appeals, the district courts, and the U.S. Court of
International Trade. The constitutional courts are also
called the regular courts and, sometimes, Article III
courts.
The special courts do not exercise the broad “judicial
Power of the United States.” Rather, they have been
created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some
of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article
I, Section 8. The special courts hear a much narrower
range of cases than those that may come before the
constitutional courts.
These special courts are also called the legislative
courts and, sometimes, Article I courts. Today, they >> Lillian Sing is a judge at the Community Justice
Center of the Superior Court of California, San Francisco.
include the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, This center has both a courtroom and a social-service
the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the center to help those in need.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Tax Court, the
various territorial courts, and the courts of the District
of Columbia.

EXPRESS PROBLEMS CLEARLY Why did the

Framers see a need for the creation of a national
judiciary?

Basic Principles
The Constitution is built around six basic principles.
The first three are popular sovereignty, limited
government, and separation of powers.

Popular Sovereignty In the United States, all political

power resides in the people, a concept known as
popular sovereignty. The people are the only source
for any and all governmental power. Government can
govern only with the consent of the governed.
The principle of popular sovereignty is woven
throughout the Constitution. In its opening words—the
Preamble—that document declares: “We the People
of the United States . . . do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
Thus, the people have given the United States >> The principle of popular sovereignty was set out in the
Constitution. Analyze Political Cartoons According to
Government whatever powers it has, through the the cartoon, what is citizens’ role in the government?
Constitution. That government exercises those powers
through popularly elected leaders who are chosen

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 by the people to represent them in the exercise of
the people’s power, which is essentially what James
Madison referred to as republicanism.

Limited Government The principle of limited

government holds that no government is all-powerful.
That government may do only those things that the
people have given it the power to do.
In effect, the principle of limited government is the
other side of the coin of popular sovereignty. It is that
principle stated the other way around: The people are
the only source of any and all of government’s authority;
and government has only that authority the people
have given to it.
The concept of limited government can be put
another way: Government must obey the law. Stated this
way, the principle is often called constitutionalism—
that is, government must be conducted according
to constitutional principles. The concept of limited
government is also frequently described as the rule of
law, which holds that government and its officers, in all
that they do, are always subject to—never above—the
>> Another basic principle of the Constitution is that law.
of limited government. Analyze Political Cartoons In large part, the Constitution is a statement of
How are limited government and popular sovereignty
related?
limited government. Much of it reads as prohibitions
of power to government. For example, notice the
Cartoon Constitution’s guarantees of freedom of expression.
Those great guarantees—of freedom of religion, of
speech, of the press, of assembly, and of petition—are
vital to democratic government. They are enshrined
in the 1st Amendment, which begins with the words:
“Congress shall make no law. . . .”

Separation of Powers Recall that in a parliamentary

system, the legislative, executive, and judicial powers
of government are all gathered in the hands of a single
agency. British government is a leading example of the
form. In a presidential system, these basic powers are
distributed—separated—among three distinct and
independent branches of the government.
This concept is known as separation of powers.
The idea had been written into each of the State
constitutions adopted during the Revolution. A
classic expression of the doctrine can be found in the
Massachusetts constitution written in 1780:

“In the government of this

commonwealth, the legislative
>> The Constitution also specifies the separation of
department shall never exercise the
powers. Analyze Political Cartoons How does the executive and judicial powers, or either
separation of powers keep government from becoming
too powerful? of them: The executive shall never
exercise the legislative and judicial

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 powers, or either of them: The judicial
shall never exercise the legislative and
executive powers, or either of them:
to the end it may be a government of
laws and not of men.”
—Part the First, Article XXX

The Constitution of the United States distributes

the powers of the National Government among the
Congress (the legislative branch), the President (the
executive branch), and the courts (the judicial branch).
This separation of powers is clearly set forth in the
opening words of each of the first three Articles of the
Constitution.
Article I, Section 1 declares: “All legislative Powers
herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States. . . .” Thus, Congress is the lawmaking
branch of the National Government.
Article II, Section 1 declares: “The executive
Power shall be vested in a President of the United
States of America.” Thus, the President is given the
law-executing, law enforcing, and law-administering >> The legislative, executive, and judicial branches are
powers of the National Government. connected by a system of checks and balances. Analyze
Political Cartoons What is one way the President can
Article III, Section 1 declares: “The judicial Power check the powers of Congress?
of the United States shall be vested in one supreme
Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress
may from time to time ordain and establish.” Thus,
the federal courts, and most importantly the Supreme
Court, interpret and apply the laws of the United States More Basic Principles
in cases brought before them. The remaining three basic principles of the
Remember, the Framers intended to create a Constitution are checks and balances, judicial review,
stronger central government for the United States. and federalism.
Yet they also intended to limit the powers of that
government. The doctrine of separation of powers was Check and Balances The National Government is
designed to accomplish just that. organized around three separate branches. As you have
In The Federalist, No. 47, James Madison wrote of just seen, the Constitution gives to each branch its own
this arrangement: “The accumulation of all powers, field of governmental authority: legislative, executive,
legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same and judicial.
hands, whether of one, a few, or many . . . may justly be These three branches are not entirely separated nor
pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” completely independent of one another. Rather, they
The earliest of the State constitutions provided for a are tied together by a complex system of checks and
separation of powers among the legislative, executive, balances. This means that each branch is subject to
and judicial branches of the new governments they a number of constitutional checks, or restraints, by
established. This was a reflection of the mistrust and the other branches. In other words, each branch has
suspicion toward any government common to the certain powers with which it can check the operations
people of the new United States in the late 1700s. Thus, of the other two.
the inclusion of the doctrine of separation of powers Congress has the power to make laws, but the
was both natural and inevitable in the writing of the President may veto (reject) any act of Congress. In its
Constitution. turn, Congress can override a presidential veto by a
two-thirds vote in each house. Congress can refuse to
EXPRESS IDEAS CLEARLY Explain the concept of provide funds requested by the President, or the Senate
popular sovereignty in your own words. may refuse to approve a treaty or an appointment made
by the chief executive. The President is the commander

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 in chief of the armed forces, but Congress provides that of course. The President does veto some acts of
military force; and so on. Congress. On rare occasions, Congress does override
The system of checks and balances links the judicial a veto. And, even more rarely, the Senate does reject a
branch to the legislative and the executive branches. presidential appointee. Twice in our history, the House
The President has the power to name all federal judges. of Representatives has impeached (brought charges
Each appointment, however, must be approved by a against) a President, seeking his removal: Andrew
majority vote in the Senate. At the same time, the courts Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. On both
have the power to determine the constitutionality of occasions the President was acquitted by the Senate.
acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to But, again, these and other direct confrontations
strike down those they find unconstitutional. are not common. Congress, the President, and even the
Head-on clashes between the branches of courts try to avoid them. The check-and-balance system
government do not often happen. The check-and- makes compromise necessary—and, remember,
balance system operates all the time, however, and compromise is a vital part of democratic government.
in routine fashion. The very fact that it exists affects Over time, the checks-and-balances system has
much of what happens in Washington, D.C. worked well. It has done what the Framers intended
For example, when the President picks someone it to do; it has prevented “an unjust combination of a
to serve in some important office in the executive majority.” At the same time, the system of checks and
branch—as, say, secretary of state or director of the balances has not often forestalled a close working
Office of National Intelligence—the President is quite relationship between the executive and legislative
aware that the Senate must confirm that appointment. branches of the Federal Government.
So, the chief executive is apt to pick someone who very Note, however, that working relationship runs more
likely will be approved by the Senate. In a similar sense, smoothly when the President and a majority in both
when Congress makes a law, it does so with a careful houses of Congress are of the same political party.
eye on both the President’s veto power and the power When the other party controls one or both houses,
of the courts to review its actions. partisan friction and conflict play a larger-than-usual
Spectacular clashes—direct applications of the part in that relationship.
check-and-balance system—do sometimes occur,

CHECKS AND BALANCES

• May override a President’s veto
• May impeach the President
• Approves appointments of judges
• May veto legislation
• Approves treaties
• May call special
sessions of Congress

EXECUTIVE LEGISLATIVE
BRANCH BRANCH
• Appoints Supreme • May impeach
Court justices federal judges
• Appoints other • Creates lower
federal judges courts

• May declare executive • May declare acts of Congress

acts unconstitutional unconstitutional

JUDICIAL
BRANCH
>> The system of checks and balances allows each branch of government to limit the
actions of the others. Analyze Diagrams How can the executive branch be checked Chart
by the other two branches?

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 Through most of our history, the President and a
majority of the members of both houses of Congress
have been of the same party. Over the past 50 years or
so, however, the American people have become quite
familiar with divided government—that is, a political
environment in which one party occupies the White
House and the other controls one or both houses of
Congress.
Democrat Barack Obama had a divided government
for most of his presidency. That was not the case when
Republican President Donald Trump took office in 2017,
however. The Republicans had captured control of the
House in 2010 and of the Senate in 2014. The GOP kept
their majorities in the 2016 elections, giving their party
control of both the executive and legislative branches.

Judicial Review One aspect of the principle of checks

and balances is of such importance in the American
constitutional system that it stands by itself, as one of
that system’s basic principles. The power of judicial
review may be defined as the power of a court to
determine the constitutionality of a governmental
action. >> Judicial review is one of the six principles of
In part, then, judicial review is the power to declare government established by the Constitution. Analyze
Political Cartoons According to this cartoon, what is
unconstitutional—to declare illegal, null and void, of
the role of the judicial branch?
no force and effect—a governmental action found to
violate some provision in the Constitution. The power
of judicial review is held by all federal courts and by
most State courts, as well.
to be preferred; or, in other words, the
The Constitution does not provide for judicial review
in so many words. Yet it seems clear that the Framers Constitution ought to be preferred to
intended that the federal courts, and in particular the statute....”
the Supreme Court, should have that power. In The —The Federalist No. 78
Federalist No. 51, James Madison described the judicial
power as one of the “auxiliary precautions” against the In practice, the Supreme Court established the
possible domination of one branch of the government power of judicial review in the landmark case of Marbury
over another. v. Madison in 1803. Since Marbury, the Supreme Court
In The Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote: and other federal and State courts have used the power
in thousands of cases. For the most part, those courts
”The interpretation of the laws is have upheld challenged governmental actions. That is,
in most cases in which the power of judicial review is
the proper and peculiar province of the
exercised, the actions of government are found to be
courts. A constitution is, in fact, and constitutional.
must be regarded by the judges as a That is not always the case, however. To date, the
fundamental law. It therefore belongs Supreme Court has decided some 150 cases in which
it has found an act or some part of an act of Congress
to them to ascertain its meaning, as
to be unconstitutional. It has struck down several
well as the meaning of any particular presidential and other executive branch actions as
act proceeding from the legislative well. The Court has also voided hundreds of actions of
body. If there should happen to be the States and their local governments, including some
1,200 State laws and local ordinances.
an irreconcilable variance between
the two, that which has the superior Federalism As you know, the American governmental
obligation and validity ought, of course, system is federal in form. The powers held by

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 government are distributed on a territorial basis. The Keep in mind that federalism is an important part
National Government holds some of those powers, of the Constitution’s web of protections of individual
which it uses to fulfill responsibilities for domestic freedom. Remember, the Framers were dedicated to the
policy, such as healthcare, education, and business, concept of limited government. They were convinced
and foreign policy, which includes international trade (1) that governmental power poses a threat to individual
and alliances with other countries. Other powers liberty, (2) that, therefore, the exercise of governmental
belong to the 50 States. power must be restrained, and (3) that to divide
The principle of federalism—the division of power governmental power, as federalism does, is to curb it
among a central government and several regional and so prevent its abuse. James Madison addressed
governments—came to the Constitution out of both this point in this passage from The Federalist Papers:
experience and necessity. At Philadelphia, the Framers
faced a number of difficult problems, not the least of In the compound republic of
them: How to build a new, stronger, more effective America, the power surrendered by
National Government while preserving the existing
the people is first divided between two
States and the concept of local self-government.
The colonists had rebelled against the harsh rule of distinct governments, and then the
a powerful and distant central government. They had portion allotted to each is subdivided
fought for the right to manage their own local affairs among distinct and separate
without the meddling and dictation of the king and his
departments. Hence a double security
ministers in far-off London. Surely, the colonists would
not now agree to another such government. arises to the rights of the people. The
The Framers found their solution in federalism. In different governments will control each
short, they constructed the federal arrangement, with
its division of powers, as a compromise. It was an
alternative to both the system of nearly independent
States, loosely tied to one another in the weak Articles
of Confederation, and to a much feared, too powerful
central government.

Who has the Power?

FEDERAL POWERS SHARED POWERS STATE POWERS

• To maintain an army • To enforce laws • To conduct elections
and a navy • To establish courts • To establish schools
• To declare war • To borrow money • To regulate business within
• To coin money • To secure the population a State
• To regulate trade • To build an infrastructure • To establish local governments
between States and • To collect taxes • To regulate marriage, divorce
with foreign nations • To make laws • To assume other powers
• To make treaties not given to the Federal
Government nor denied
to the States, by the
Constitution

>> The Constitution divides power among the State and Federal governments
Analyze Diagrams Which government has the power to provide aid to victims of a
California earthquake?

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 other, at the same time that each will tribunals to prosecute persons captured in the
be controlled by itself. war against terrorism, deciding that only Congress
has the power to provide for the creation of such
—The Federalist No. 51
court-like bodies. On what constitutional principle
was this decision based?
EXPRESS IDEAS CLEARLY Explain the concept of
3. Interpret Suppose two people who live in
judicial review and why it is important.
adjoining states are having a land dispute. Identify
the article of the Constitution that addresses this
ASSESSMENT issue, and explain how it addresses the problem.

4. Infer Why is it in the President’s best interest

1. Evaluate Arguments Why might some argue that
to nominate federal judges favored by most
the organization of the Senate is undemocratic?
Senators?
2. Draw Conclusions In 2006, the Supreme Court
5. Synthesize How did the principle of federalism
struck down President Bush’s plan to use military
resolve the issue of national versus States’ rights?

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 3.2
The Constitution of the United
States has now been in force for
more than 200 years—longer than
the written constitution of any other
nation in the world.

>> Students in Seattle march in a rally in

support of the 26th Amendment. Congress
passed the amendment in March 1971, and
the States ratified it in just four months.

Flipped Video

>> Objectives
Describe the constitutionally prescribed
procedures by which the Constitution may be
Amending the
formally changed.
Explain how the formal amendment process
illustrates the principles of federalism and
Constitution
popular sovereignty.
Understand the 27 amendments that have
been added to the Constitution, and that Formal Amendment Process
several amendments have been proposed but When the Constitution became effective in 1789, the United States
not ratified.
was a small agricultural nation of fewer than four million people. That
Identify how basic legislation has added to population was scattered for some 1,300 miles along the eastern edge
our understanding of the Constitution over
time. of the continent. The 13 States, joined together mostly by travel on
Analyze how interpretation of the
horseback and sailing ships, struggled to stay alive in a generally
Constitution has changed over the years hostile world.
through the actions of the executive and
judicial branches, and by party practices and An Enduring Document Today, well over 300 million people live in
customs.
the United States. The now 50 States stretch across the continent and
beyond, and the country has many far-flung commitments. The United
>> Key Terms States is the most powerful nation on Earth, and its modern, highly
amendment Franklin D. industrialized and technological society has produced a standard of
ratification Roosevelt living that has long been the envy of many other countries.
formal amendment James Madison
Bill of Rights George Washington How has the Constitution, written in 1787, endured and kept pace
executive agreement Lyndon Johnson with that astounding change and growth? The answer lies in this
treaty highly important fact: The Constitution of today is, and at the same
electoral college
time is not, the document of 1787. Many of its words are the same,
Cabinet
senatorial courtesy and much of their meaning remains the same. But some of its words
Thomas Jefferson have been changed, some have been eliminated, and some have been

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 added. And, very importantly, the meanings of many of purpose, in three fourths of the States. Only the 21st
its provisions have been modified, as well. Amendment (1933) was adopted in this way.
This process of constitutional change, of When Congress proposes an amendment, it chooses
modification and growth, has come about in two basic the method of ratification. State conventions were used
ways: (1) by formal amendment and (2) by other, informal to ratify the 21st Amendment, largely because the
means. In this section, you will look at the first of them: lawmakers felt that the conventions’ popularly elected
the addition of formal amendments to the Constitution. delegates would be more likely to reflect public opinion
The Framers knew that even the wisest of on the question of the repeal of nationwide prohibition
constitution makers cannot build for all time. Thus, the than would State legislators.
Constitution provides for its own amendment—that Third, an amendment may be proposed by a national
is, for changes in its written words. convention, called by Congress at the request of two
thirds of the State legislatures—today, 34. It must then
Methods of Formal Amendment Article V sets be ratified by three fourths of the State legislatures. To
out two methods for the proposal and two methods this point, Congress has not called such a convention.
for the ratification of amendments. So, there are four And fourth, an amendment may be proposed by a
possible methods of formal amendment—changes national convention and then ratified by conventions in
or additions that become part of the written language three fourths of the States. Remember, the Constitution
of the Constitution itself. itself was adopted in much this same way.
First, an amendment may be proposed by a two-
thirds vote in each house of Congress and ratified by IDENTIFY MAIN IDEAS How does the formal
three fourths of the State legislatures. Today, at least amendment process reflect the concept of federalism?
38 State legislatures must approve an amendment to
make it a part of the Constitution. Of the Constitution’s
27 amendments, 26 were adopted in this manner.
Second, an amendment may be proposed by
Congress and ratified by conventions, called for that

AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

METHOD 1 METHOD 2

PROPOSED by Congress PROPOSED at a

by a 2/3 vote in each house national convention
called by Congress when
requested by 2/3 of the
State legislatures

RATIFIED by 3/4 OR RATIFIED RATIFIED by 3/4 OR RATIFIED

by conventions in by conventions
of the State legislatures of the State legislatures
3/4 of the States in 3/4 of the States

>> The President does not have a role in the formal amendment process. Analyze
Charts Why do you think the Constitution outlines amendment methods involving Gallery
Congress and State legislatures?

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 Federalism and Popular
Sovereignty
Note that the formal amendment process emphasizes
the federal character of the governmental system.
Proposal takes place at the national level and ratification
is a State-by-State matter. Also note that when the
Constitution is amended, that action represents the
expression of the people’s sovereign will.
Some criticize the practice of sending proposed
amendments to the State legislatures rather than to
ratifying conventions, especially because it permits a
constitutional change without a clear-cut expression
by the people.
The critics point out that State legislators, who do
the ratifying, are elected to office for a mix of reasons,
including party membership, name familiarity, and their
stands on certain issues. They are almost never chosen
because of their stand on a proposed amendment. On
the other hand, the delegates to a ratifying convention
would be chosen by the people on the basis of only one
factor: a yes-or-no stand on the proposed amendment.
>> A senator stands atop a pyramid of the groups that The Supreme Court has held that a State cannot
got him elected. Analyze Political Cartoons How require an amendment proposed by Congress to be
might each group have contributed to his election?
approved by a vote of the people of the State before
it can be ratified by that State’s legislature. It made
that ruling in Hawke v. Smith, in 1920. However, a
State legislature can call for an advisory vote by the
people before it acts, as the Court held in Kimble v.
Swackhamer, in 1978.

CHECK UNDERSTANDING Why have some people

criticized sending proposed amendments to the State
legislatures rather than to ratifying conventions?

Proposing an Amendment
The Constitution places only one restriction on the
subjects with which a proposed amendment may deal.
Article V declares that “no State, without its Consent,
shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.’’
When both houses of Congress pass a resolution
proposing an amendment, Congress does not send it
to the President to be signed or vetoed, though the
Constitution would seem to require it—because when
Congress proposes an amendment, it is not making
law (not legislating). Although the chief executive has
no formal role in the amendment process, his or her
>> Inez Milholland was a labor lawyer and activist who political influence can affect the success or failure of
rode in the Woman Suffrage Parade in 1913 as part of her any attempt to amend the Constitution, of course.
fight to amend the Constitution to give women the right
If a State rejects a proposed amendment, it is not
to vote.
forever bound by that action. It may later reconsider
and ratify the proposal. Most constitutional scholars

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 The Bill of Rights
• Freedom of religion, speech and the press The right to:
1 • Freedom to peaceably assemble and to • a speedy trial by an impartial jury
petition the government 6 • be informed of the charges, to cross-examine
witnesses, and to present favorable witnesses
• The right to maintain a militia • an attorney
2 • The right to bear arms
Protection from having to quarter (house) The right to trial by jury in any civil case where
7 the amount of money involved is $20 or more
soldiers in a time of peace without the
3 consent of the owner, nor in a time of war Protection from:
except as provided by law • excessive bail or fines
8
Protection against arbitrary searches and • cruel and unusual punishment
4 seizures without a proper warrant
The fact that the Constitution spells out a number
Protection from: 9 of civil rights does not mean that there are not
• prosecution without an indictment other, unwritten, rights held by the people.
• being tried for the same crime twice
5 • having to testify against oneself The powers not delegated to the Federal
• the loss of life, liberty, or property Government may be exercised by the States,
10 as long as they are not prohibited by
without due process of law
• loss of property without just compensation the Constitution.

>> The first ten amendments protect many fundamental rights held by the people.
Generate Explanations Why is it important to spell out these rights? Timeline

agree that the reverse is not true, however. Once a deadline for its ratification. The Supreme Court held
State has approved an amendment, that action cannot that Congress can place “a reasonable time limit” on
be undone; and no governor’s veto power extends to the ratification process in a case from California, Dillon
the ratification of a proposed amendment. v. Gloss, in 1921. Congress has set a similar limit on
the ratification period for each of the amendments
Proposed Amendments Some 12,000 joint (except the 19th) that it has proposed since then. It also
resolutions calling for amendments to the Constitution granted a three-year extension of the deadline for the
have been proposed in Congress since 1789. Only 33 Equal Rights Amendment in 1979.
of them have been sent on to the States. Of those,
only 27 have been finally ratified. One of the unratified DESCRIBE How can the chief executive impact the
amendments had been offered by Congress in 1789— formal amendment process?
along with 10 other proposals that became the Bill
of Rights in 1791, and another that became the 27th
Amendment in 1992.
The unratified amendment of 1789 dealt with the
The 27 Amendments
distribution of seats in the House of Representatives. As you read about the Constitution’s amendments,
A second, proposed in 1810, would have voided the consider that they are quite significant, but they have
citizenship of anyone accepting any foreign title or not been responsible for the extraordinary vitality of
other honor. Another, in 1861, would have prohibited the Constitution. That is to say, they have not been a
forever any amendment relating to slavery. A fourth, major part of the process by which the Constitution has
in 1924, was intended to give Congress the power to kept pace with more than two centuries of change.
regulate child labor. A fifth one, proclaiming the equal
The Bill of Rights The first ten amendments were
rights of women (ERA), was proposed in 1972; it fell
added to the Constitution less than three years
three States short of ratification and died in 1982. An
after it became effective. They were proposed by
amendment to give the District of Columbia seats in
the first session of the First Congress in 1789 and
Congress was proposed in 1978; it died in 1985.
were ratified by the States in late 1791. Each of these
amendments arose out of the controversy surrounding
Reasonable Time Limit When Congress proposed
the ratification of the Constitution itself. Many people,
the 18th Amendment in 1917, it set a seven-year
including Thomas Jefferson, had agreed to support the

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 Constitution only if a listing of the basic rights held by States Supreme Court. The case (Chisholm v. Georgia,
the people were added to it, immediately. decided by the Court in 1793) arose out of a dispute
Collectively, the first ten amendments are known as over the ownership of some land in Georgia. It had
the Bill of Rights. They set out the great constitutional been brought to the brand new federal court system by
guarantees of freedom of belief and expression, of a man who lived in South Carolina.
freedom and security of the person, and of fair and The 12th Amendment was added in 1804 after the
equal treatment before the law. electoral college had failed to produce a winner in
The first ten amendments were added to the the presidential election of 1800. Thomas Jefferson
Constitution so quickly that, for all intents and purposes, became the third President of the United States in
they might just as well be regarded as a part of the 1801, but only after a long, bitter fight in the House of
original Constitution. In point of fact, they were not. Representatives. The 13th Amendment, added in 1865,
We shall look at the 1st through the 9th amendments provides another example. It abolished slavery in the
at some length in later readings. The 10th Amendment United States and was a direct result of the Civil War.
does not deal with civil rights, as such. Rather, it spells Slaves freed under the 13th Amendment were
out the concept of reserved powers held by the States legally in limbo in regards to their rights. The 14th
in the federal system. Amendment, adopted in 1868, defined citizenship as
“all persons born or naturalized in the United States,”
The Later Amendments Each of the other granting the former slaves citizenship.
amendments that have been added to the Constitution Passage of the 14th Amendment was bitterly
over the past 200 years also grew out of some contested by the southern States, who were forced to
particular, and often interesting, set of circumstances. ratify it in order to regain representation in Congress.
For example, the 11th Amendment declares that no The 15th Amendment later prohibited denying the vote
State may be sued in the federal courts by a citizen based on a citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition
of another State or by a citizen of any foreign state. It of servitude,” which granted the freed slaves the right
was proposed by Congress in 1794 and ratified in 1795, to vote.
after the State of Georgia had lost a case in the United The 18th Amendment, establishing a nationwide
prohibition of alcohol, was ratified in 1919. Known as
“the noble experiment,” it lasted fewer than 14 years.
The 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st in 1933.
The 22nd Amendment (1951), limiting the number
of terms in which a President may serve to two, was
proposed in 1947, soon after the Republican Party had
gained control of Congress for the first time in 16 years.
Over that period, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat,
had won the presidency four times.
The 26th Amendment was added in 1971. It lowered
the voting age to 18 in all elections in the United States.
Many who backed the amendment began to work for
its passage during World War II, creating the slogan
“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.” Its ratification
was spurred by the war in Vietnam.
The most recent amendment, the 27th, was written
by James Madison and was among the first to be
offered by Congress, in 1789. It forbids members of
Congress from raising their own pay during that term.
It finally became a part of the Constitution in 1992,
when the 38th State, Michigan, ratified it.

SYNTHESIZE Many of the 27 current amendments

were proposed in response to legal disputes, social
>> The Buffalo Soldiers were members of the first conflicts, or perceived constitutional problems. What
all-black regiments to serve in the U.S. Army during problem was resolved by the 12th Amendment?
peacetime. Because of the 13th and 14th Amendments,
they were free men and U.S. citizens.

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 Change by Other Means
Surely, the Framers would be surprised to learn
that only 17 amendments have been added to their
handiwork since the adoption of the Bill of Rights more
than two centuries ago. That so few formal changes
have been made is, in part, a tribute to the wisdom of
the Framers. But it is also due, in no small part, to the
fact that many of the Constitution’s provisions are cast
in almost outline-like form; they are brief and seldom
very detailed or specific. In short, their skeletal nature
virtually guarantees interpretation.
So, to understand the Constitution, you must grasp
this key point: There is much in that document—in
fact, a great deal—that cannot be seen with the naked
eye.
To put this essential point another way: Over
time, many interpretations have been made in the
Constitution that have not involved any changes in its
written words.
This vital process of constitutional change by
means other than formal amendment has taken place—
and continues to occur—in five key ways: through >> Gun control advocates and opponents protest
(1) the passage of basic legislation by Congress; (2) outside the U.S. Supreme Court. The role of the Court
actions taken by the President; (3) key decisions of the is to interpret the Constitution and determine the
constitutionality of federal laws.
Supreme Court; (4) the activities of political parties;
and (5) custom and usage.

Basic Legislation Congress has been a major agent

of constitutional change in two important ways. First,
it has passed a number of laws to clarify several of
the Constitution’s brief provisions. That is, Congress
has added flesh to the bones of those sections of
the Constitution that the Framers left purposely
skeletal—provisions they left for Congress to detail as
circumstances required.
Take the structure of the federal court system as
an example. In Article III, Section 1, the Constitution
provides for “one supreme Court, and . . . such inferior
Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain
and establish.” Beginning with the Judiciary Act
of 1789, all of the federal courts, except the Supreme
Court, have been created by acts of Congress. Or,
similarly, Article II creates only the offices of President
and Vice President. The many departments, agencies,
and offices in the now huge executive branch have
been created by acts of Congress.
As an additional example, the Constitution deals
with the matter of presidential succession, but only
up to a point. The 25th Amendment says that if the
>> The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal court
presidency becomes vacant, the Vice President
system and gave Congress the power to create the courts.
automatically succeeds to the office. Who becomes
President if both the presidency and the vice presidency
are vacant? Thus, the Constitution leaves the answer
to that question to Congress.

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 Second, Congress has added to the Constitution by
the way in which it has used many of its powers. The
Constitution gives to Congress the expressed power to
regulate foreign and interstate commerce. But what is
“foreign commerce” and “interstate commerce”? What,
exactly, does Congress have the power to regulate?
The Constitution does not say. Congress has done
much to define those words, however, by exercising
its commerce power with the passage of literally
thousands of laws. As it has done so, Congress has, in
a very real sense, expanded the Constitution.

Executive Action The manner in which various

Presidents, especially the more vigorous ones, have
used their powers has also contributed to the growth
of the Constitution. For example, the document
says that only Congress can declare war. But the
Constitution also makes the President the commander
in chief of the nation’s armed forces. Acting under that
authority, several Presidents have made war without
a declaration of war by Congress. In fact, Presidents
have used the armed forces abroad in combat without
>> In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the such a declaration on several hundred occasions in our
Presidential Succession Act, which designated the history.
Speaker of the House to succeed the President and Vice
President if neither is able to serve.
Take the use of executive agreements in the conduct
of foreign affairs as another example. An executive
agreement is a pact made by the President directly
with the head of a foreign state. A treaty, on the other
hand, is a formal agreement between two or more
sovereign states.
The principal difference between agreements and
treaties is that executive agreements need not be
approved by the Senate. They are as legally binding as
treaties, however. Recent Presidents have often used
them in our dealings with other countries, instead of
the much more cumbersome treaty-making process
outlined in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.
Additionally, most Presidents have insisted that
the phrase “executive power” in Section 1 of Article
II includes much more than the particular presidential
powers set out in that article. Thus, Thomas Jefferson
engineered the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, doubling
the size of the United States—even though the
Constitution does not say that the President has the
power to acquire territory.

Court Decisions The nation’s courts, most tellingly

the United States Supreme Court, interpret and apply
the Constitution in many of the cases they hear. You
have already encountered several of these instances of
>> President Obama meets in the Situation Room to plan
for the war in Afghanistan. As commander in chief, the constitutional interpretation by the Court, most notably
President can send U.S. troops into combat without an in Marbury v. Madison, 1803.
official declaration of war. Recall that the Court established the power of
judicial review—which is not specifically mentioned

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 in the Constitution. You will find many more instances
of constitutional interpretation—for the Supreme Court
is, as Woodrow Wilson once put it, “a constitutional
convention in continuous session.”

Party Practices The nation’s political parties have

been a major agent of constitutional change over the
course of our political history, despite the fact that the
Constitution makes no mention of them. In fact, most
of the Framers were opposed to political parties. In
his Farewell Address in 1796, George Washington
warned the people against what he called “the baneful
effects of the spirit of party.”
He and many others feared the divisive effect of
party politics on government. Yet, even as he spoke,
parties were developing. They have had a major place
in the shaping of government and its processes ever
since. Illustrations of that point are almost endless.
Neither the Constitution nor any law provides for
the nomination of candidates for the presidency. From
the 1830s on, however, the major parties have held
national conventions to do just that. The parties have
converted the electoral college, the body that makes >> After succeeding to the office of President after John
F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, Lyndon Johnson was
the formal selection of the nation’s President, from what elected President in his own right in 1964.
the Framers intended into a “rubber stamp” for each
State’s popular vote in presidential elections. Both
houses of Congress are organized and conduct much
of their business on the basis of party. The President
senatorial courtesy, and it amounts to an unwritten
makes appointments to office with an eye to party
rule that is closely followed in the Senate. Notice that
politics. In short, government in the United States is in
its practical effect is to shift a portion of the appointing
many ways government through party.
power from the President, where the formal wording
of the Constitution puts it, to certain members of the
Custom and Usage Unwritten customs may be Senate.
as strong as written law, and many of them have
Both the strength and the importance of unwritten
developed in our governmental system. Again, there
customs can be seen in the reaction to the rare
are many examples. By custom, not because the
circumstances in which one of them has not been
Constitution says so, the heads of the 15 executive
observed. For nearly 150 years, the “no-third-term
departments make up the Cabinet, an advisory body
tradition” was a closely followed rule in presidential
to the President.
politics. The tradition began in 1796, when George
On each of the eight occasions when a President Washington refused to seek a third term as President,
died in office, the Vice President succeeded to that and several later Presidents followed that lead. In 1940,
office—most recently Lyndon Johnson, following and again in 1944, however, Franklin Roosevelt broke
John Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Yet, the written the no-third-term custom. He sought and won a third
words of the Constitution did not provide for this and then, four years later, a fourth term in the White
practice until the adoption of the 25th Amendment House. As a direct result, the 22nd Amendment was
in 1967. Until then, the Constitution said only that the added to the Constitution in 1951, limiting the President
powers and duties of the presidency—but not the office to two terms. What had been an unwritten custom, an
itself—“shall devolve on” (be transferred to) the Vice informal rule, became part of the written Constitution
President. itself.
It is a long-established custom that the Senate
will approve only those presidential appointees, such IDENTIFY CAUSE AND EFFECT How has the
as a federal judge or a United States marshal, who are general way the Framers laid out the provisions of the
acceptable to the senator or senators of the President’s Constitution eased change throughout the last two
party from the State involved. This practice is known as centuries?

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 ASSESSMENT 4. Generate Explanations Why do you think only 27
amendments have been added to the Constitution
1. Make Generalizations How do the since its ratification, even though thousands have
constitutionally prescribed procedures by which been proposed?
the U.S. Constitution can be changed reflect the
concepts of federalism and sovereignty? 5. Cite Evidence The Framers wrote the
Constitution knowing that needs and customs
2. Draw Conclusions What is the purpose of the Bill would change over time. What techniques did
of Rights? they use to ensure that the Constitution would, in
3. Synthesize Woodrow Wilson called the Supreme fact, be relevant for hundreds of years?
Court “a constitutional convention in continuous
session.” What did Wilson mean by this?

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 3.3
You know that federal law
requires young men to register for
military service at age 18, that most
employers must pay their workers at
the least a minimum wage set by act
of Congress, and that no person can
be denied a job on the basis of his or
her race or ethnicity.

>> The division of power between federal

and State governments often requires
national and local leaders, like President
Trump and Michigan governor Rick Snyder
(middle), to work together.

Flipped Video

Federalism: Powers >> Objectives

Define federalism and explain why the
Framers adopted a federal system instead of

Divided a unitary system.

Categorize powers delegated to and denied
to the National Government, and powers
reserved for and denied to the States, and the
difference between exclusive and concurrent
The Founders Choose Federalism powers.
You also know that State law says that you must have a driver’s license Summarize the obligations that the
Constitution, as the “the supreme Law of the
in order to drive a car, that it is illegal for anyone under 21 to buy
Land,” places on the National Government
alcoholic beverages, and that only those persons who can satisfy with regard to the States.
certain requirements can buy or own firearms.
Those three examples illustrate a very complex matter: the division
of the powers of government in this country between the National >> Key Terms
federalism
Government, on the one hand, and the 50 States on the other. This
division of powers
section will help you to better understand that sometimes complicated, delegated powers
but very important, arrangement. expressed powers
implied powers
inherent powers
Balancing National and State Powers When the Framers of reserved powers
the Constitution met at Philadelphia in 1787, they faced a number of exclusive powers
difficult questions. Not the least of them: How could they possibly concurrent powers
create a new central government that would be strong enough to meet Supremacy Clause
John Marshall
the needs of the day and would, at the same time, preserve the already
existing States? Even those founders who, like Thomas Jefferson, were
not part of the Constitutional writing process, took an active interest
in designing the document to meet the needs of a growing nation.

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 Few of the Framers favored a strong central central government and several regional governments,
government based on the British model, and all of usually called states or provinces. Each of those basic
them knew that the Revolution had been fought in levels of government has its own substantial set of
the name of local self-government. They also knew powers. Neither level, acting alone, can change the
that the government established under the Articles of basic division of powers the Constitution has created.
Confederation had proved too weak to deal with the Additionally, each level of government operates through
new nation’s many problems. its own agencies and acts directly through its own
While the Framers favored a stronger national officials and laws.
government, they also knew firsthand the importance The American system of government stands as a
of limiting federal powers. They were convinced that prime example of federalism. The basic design of that
(1) governmental power inevitably poses a threat to system is set out in the Constitution. The document
individual liberty, (2) that therefore the exercise of provides for a division of powers between the
governmental power must be restrained, and (3) that National Government and the governments of the
to divide governmental power, as federalism does, is to 50 States. That is, it assigns certain powers to the
prevent its abuse. National Government and reserves others to the
States. This division of powers was implied in the
SUMMARIZE What set of contradictions made the original Constitution and then spelled out in the 10th
development of a Constitution so complex? Amendment.
In effect, federalism produces a dual system of
government. That is, it provides for two basic levels of
What Is Federalism? government, each with its own field of authority, and
each operating over the same people and the same
territory at the same time.
Federalism Defined Federalism is a system of
In the American federal system, each of the two
government in which a written constitution divides the
basic levels of government can make certain decisions
powers of government on a territorial basis, between a
and do certain things that the other level cannot. For
example, only the Federal Government can regulate
interstate commerce—that is, trade conducted
between and among the various States. On the other
hand, each of the States decides for itself whether
those who commit certain crimes in that State can be
put to death.

Strengths of Federalism Federalism’s major

strength lies in this central fact: It allows local action
in matters of local concern and national action in
matters of wider concern. Local traditions, needs, and
desires vary from one State to another, and federalism
allows for differing circumstances among the States. In
addition, geographic differences can have a significant
impact on States’ policies.
States located in earthquake zones, for example,
may need to enact laws regarding earthquake-resistant
building codes, while States located along the coasts
may need to enact policies related to flooding, fisheries,
or maritime commerce.
Illustrations of this point are nearly endless. For
example, in 48 States most gas stations are self-service;
in New Jersey and Oregon, the law forbids motorists to
pump their own gas. Only one State—North Dakota—
does not require voters to register in order to cast their
>> The American Revolution was fought for freedom
from British control, fueling the desire of the Framers ballots. Only Nebraska has a unicameral (one-house)
of the Constitution to create the right balance between legislature. Oregon and Washington are the only
local and central government. States that have legalized physician-assisted suicide.

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 The Role of State and Federal Governments in Welfare Reform
1970 1988 1996 – Present
State: States respond National: Congress National: The Welfare Reform Act passes in
1911 to tightening budgets passes the Family Congress and is signed by President Clinton. The
State: Welfare (then by shrinking Welfare Support Act to give act creates a single capped block grant referred to
called “mother’s benefits. The idea of States new oppor- as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
pensions”) starts Welfare reform is tunities to experiment The block grants allow States to design their own
at the state level in suggested in multiple with AFDC. Welfare systems within basic federal requirements.
Illinois and Missouri. States.

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000

1935 1988–1990
National: Federal 1935 1940–1970 National: Under the Family
government incorpo- Support Act, States may request 1990–1995
State: Despite new State: Welfare rolls
rates family assistance Federal involvement, climb in almost every waivers to experiment with new State: Additional
(AFDC) into the Social States retain authority State while benefits Welfare programs. California, States request
Security Act of 1935. to set eligibility and increase. Wisconsin, Michigan and New waivers to lower
AFDC and Welfare benefit levels. Jersey petition to reduce benefits Welfare benefits
are funded jointly by while creating innovative while increasing
federal and state Welfare–to-work programs. Welfare-to-Work
governments. programs.

>> Welfare reform has alternated between State and National governments for many
years. Analyze Charts How are welfare programs now managed at both levels of
government?

Only five States—Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, disaster. When a flood, drought, hurricane, or other
Montana, and Oregon—do not impose a general sales catastrophe hits a particular State, the resources of
tax. the National Government and all of the other States
Federalism also allows for experimentation and can be mobilized to aid the stricken area. However, a
innovation in solving public policy problems. Indeed, disadvantage of federalism is the redundancy that can
the several States have long been described as so occur due to overlapping jurisdictions, as evidenced by
many “laboratories of government.” New approaches to the handling of Hurricane Katrina. In this instance, the
difficult matters may originate in one State and then National Government’s efforts and the State’s efforts
be adopted in another or even be put in place at the were not coordinated.
national level.
The Welfare Reform Act passed by Congress in 1996 APPLY CONCEPTS Why are the States sometimes
affords a useful illustration of the point. That landmark described as “laboratories of government?”
statute revolutionized the Federal Government’s
approach to providing welfare assistance to millions of
Americans on the lower rungs of the nation’s economic
ladder—and its basic features were first suggested
Three Types of Federal
by welfare administrators in the States of Wisconsin, Powers
California, and Michigan. The National Government is a government of delegated
In its most noteworthy provisions, the law abolished powers. That is, that government has only those
the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) powers delegated (granted) to it in the Constitution.
program, replacing it with block grants to the States. There are three distinct types of delegated powers:
The several States now have wide discretion in the expressed, implied, and inherent.
determination of eligibility for financial assistance.
While federalism allows individual States to The Expressed Powers The expressed powers are
handle State and local matters, it also provides for the those powers delegated to the National Government
strength that comes from union. National defense and in so many words—spelled out, expressly, in the
foreign affairs offer useful illustrations of this point. So, Constitution. Those powers are also sometimes called
too, do domestic affairs. Take, for example, a natural the “enumerated powers.”

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 You can find most of the expressed powers in I, Section 8, Clause 18 gives Congress the “necessary
Article I, Section 8. There, in 18 separate clauses, the and proper power.” The Necessary and Proper Clause
Constitution expressly gives 27 powers to Congress. says that Congress has the power
They include the power to lay and collect taxes, to coin
money, to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, to to make all Laws which shall be
raise and maintain armed forces, to declare war, to fix necessary and proper for carrying
standards of weights and measures, to grant patents
and copyrights, and to do many other things.
into Execution the foregoing Powers
Several other expressed powers are set out elsewhere and all other Powers vested by this
in the Constitution, as well. Article II, Section 2 gives Constitution in the Government of the
several powers to the President—including the power United States, or in any Department or
to act as commander in chief of the armed forces, to
grant reprieves and pardons, to make treaties, and to
Officer thereof.
appoint major federal officials. Article III grants “the —Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
judicial Power of the United States” to the Supreme
Through decades of congressional and court
Court and other courts in the federal judiciary. And,
interpretation, the words necessary and proper have
finally, several expressed powers also are found in
come to mean, in effect, “convenient and useful.”
various amendments to the Constitution; thus, the
Indeed, the Necessary and Proper Clause is sometimes
16th Amendment gives Congress the power to levy an
called the Elastic Clause, because, over time, it has
income tax.
been stretched to cover so many different situations.
Here are but a few of the thousands of examples of
The Implied Powers The implied powers are
the exercise of implied powers: Congress has provided
not expressly stated in the Constitution, but they are
for the regulation of labor-management relations,
reasonably suggested—implied—by the expressed
the building of hydroelectric power dams, and the
powers. The constitutional basis for the implied
building of the 42,000-mile interstate highway system.
powers is found in one of the expressed powers. Article
It has made federal crimes of such acts as moving
stolen goods, gambling devices, and kidnapped
persons across State lines. It has prohibited racial
discrimination in granting all people access to such
places as restaurants, theaters, hotels, and motels.
Congress has taken these actions, and many more,
because the power to do so is reasonably implied by
just one of the expressed powers: the power to regulate
interstate commerce.

The Inherent Powers The inherent powers are

those powers that belong to the National Government
because it is the national government of a sovereign
state in the world community. Although the Constitution
does not expressly provide for them, they are powers
that, over time, all national governments have come
to possess. It stands to reason that the Framers of the
Constitution intended the National Government they
created would also hold those several constitutional
powers.
The inherent powers are few in number. The major
ones include the power to regulate immigration, to
deport unauthorized immigrants, to acquire territory,
to grant diplomatic recognition to other states, and to
protect the nation against rebellion or other attempts to
>> President Woodrow Wilson walking with other world overthrow the government by force or violence.
leaders while negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. The One can argue that most of the inherent powers really
Constitution gives the Federal Government the power to
are implied by one or more of the expressed powers.
negotiate and sign treaties.
For example, the power to regulate immigration is
Chart

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 Examples of Powers Expressly Denied to the Federal Government
POWER DENIED EXAMPLE OF ILLEGAL USE OF POWER

Levy taxes on exports The Federal Government levies a tax on coal exports from
Pennsylvania to Canada.

Take private property for public use The Federal Government appropriates a farmer’s land to build
without payment of compensation a highway, and offers him no compensation.

Prohibit freedom of religion, speech, The Federal Government enacts a law stating that no one may
press, or assembly make a speech outside of public buildings.

Conduct illegal search or seizure The Federal Government sends an agent without a warrant to
find and confiscate a business’s financial records.

Deny a speedy trial to an The Federal Government holds a suspected criminal in jail
accused person without trial for two years.

>> The powers denied to the National Government are varied and extensive. Analyze
Charts How is federalism preserved by the denial of these powers?

suggested by the expressed power to regulate foreign Among the many powers not granted to the
trade. The power to acquire territory can be drawn from National Government are the powers to do such things
the treaty-making power and the several war powers. as create a public school system for the nation, enact
But the doctrine of inherent powers holds that it is not uniform marriage and divorce laws, and set up units of
necessary to go to these lengths to find these powers in local government. The Constitution says nothing that
the Constitution. In short, these powers exist because would give the National Government the power to do
the United States exists. any of those things, expressly, implicitly, or inherently.
In short, the lack of any such provision—the silence
Dr aw Con cl u s ion s Why is it unacceptable for a of the Constitution—denies power to the National
State to deport unauthorized immigrants? Government.
Third, some powers are denied to the National
Government because of the federal system itself. Clearly
Powers Denied to the the Constitution does not intend that the National
Government should have the power to take any action
Federal Government that would threaten the existence of that system. For
Although the Constitution delegates certain powers to example, in the exercise of its power to tax, Congress
the National Government, it also denies certain powers cannot tax any of the States or any of their local units in
to that level of government in order to keep federalism the conduct of their various governmental functions. If
intact. It does so in three distinct ways. it could, it would have the power to destroy—tax out of
First, the Constitution denies some powers to the existence—one or more, or all, of the States.
National Government in so many words—expressly.
Among them are the powers to levy duties on exports; A ppl y Co n cept s Explain why the U.S.
to take private property for public use without the Government cannot break into your home to search
payment of just compensation; to prohibit freedom of for stolen goods without a warrant.
religion, speech, press, or assembly; to conduct illegal
searches or seizures; and to deny to any person accused
of a crime a speedy and public trial or a trial by jury. Powers of the Fifty States
Second, several powers are denied to the National
The 50 States are the other half of the very complicated
Government because of the silence of the Constitution.
equation we call federalism. Their many-sided role in
Recall that the National Government is a government
the American federal system is no less important than
of delegated powers; it has only those powers the
that of the National Government.
Constitution gives to it.

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 Powers Reserved to the States Recall, the 10th
Amendment states that the States are governments
of reserved powers. The reserved powers are those
powers that the Constitution does not grant to the
National Government and does not, at the same time,
deny to the States.
Thus, any State can forbid persons under 18 to
marry without parental consent. It can ban the sale
of pornography, outlaw prostitution, and permit
some forms of gambling and prohibit others. A State
can require that doctors, lawyers, hairdressers, and
plumbers be licensed in order to practice in the State.
It can confiscate automobiles and other property
used in connection with such illicit activities as drug
trafficking. It can establish public schools, enact land
use laws, regulate the services and restrict the profits of
such public utilities as natural gas, oil, electric power,
and telephone companies, and do much, much more.
In short, the sphere of powers held by each State—
the scope of the reserved powers—is huge. The States
can do all of those things just mentioned, because the
Constitution does not give the National Government
>> One reserved State power is the right to issue the power to do those things, and it does not deny the
licenses to various professionals, such as nurses and
States the power to do them.
physicians. Such a license is required to practice in that
particular State. How broad the reserved powers really are can be
understood from this fact: Most of what government
Gallery does in this country today is done by the States
(and their local governments), not by the National
Government. The point can also be seen from this
fact: The reserved powers include the vitally important
police power—the power of a State to protect and
promote the public health, the public morals, the public
safety, and the general welfare.
The Constitution does not grant expressed powers
to the States, with one notable exception. Section 2
of the 21st Amendment gives the States a virtually
unlimited power to regulate the manufacture, sale, and
consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Powers Denied to the States Just as the Constitution

denies many powers to the National Government, so
it denies many powers to the States. Some of those
powers are denied to the States in so many words. For
example, no State can enter into any treaty, alliance, or
confederation. Nor can a State print or coin money or
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without
due process of law.
Some powers are denied to the States inherently—
that is, by the existence of the federal system. Thus,
>> The Texas Ranger Division is the oldest State law no State (and no local government) can tax any of the
enforcement agency in the country and is an example of agencies or functions of the National Government.
a State’s right to enforce order among its own people.

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 Remember, too, each State has its own constitution.
Those documents also deny many powers to the States.

CHECK UNDERSTANDING Describe the breadth

of powers provided to the States.

The Exclusive and the

Concurrent Powers
Exclusive Powers Most of the powers that the
Constitution delegates to the National Government are
exclusive powers. That is, they can be exercised only
by the National Government; they cannot be exercised
by the States under any circumstances.
Some of these powers are expressly denied to the
States—for example, the power to coin money, to make
treaties with foreign states, and to lay duties (taxes)
on imports. Some of them are not expressly denied to
the States but are, nonetheless, among the exclusive
powers of the Federal Government because of the
>> The 1897 Dingly Tariff Act is an example of the
nature of the particular power involved. The power
exclusive power to lay duties on imports. Analyze
to regulate interstate commerce is a leading example Political Cartoons What was the impact of this act
of this point. If the States could exercise that power, according to this cartoon?
trade between and among the States would be at best
chaotic and at worst impossible.

Concurrent Powers Some of the powers delegated

to the National Government are concurrent powers.
That is, they are powers that both the National
Government and the States possess and exercise.
Those powers include the power to levy and collect
taxes, to define crimes and set punishments for them,
and to condemn (take) private property for public use.
The concurrent powers are held and exercised
separately and simultaneously by the two basic levels
of government. That is, the concurrent powers are those
powers that the Constitution does not grant exclusively
to the National Government and that, at the same time,
does not deny to the States. The concurrent powers,
in short, are those powers that make it possible for a
federal system of government to function.
Although government in the United States is often
discussed in terms of three levels—national, State,
and local—there are, in fact, only two basic levels in
the federal system: the National Government and the
State governments. The more than 87,000 units of local
government in the United States today are subunits
of the various State governments. Local governments >> Some reservoirs, such as Shasta Lake in California,
can provide services, regulate activities, collect taxes, were created on land with existing homes. The land was
claimed through eminent domain, a power shared by
and do many other things only because the State has federal and State governments.
given them the power to do so. In short, when local

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 governments exercise their powers, they are actually This Constitution, and the Laws of
exercising State powers. the United States which shall be made
Another way of putting all of this is to remind you
of a point that we first made in Chapter 1. Each of
in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties
the 50 States has a unitary form of government—an made, or which shall be made, under
arrangement in which a central government that creates the Authority of the United States,
local units of government for its own convenience. shall be the supreme Law of the Land;
EXPRESS IDEAS CLEARLY How do local
and the Judges in every State shall
governments relate to State governments? be bound thereby, anything in the
Constitution or Laws of any State to
the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Constitution Reigns —Article VI, Section 2

Supreme The Constitution and the laws and treaties of the

As you have just seen, the division of powers in the United States are “the supreme Law of the Land.” This
American federal system produces a dual system means that the Constitution ranks above all other
of government, one in which two basic levels of forms of law in the United States. Acts of Congress and
government operate over the same territory and the treaties stand immediately beneath the Constitution.
same people at the same time. Such an arrangement is The Supremacy Clause has been called the “linchpin
bound to result in conflicts between national and State of the Constitution” because it joins the National
law. Government and the States into a single governmental
unit, a federal government. The Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause The Framers anticipated is the provision in the Constitution that makes the
those conflicts—and so they wrote the Supremacy complex federal system a working reality.
Clause into the Constitution. That provision declares Our political history is studded with challenges to
that the concept of national supremacy. In the 1950s, for
example, several southern states defied a Supreme
Court ruling that schools must desegregate. In fact, it
was not until 1964 and the passage of the Civil Rights
Act that desegregation began in any meaningful way.
Those who have rejected the concept of national
supremacy have insisted that the Constitution is a
compact among sovereign States, rather than one
among the people as a whole at the national level.
They believe that the powers that compact gives to
the National Government should be narrowly defined
and applied.

The Supreme Court and Federalism The Supreme

Court is the umpire in the federal system. One of its chief
duties is to apply the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause
to the conflicts that the dual system of government
inevitably produces.
The Court was first called to settle a clash between
a national and a State law in 1819. The case, McCulloch
v. Maryland, involved the controversial Second Bank of
the United States. The bank had been chartered by
Congress in 1816. In 1818, the Maryland legislature,
hoping to cripple the bank, placed a tax on all notes
issued by its Baltimore branch. James McCulloch,
>> Local governments can collect taxes and provide the branch cashier, refused to pay the tax, and the
some local services like fire departments, but their
Maryland courts convicted him for that refusal. The
authority comes from the State.

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 Supreme Court unanimously reversed the
Maryland courts.
Speaking for the Court, Chief Justice
John Marshall based the decision
squarely on the Constitution’s Supremacy
Clause:
[If] any one proposition could
command the universal assent
of mankind, we might expect [If] any one proposition could
it would be this—that the
government of the Union, though command the universal assent of
limited in its powers, is supreme mankind, we might expect it would
within its sphere of action.
. . . [T]he states have no power
be this—that the government of the
. . . to retard, impede, burden, or in Union, though limited in its powers, is
any manner control, the operations
of the constitutional laws enacted
supreme within its sphere of action.
by Congress. . . . —McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819
—McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

Marshall, a strong Federalist, served

on the Supreme Court for more than 30
years, and he believed strongly in the
importance of the Supreme Court as a
force in determining the law of the land.
Since the decision in this landmark case,
it has been impossible to overstate the
significance of the role of the Court as the
umpire of the federal system.
Had the Court not assumed this role,
the American federal system and probably
the United States itself could not have
survived its early years. Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes once made that point in
these words:

I do not think the United

States would come to an
end if we [the Court] lost our
power to declare an Act of
Congress void. I do think the
Union would be imperiled
if we could not make that
declaration as to the laws of
the several States.
—Collected Legal Papers

The Supreme Court first held a State >> Chief Justice John Marshall established that the Constitution grants
law to be unconstitutional in a case from the Federal Government implied powers for implementing its express
powers, and that States cannot impede those powers.
Georgia, Fletcher v. Peck, in 1810. The
Court found that a Georgia law passed
in 1794 that sold some 35 million acres

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 of public land for 1.5 cents an acre amounted to a 2. Compare How do the powers of the National
contract between the State and Peck and other buyers. Government compare in breadth to the powers of
Despite the obvious corruption involved, it found that the States?
the legislature’s later (1796) repeal of the law violated
the Constitution’s Contract Clause (Article I, Section 3. Identify How would President Lyndon Johnson
10, Clause 1). That provision prohibits the States the be able to justify the use of federal troops to
power to pass any “Law impairing the Obligation of manage riots during the summer of 1967?
Contracts.” Over the centuries since then, the High
4. Apply Anna wanted to apply for a license to
Court has found thousands of State laws and local
become a lawyer in the State of Alabama. Would
ordinances unconstitutional, but it has upheld the
she apply to the federal or State government for
constitutionality of thousands of others.
the license? Why?
RECALL Why is the Supremacy Clause often called 5. Check Understanding What approach did the
the “linchpin” of the Constitution? Framers of the Constitution use to limit the powers
of the National Government, and why was that
approach successful?
ASSESSMENT
1. Connect How does the Supremacy Clause
impact disputes among States or between States
and the National Government?

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 3.4
Have you ever really focused
on the words United States, and what
those two words say? The United
States is a union of States, the several
States joined together, the States
united.

>> Arizona’s journey to statehood took more

than two years. After changing a provision
in its constitution, the State was finally
admitted as the 48th State on February 14,
1912.

Flipped Video

The National >> Objectives

Explain the process for admitting new States
to the Union.

Government and the Examine the many and growing areas of

cooperative federalism.

States
Explain why States make interstate
compacts.
Understand the purpose of the Full Faith and
Credit Clause, the Extradition Clause, and the
Privileges and Immunities Clause.
The Nation’s Obligations Under
the Constitution >> Key Terms
enabling act
The Framers of the Constitution created that union of States, and they act of admission
intended to preserve it. To that end, the Constitution (1) requires the grants-in-aid
National Government to guarantee certain things to the States and (2) programs
categorical grants
makes it possible for the National Government to do certain things for block grants
the States. project grants
The Constitution places several obligations on the National interstate compacts
Government for the benefit of the States. Most of them are found in Full Faith and Credit
Clause
Article IV. extradition
Privileges and
Republican Form of Government The Constitution requires the Immunities Clause
National Government to “guarantee to every State in this Union a William Howard Taft

Republican Form of Government.” The Constitution does not define

“Republican Form of Government,” and the Supreme Court has
regularly refused to do so. The term is generally understood to mean a
“representative government.”

[Link]
109 Access your Digital Lesson

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 The Supreme Court has held that the question of
whether a State has a republican form of government
is a “political question.” That is, it is one to be decided
by the political branches of the government—the
President and Congress—and not by the courts.
The only extensive use ever made of the republican-
form guarantee came in the years immediately
following the Civil War. Congress declared that
several southern States did not have governments of
a republican form, and refused to admit senators and
representatives from those States until they had ratified
the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and broadened
their laws to recognize the voting and other rights of
African Americans.
The Constitution states that the National
Government must also

protect each of them [the States]

against Invasion; and on Application
of the Legislature, or of the Executive
(when the Legislature cannot be
>> President Lincoln planned to quickly reunite convened) against domestic Violence.
the nation after the Civil War. Analyze Political
Cartoons How might his assassination have affected —Article IV, Section 4
reconciliation?

Cartoon Making War, Keeping Peace Today it is clear that

an invasion of any one of the States would be met as an
attack on the United States itself. This constitutional
guarantee is therefore now of little significance.
That was not the case in the late 1780s. Then it was
not at all certain that all 13 States would stand together
if a foreign power attacked one of them. So, before the
States agreed to give up their war-making powers,
each demanded that an attack on any one of the States
would be met as an attack on all of them.
The federal system assumes that each of the 50
States will keep the peace within its own borders. Thus,
the primary responsibility for curbing insurrection,
riot, or other internal disorder rests with the individual
States. However, the Constitution does recognize that
a State might not be able to control some situations.
It therefore guarantees protection against internal
disorder, or what the Constitution calls “domestic
Violence.”
The use of federal force to restore order within
a State has been a rare event historically. Several
instances did occur in the 1960s, however. When racial
unrest exploded into violence in Detroit during the
>> The Constitution guarantees the Federal Government “long, hot summer” of 1967, President Lyndon Johnson
will assist States that are attacked. U.S. Army soldiers ordered units of the United States Army into the city.
helped patrol New York City after the 2001 attack on the He acted at the request of the governor of Michigan,
World Trade Center. George Romney, and only after Detroit’s police and
firefighters, supported by State police and National

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 Guard units, could not control riots, arson, and looting
in the city.
In 1968, again at the request of the governors
involved, federal troops were sent into Chicago and
Baltimore to help put down the violence that erupted
following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush ordered members
of the National Guard, the Army, and the Marines to
Los Angeles to restore order after three days of rioting.
The violence was sparked by the acquittal of four white
officers charged with beating Rodney King, a black
motorist, after he led them on a highspeed chase.
Normally, a President has sent troops into a State only
in answer to a request from its governor or legislature.
If national laws are being broken, national functions
interfered with, or national property endangered,
however, a President does not need to wait for such a
plea.
President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops
to end rioting in the Chicago rail yards during the
Pullman Strike in 1894 despite the objections of Illinois
Governor William Altgeld. The Supreme Court upheld
his actions in In re Debs (1895). The Court found that >> In 1963, President Kennedy sent federal troops to
intervene when Governor George Wallace blocked the
rioters had threatened federal property and impeded door of the University of Alabama to prevent African
the flow of the mail and interstate commerce. Thus, American students from entering.
more than “domestic Violence” was involved. Since
then, several Presidents have acted without a request
from the State involved. President Dwight Eisenhower
did so at Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, and President State can be deprived of its equal representation in the
John Kennedy did so at the University of Mississippi United States Senate without its own consent.
in 1962 and at the University of Alabama in 1963. In
each of those instances, the President acted to halt INFER What compromise made it possible for
the unlawful obstruction of school integration orders States to agree to give up their power to make war?
issued by the federal courts.
The ravages of nature—storms, floods, drought,
forest fires, and the like—can be far more destructive
than human violence. Here, too, acting to protect Admitting New States
the States against “domestic Violence,” the Federal That new States would soon join the original 13 as
Government stands ready to aid stricken areas. members of the new United States was generally
accepted as fact in the 1780s. To that end, the Congress
Respect for Territorial Integrity The National of the Confederation, meeting as the Framers were
Government is constitutionally bound to respect drafting what was to become the Constitution, enacted
the territorial integrity of each of the States. That is, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787—clearly, the most
the National Government must recognize the legal important measure passed by that body in its eight
existence and the physical boundaries of each State. years as the government of the United States.
The basic scheme of the Constitution imposes this The ordinance anticipated the creation of new States
obligation. Several of its provisions do so, as well. For in what was then known as the Northwest Territory—a
example, Congress must include, in both of its houses, roughly defined area lying north of the Ohio River and
members chosen in each one of the States. Recall, west of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The
too, that Article V of the Constitution declares that no measure provided for the eventual Statehood of any
sector in that region that acquired a population of at
least 60,000 persons. Understanding that geographical
differences would require unique laws and policies, it
made provisions for local self-government, for civil and

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 political rights, and for the support of education. An of time, frequently more than 15 years, as an organized
earlier measure, the Ordinance of 1785, had created the territory.
township system for the dividing of land for the support
of local schools. Its provisions were folded into the 1787 Admission Procedure The process of admission to
enactment. the Union is usually simple. The area desiring Statehood
The Northwest Ordinance was re-adopted by the first asks Congress for admission. If and when Congress
new Congress under the Constitution in 1790, and it chooses, it passes an enabling act, an act directing
served as the basis for later legislation regarding the the people of the territory to frame a proposed State
nation’s territorial possessions. It established that constitution. A territorial convention prepares the
those territories were not to be kept in a second-class constitution, which is then put to a popular vote in the
status but were to be groomed for Statehood on an proposed State. If the voters approve the document,
equal footing with the existing States. it is submitted to Congress for its consideration. If
Congress still agrees to Statehood after reviewing the
Congress and New States Only Congress has proposed constitution, it passes an act of admission,
the power to admit new States to the Union, and the an act creating the new State. If the President signs the
Constitution places only one restriction on that power: act, the new State enters the Union.
A new State cannot be created by taking territory from The two newest States, Alaska and Hawaii,
one or more of the existing States without the consent shortened the usual admission process. Each adopted a
of the legislature(s) of the State(s) involved. proposed constitution without waiting for an enabling
Congress has admitted 37 States since the original act, Hawaii in 1950 and Alaska in 1956. Both became
13 formed the Union, as the map shows. Four States States in 1959.
(Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, and West Virginia)
were created from parts of already existing States. Conditions for Admission Before finally admitting a
Texas and Vermont were independent republics before new State, Congress has often set certain conditions.
admission. California was admitted shortly after being For example, in 1896, Utah was admitted on condition
ceded to the United States by Mexico. Each of the other that its constitution outlaw polygamy, the practice of
30 States entered the Union only after a longer period having more than one spouse at a time. In admitting

Territorial Expansion
N
LEGEND
Acquired lands W E
Original 13 states
WA S NH
Additional states, 1776–1791 1889 VT 1788 ME
MT ND 1791 1820
Louisiana Purchase, 1803 1889 MN
1889
Ceded by Britain and Spain, OR 1858
1859 ID WI NY MA 1788
1818–1819 1890 SD
1889 1848 1788
Adjusted by Webster- WY MI RI 1790
1890 IA 1837 PA CT 1788
Ashburton Treaty, 1842
NV NE 1846 OH 1787 NJ 1787
Texas Annexed, 1845 1864 1867 IL IN 1803
DE 1787
UT 1818 1816
Oregon Territory, 1846 CA 1896 CO WV MD 1788
VA
Ceded by Mexico, 1848 1850 1876 KS MO KY 1863 1788
1861 1821 1792
Gadsden Purchase, 1853 NC
TN 1796 1789
Purchased from Russia, 1867 AZ OK AR
1912 NM 1907 SC
Hawaii Annexed, 1898 1912 1821 1788
MS AL GA
1817 1819 1788
TX LA
1845 1812
FL
AK 1845
1959
Note: Dates on map indicate
when new states were created.
HI
1959

>> From 1776 to 1898, the U.S. acquired the land from which new States were
eventually formed. Analyze Maps From which acquisition were the most States Map
formed?

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 Alaska to the Union, Congress forever prohibited that
State from claiming title to any lands legally held by
any Native American.
Each State enters the Union on an equal footing
with each of the other States. Thus, although Congress
can set certain conditions like those just described,
it cannot impose conditions of a political nature. For
example, when Oklahoma was admitted to the Union
in 1907, Congress said the State could not move its
capital from Guthrie to any other place before 1913. In
1910, however, the Oklahoma legislature moved the
State’s capital to Oklahoma City. When that step was
challenged, the Supreme Court held, in Coyle v. Smith
(1911) that Congress can set conditions for a prospective
State’s admission, but those conditions cannot be
enforced if they compromise the independence of a
State to manage its own internal affairs.
Consider one more example: President William
Howard Taft vetoed a resolution to admit Arizona
to the Union in 1911. He did so because Arizona’s
proposed constitution provided that members of the
State’s judiciary could be recalled (removed from office)
by popular vote. This provision meant, said Taft, that >> Passed in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act gave Alaska Natives title to lands they had used
in deciding cases a judge would have to keep one eye
for generations. The United States paid them to give up
on the law and the other on public opinion. In response claims to other lands.
to the President’s concern, Arizona removed the recall
section from the document. In 1912 Congress passed,
and the President signed, another act of admission for
Arizona. Almost immediately after admission, however,
the new State amended its new constitution to provide
for the recall of judges. That provision remains a valid
part of Arizona’s constitution today.

IDENTIFY STEPS IN A PROCESS What are the

usual steps required to admit a new State to the United
States of America?

States and Federal

Government Sharing
Resources
Remember, federalism produces a dual system of
government, one in which two basic levels operate
over the same people and the same territory at the
same time. As a result of this complex arrangement,
competition, tensions, and conflict are a regular and
ongoing part of American federalism. In short, the
American federal system is much like a tug-of-war,
a continuing power struggle between the National >> A superhero, representing the Federal Government, is
Government and the States. ineffective due to a shift in power to the States. Analyze
Political Cartoons How does the Constitution prevent
The American federal system also involves a broad this from happening?
area of shared powers. That is, in addition to the two
separate spheres of power held and exercised by the

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 two basic levels of government, there are large and
growing areas of cooperation between them.

Federal Grants-in-Aid Perhaps the best known

examples of this intergovernmental cooperation are
the many federal grants-in-aid programs—grants of
federal money or other resources to the States and their
cities, counties, and other local units. Many of these
governments are regularly strapped for funds; these
grants often help them perform a large share of their
everyday functions.
The history of grants-in-aid goes back more than
200 years, to the period before the Constitution. In the
Northwest Ordinance, the Congress under the Articles
of Confederation provided for the government of the
territory beyond the Ohio River and set aside sections
of land for the support of public education in those
future States.
On through the nineteenth century, most States
received grants of federal lands for a number of
purposes: schools and colleges, roads and canals, flood
control work, and several others. A large number of the
>> In 1984, the Federal Government withheld partial major State universities, for example, were founded as
funding for highway maintenance to encourage States to
land-grant colleges. These schools were built with the
raise the minimum drinking age to 21. States depend on
federal funds for road repairs. money that came from the sale of public lands given to
the States by the Morrill Act of 1862.
Congress began to make grants of federal money
quite early, too. In 1808, it gave the States $200,000 to
support the militia, the forerunner of the present-day
National Guard. Cash grants did not play a large role,
however, until the Depression years of the 1930s. Many
of the New Deal programs aimed at bringing the nation
out of its economic crisis were built around grants of
money.
Since then, Congress has set up hundreds of
grants-in-aid programs. In fact, more than 500 are
now in operation. Dozens of programs function in a
variety of areas: in education, mass transit, highway
construction, healthcare, and many others.
Grants-in-aid are based on the National
Government’s taxing power. The Constitution gives
Congress that power in order

to pay the Debts and provide for the

common Defense and general Welfare
of the United States. . . .
—Article I, Section 8, Clause 1

Today, these grants total about $400 billion,

>> The Morrill Act established land-grant colleges, and account for about a third of all State and local
such as Texas A & M, to provide a practical education to
students. Classes originally covered agriculture, military
government spending each year.
science, and engineering. In effect, grants-in-aid blur the division-of-powers
line in the federal system. They make it possible for the

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 TYPES OF FEDERAL GRANTS TO STATES

$
BLOCK
Funds used for BROAD PURPOSES
CATEGORICAL
Funds used for CLOSELY DEFINED Funds used for INDIVIDUAL
where States have freedom to PURPOSES with conditions set by PROJECTS that States, localities,
decide how to spend the money. Federal Government. and private agencies compete for.

EXAMPLES EXAMPLES EXAMPLES

• Social Services • Construction of airports • Research into diabetes treatments
• Transportation • Distribution of school lunches • Implementation of an innovative
educational program
• Education • Construction of wastewater plants
• Digitization of a local library
• Support for senior centers

>> Congress has the implied power to make grants-in-aid to States and their local
governments. Analyze Charts What kinds of organizations might receive a block
grant?

Federal Government to operate in many policy areas a set of guidelines tailored to the particular purpose for
in which it would otherwise have no constitutional which the monies are given.
authority—for example, in such fields as education, Block grants have come into wide use over
low-income housing, local law enforcement, and mental the last several years. They are made for much more
health. broadly defined purposes than are categorical grants—
Critics of grants-in-aid have long made this point. for healthcare, social services, or welfare, for example.
They also argue that the grants, which usually come They are also made with fewer strings attached, so
with strings attached, often give Washington a major— State and local governments have greater freedom in
and, they say, an unwarranted—voice in the making of deciding just how and on what to spend block grant
public policy at the State and local levels. Conversely, dollars. From the 1980s on, many programs once
proponents of grants-in-aid maintain that the many supported by separate and fragmented categorical
programs and projects made possible by grants-in-aid grants have been merged into broader block grants.
offset any negatives associated with the funds. Congress also provides money for project grants.
These are grants made to States, localities, and
Types of Federal Grants Today, Congress sometimes private agencies that apply for the grants.
appropriates money for three types of grants-in-aid: The Department of Health and Human Services makes
categorical grants, block grants, and project grants. many project grants—through its National Institutes
Over time, most grants have been categorical. of Health, for example, to support scientists engaged
Categorical grants are made for some specific, in research on cancer, diabetes, neurological disease,
closely defined purpose—for school lunches or for the and other medical issues. Many State and local
construction of airports or wastewater treatment plants, governments also apply for these grants to fund their
for example. Categorical grants are usually made with job training and employment programs.
conditions attached. These “strings” require the State
to (1) use the federal monies only for the specific purpose Other Forms of Federal Aid The National
involved; (2) make its own monetary contribution, Government aids the States in several other important
often a matching amount but sometimes much less; (3) ways. For example, the FBI gives extensive help to State
provide an agency to administer the grant; and (4) obey and local police. The army and the air force equip and

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 train each State’s National Guard units. The Census
Bureau’s data are essential to State and local school,
Agreements Among States
housing, and transportation officials as they plan for
The Constitution Reduces Interstate Frictions
the future.
You know that rivalries, conflicts, and jealousies among
Many other forms of aid are not nearly so visible.
the newly independent States was a principal reason
“Lulu payments,” for example, are federal monies that
for the writing and the adoption of the Constitution.
go to local governments in those areas in which there
The fact that the new document strengthened the hand
are large federal landholdings. These direct payments
of the National Government, especially with regard
are made in lieu of (to take the place of) the property
to trade among the States, reduced many of those
taxes that those local governments cannot collect from
frictions. So, too, did several of the new Constitution’s
the National Government. These payments are also
provisions dealing with the States’ relationships with
known as PILTs (payment in lieu of taxes).
one another.

State Aid to the National Government

Interstate Compacts No State can enter into any
Intergovernmental cooperation is a two-way street.
treaty, alliance, or confederation, says the Constitution.
That is, the States and their local governments also aid
However, the States can, with the consent of Congress,
the National Government in many ways. Thus, State
enter into interstate compacts—agreements among
and local election officials conduct national elections.
themselves and with foreign states.
These elections are financed with State and local
The States made few of these agreements for
funds, and they are regulated largely by State laws.
several decades—only 36 of them by 1920. The number
The legal process by which aliens can become
has grown steadily since then, however. New York and
citizens, called naturalization, takes place most often
New Jersey led the way in 1921 with a pact creating
in State courts. The examples go on and on.
what is now the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey to manage the harbor facilities bordering both
INTERPRET In what way is the American States. More than 200 compacts are now in force, and
government like a “tug of war?” many involve several States.
There are several interstate compacts that all 50
States have signed onto, such as the Compact for
the Supervision of Parolees and Probationers and the
Compact on Juveniles. These two compacts enable
States to share important law-enforcement data.
Other agreements cover a widening range of
subjects. They include pacts that coordinate the
development and conservation of such resources as
water, oil, wildlife, and fish; counter the effects of global
climate change; and encourage the cooperative use of
public universities.

ANALYZE INFORMATION For what purpose have

all fifty States joined together in interstate compacts?

How the Law Crosses

State Lines
In Article IV, Section 1, the Constitution commands
that: “Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State
to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of
every other State.”
The term public acts refers to the laws of a State.
>> The Four Corners monument marks the legally Records refers to such documents as birth certificates,
accepted intersection of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and
marriage licenses, deeds to property, car registrations,
Colorado. The location was surveyed in 1868 and was
upheld by the Supreme Court in 1925. and the like. The words judicial proceedings relate

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 to the outcome of court actions: damage awards, the
probating of wills, divorce decrees, and so forth.
The Full Faith and Credit Clause most often
comes into play in court matters. Take this example:
Allen sues Bill in Florida, and the Florida court awards
Allen $50,000 in damages.
Bill cannot escape payment of the damages by
moving to Georgia, because Allen could simply ask
the Georgia courts to enforce the damage award. Nor
would the case have to be retried in Georgia. Instead,
the Georgia courts would have to give full faith and
credit to—recognize and respect the validity of—the
judgment made by the Florida court.
In a similar vein, a person can prove age, place of
birth, marital status, title to property, and similar facts
by securing the necessary documents from the State
where the record was made. The validity of these
documents will be recognized in each of the 50 States.

Exceptions The Full Faith and Credit Clause is

regularly observed, and it usually operates routinely
between the States. There are two notable exceptions
>> When Richard and Mildred Loving were married in
to the rule, however. First, it applies only to civil, not
1958, interracial marriage was illegal in some States.
criminal, matters. One State cannot enforce another In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that all States must
State’s criminal law. Second, full faith and credit need recognize interracial marriage.
not be given to certain divorces granted by one State to
residents of another State.
On the second exception, the key question is always
this: Was the person who obtained the divorce in fact divorces. It ruled that the couple had not in fact
a resident of the State that granted it? If so, the divorce established bona fide—good faith, valid—residence
will be accorded full faith and credit in other States. in Nevada. Rather, the Court held that the couple had
If not, the State granting the divorce did not have the remained legal residents of North Carolina. In short, it
authority to do so, and another State can refuse to found that Nevada lacked the authority to grant their
recognize it. divorces.
A divorce granted by a State court to a bona fide
Marriage and Divorce The matter of interstate resident of that State must be given full faith and credit
“quickie” divorces has been troublesome for decades, in all other States. To become a legal resident of a State,
and especially since the Supreme Court’s decision a person must intend to reside there permanently, or
in a 1945 case, Williams v. North Carolina. In that at least indefinitely. Clearly, the Williamses had not
case, a man and a woman traveled to Nevada, where intended to do so.
each wanted to obtain a divorce so they could marry The Williams case, and later ones like it, have cast
one another. They lived in Las Vegas for six weeks, dark clouds of doubt over the validity of thousands of
the minimum period of State residence required by other interstate divorces. The later marriages of people
Nevada’s divorce law. The couple were granted their involved in these divorces, and the frequently tangled
divorces, were married, and returned to North Carolina estate problems produced by their deaths, suggest the
the next day. serious nature of the matter.
Problems arose when that State’s authorities refused Even the legality of some marriages differs among
to recognize their Nevada divorces. North Carolina the States. Today, most States and the District of
brought the couple to trial and a jury convicted each of Columbia allow same-sex unions within their borders.
them of the crime of bigamous cohabitation (marrying However, 14 States have constitutional or statutory
and living together while a previous marriage is still provisions prohibiting such marriages.
legally in effect). In 2003, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court
On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld North held that the State’s constitutional equal rights
Carolina’s denial of full faith and credit to the Nevada guarantees mean that same-sex couples have exactly

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 the same marriage rights as those enjoyed by male- a State which does not recognize same-sex marriage. In
female couples in Massachusetts. Soon after, nearby other words, anyone who is legally married in any State
Connecticut (2005) and then New Jersey (2007) came will receive federal tax, health, and pension benefits.
to the same position. The decision overturned part of the existing Defense
The movement gradually gained momentum over of Marriage Act (DOMA), which had been enacted
the following years, culminating in the legalization of in 1996. That law declared that only those marriages
same-sex marriages by 17 States in 2014 alone. Today, that unite a man and a woman are legal in the United
by court decision, legislation, or (in Maine) ballot States. It also provided that no State can be required
initiative, 36 States and the District of Columbia have to give full faith and credit to any same-sex marriage
legalized same-sex marriages within their borders. The performed in any other State.
most recent State to do so was Florida, where a district State and National governments and agencies are
judge ruled the State’s ban on same-sex unions to be still working to understand just what the 2013 ruling
unconstitutional in early 2015. Shortly afterward, the really implies. There are implications for tax codes,
Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that would decide health care, pensions, and many other issues that are
the issue on the national level. That historic case will indirectly associated with laws surrounding marriage.
be decided by the early summer of 2015. Meanwhile, many States are unhappy with the
If a same-sex couple, legally married to one another Supreme Court decision and are discussing how best
in one State, moves to a State where those unions to respond.
are outlawed, does the Full Faith and Credit Clause
require the second State to recognize the validity of APPLY CONCEPTS Barnaby stole a car in one State
that couple’s marriage? That thorny question reached and fled to another. The State in which he stole the car
the Supreme Court in 2013, in the case of United States demanded that the State in which he now resides must
v. Windsor. In a 5–4 decision, the justices ruled that enforce its law against auto theft. Does the Full Faith
States need not allow same-sex marriage, but same- and Credit Clause apply in this situation?
sex couples who are legally married will be treated as
married by the Federal Government-even if they live in

Extradition
Definition of Extradition The Constitution makes
provisions for those who flee to another State to avoid
punishment for a crime:

A Person charged in any State with

Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who
shall flee from Justice, and be found
in another State, shall on Demand of
the executive Authority of the State
from which he fled, be delivered up,
to be removed to the State having
Jurisdiction of the Crime.
—Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2

This clause refers to extradition, the legal process

by which a fugitive from justice in one State can be
returned to that State. Extradition is designed to
prevent a person from escaping justice by fleeing a
State.

>> Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D., NY) speaks to a Changes in Extradition Law The return of a fugitive
reporter about DOMA. The Supreme Court’s decision from justice is usually a routine matter; governors
in the case affected the way benefits and taxes were regularly approve the extradition requests they receive
managed at State and federal levels.
from other States’ chief executives. Some of those

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 requests, however, are contested. This is especially
true in cases with strong racial or political overtones,
and in cases of parental kidnapping of children involved
in custody disputes.
Until the 1980s, governors could, and on occasion
did, refuse to return fugitives. In Kentucky v. Dennison
(1861) the Supreme Court had held that the Constitution
did not give the Federal Government any power with
which to compel a governor to act in an extradition
case. So, for more than a century, the Constitution’s
word shall in the Extradition Clause had to be read as
“may.”
The Court overturned that ruling in 1987, however.
In Puerto Rico v. Branstad, a unanimous Court held
that the federal courts can indeed order an unwilling
governor to extradite a fugitive.

SUPPORT IDEAS WITH EXAMPLES Provide an

example of a situation in which the return of a fugitive
from justice might be contested.

Privileges and Immunities >> James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King,
Jr., in June of 1968. Less than two months later, he was
The Constitution also protects citizens who move caught in England with a fake Canadian passport and
between the States. extradited to the United States.

The Citizens of each State shall

be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several
States.
—Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1

This clause, known as the Privileges and

Immunities Clause, means that no State can draw
unreasonable distinctions between its own residents
and those persons who happen to live in another State.
Each State must recognize the right of any American
to travel in or become a resident of that State. It must
also allow any citizen, no matter where he or she lives,
to use its courts and make contracts; buy, own, rent, or
sell property; or marry within its borders.

Unreasonable Distinctions However, a State cannot

do such things as try to relieve its unemployment
problems by requiring employers to hire in-State
residents first. Thus, the Supreme Court struck down
an Alaskan law requiring employers to prefer Alaskan
workers to construct that State’s oil and gas pipelines
(Hicklin v. Orbeck, 1978). The Court overturned a
>> Convicted murderer Chadrick Fulks being escorted
California law that set the welfare benefits for newly from Indiana to West Virginia by U.S. Marshals in 2013, in
arrived residents from States with lower welfare benefit order to assist the FBI in their search for the body of one of
levels at a lower level than those paid to long-term his victims.
residents (Saenz v. Roe, 1999).

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 of that State. So, a State can require nonresidents to
pay higher fees for fishing or hunting licenses than
those paid by residents—who pay taxes to provide fish
hatcheries, enforce game laws, and so on. By the same
token, State colleges and universities regularly set
higher tuition rates for out-of-State students.

APPLY CONCEPTS Describe an example of

reasonable distinction under the Privileges and
Immunities Clause.

ASSESSMENT
1. Generate Explanations The Constitution
requires the National Government to “guarantee
to every State in this Union a Republican Form
of Government,” but the Supreme Court has
refused to define the term “Republican Form of
Government.” Why is this the case?
2. Infer Would it be legal for Congress to allow a
territory of the United States to become a full State
>> In the three years it took to complete the Trans-
Alaska pipeline, workers on the project from Alaska and on the condition that it choose a new governor?
other States earned high salaries and endured brutal Why or why not?
conditions.
3. Identify Cause and Effect While federal grants of
land were common during the 19th century, cash
grants-in-aid were not made until the mid-20th
Reasonable Distinctions However, the Privileges century. What was the reason for this change?
and Immunities Clause does allow States to draw
4. Infer What might keep a State from accepting a
reasonable distinctions between its own residents and
categorical grant-in-aid?
those of other States. Thus, any State can require that
a person live within the State for some time before he 5. Apply Concepts When Wilma moved from
or she can vote or hold public office. It also can require Tennessee to Michigan, she expected no legal
some period of residence before one can be licensed to obstacles to buying or renting a home in Michigan.
practice law, medicine, dentistry, and so on. Was Wilma correct? Why?
In another example, the wild fish and game in a
State are considered the common property of the people

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 TOPIC 3 ASSESSMENT

1. Create a Visual Presentation Create a visual 4. Analyze the Functions of the Executive
presentation describing how the painting above of James Branch Write a paragraph in which you analyze the
Madison delivering the final draft of the U.S. Constitution constitutional powers of the President. Consider the
to George Washington serves as propaganda for the following: the powers granted by the Constitution; why
new United States of America. Consider the following the Framers established each of these as presidential
information in the presentation: What was involved in powers in the Constitution; and how these powers differ
the process of creating the Constitution? Who are the from those of a despot or monarch.
individuals shown in the painting and what were their 5. Create a Presentation Evaluating How the
stances on the issues surrounding the Constitution? How Government Fulfills the Preamble Create an oral
are the Founders and delegates presented in the painting? presentation evaluating how the federal government
How does the painting serve as a piece of propaganda? serves the purposes set forth in the Preamble to the
2. Identify the Contributions Write a paragraph U.S. Constitution. When creating the presentation,
describing the contributions of Alexander Hamilton’s answer the following questions: Are each of the
ideas about judicial review. Include the following principles as relevant to our government today as when
information in your paragraph: an explanation of the they were written? Why or why not? What are some of
power of judicial review as established by Marbury v. the specific ways in which the principles are upheld by
Madison; a description of Hamilton’s beliefs about the our government? How are these principles meaningful in
Constitution as expressed in The Federalist No. 78 and your own life?
how those beliefs relate to the power of judicial review;
an explanation of the importance of judicial review to the “We the People of the United States, in Order
workings of the U.S. government. to form a more perfect Union, establish
3. Analyze Legislative Branch Write a paragraph
Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide
that explains the role committees play in the for the common defence, promote the general
amendment process. Consider such questions as: Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty
What are legislative committees? How are committees to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
structured? What are the functions of committees? How establish this Constitution for the United
are committees involved with the amendment process? States of America.”
—Preamble to the Constitution

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 TOPIC 3 ASSESSMENT

6. Identify Major Intellectual, Philosophical, Political, 12. Describe the Constitutionally Prescribed
and Religious Traditions Write a paragraph identifying Procedures Write a paragraph describing the methods
how English common law and constitutionalism by which an amendment may be proposed and ratified
informed the founding of America and form the basis as described in Article V of the U.S. Constitution. Why
of American government. Consider the following do you think the amendment process was created to be
questions: What is constitutionalism? How are so complicated?
constitutionalism and limited government connected? 13. Recall the Conditions Write a paragraph describing
How do constitutionalism and English common law the conditions that led to the 14th Amendment.
form the basis of the concepts of liberty, rights, and Consider the following questions: Why was the 14th
responsibilities of individuals? Amendment needed? What did the 14th Amendment
7. Understand the Rule of Law Analyze the rule of law guarantee? What was the significance of the 14th
created by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution. Then Amendment?
write a paragraph and answer the following questions: 14. Evaluate Constitutional Provisions Use the
What is the rule of law? How does the rule of law protect political cartoon below to write a paragraph analyzing
individual rights? How does the rule of law uphold the the cartoonist’s viewpoint about popular sovereignty.
principle of limited government? Consider the following questions: What is popular
8. Create a Visual Presentation Create a visual sovereignty? What is the cartoonist suggesting about
presentation that categorizes government powers how popular sovereignty affects government? How
as national, state, or shared. Answer the following would you describe the bias shown, if any, by the
questions: What powers does the national government cartoonist? Is the information expressed in the cartoon
have in the United States? What powers do the valid?
individual states have in the United States? What
powers are shared by the national and state
governments?
9. Understand the Limits on the National
Government Write a paragraph about the limits on
United States government at the national and state
levels. Consider the following questions: How does the
U.S. Constitution limit the powers of both the national
and state governments? Why is limited government a
fundamental idea of the U.S. Constitution?
10. Compare the Functions and Processes Write a
paragraph describing the functions and processes of
federal, state, and local governments. Consider the
following questions: What are some functions and
processes of the federal government as laid out in
the Constitution? What are some of the functions and
processes reserved for state and local governments
as laid out in the Constitution? In general, how do the
functions and processes of the federal government
compare to the functions and processes of state and
local governments?
11. Explain the Major Responsibilities Write a
paragraph describing the federal government’s
responsibilities in regard to the states. Consider the
following in the paragraph: insurrection, riots, and other
internal disorder; natural disasters; why the national
government has these responsibilities.

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 15. Create a Project Create an annotated timeline, Web “The judicial Power of the United States shall
site, poster, or other type of project on the role of the be vested in one supreme Court, and in such
amendment process in a constitutional government. inferior Courts as the Congress may from time
Choose an amendment that has been proposed in the to time ordain and establish.”
twenty-first century and research why the amendment
—Article III, Section 1
was proposed, who proposed it, and the process
of the amendment. Use the following process: Ask
20. Explain Why the Founding Fathers Adopted a
questions about the circumstances that led to the
Federal System Write a paragraph explaining why
amendment proposal and explore the issues. Plan the
the Founders chose a federal system of government.
project by outlining goals and objectives. Research the
Consider the following questions: What is a federal
amendment proposal using primary and secondary
system of government? What is a unitary system of
sources. Create the project. Improve the project by
government? What factors played a role in influencing
editing and reevaluating the goals and objectives. Draw
the Founders’ choice of system? Why did the Founders
a conclusion about the role of the amendment process
choose a federal system over a unitary system?
in a constitutional government. Present the project.
21. Explain Certain Provisions of the U.S.
16. Explain the Importance Write a paragraph explaining
Constitution Review the checks-and-balances system
why having a written constitution is important. Consider
established by the U.S. Constitution. Then write a
the following questions: Why is a written constitution
paragraph that answers the following question: How
important for individuals? Why is a written constitution
does the system of checks and balances established by
important for the government? Can a country function
the U.S. Constitution make compromise necessary?
without a written constitution? Why or why not?
Consider documents such as the U.S. Constitution and 22. Analyze the Functions of the Judicial Branch
the Bill of Rights when writing your response. Write a paragraph analyzing the structure and functions
of the federal court system. Consider the following
17. Identify American Beliefs and Principles Write a
questions: What are the two types of courts that make
paragraph describing how the U.S. Constitution reflects
up the inferior courts? How are they structured within
American beliefs and principles and establishes a both a
the judicial branch of the federal government? List one
national and a federal identity. Consider such things as:
example of each type of inferior court and describe its
what American beliefs and principles are; the details in
function. Why is a federal court system necessary?
the Constitution that relate to the nation as a whole; and
the details in the Constitution regarding the relationship 23. Analyze the Federal System of
between the national government and the states. Government Analyze advantages and disadvantages
of a federal system of government. Write a paragraph
18. Explain How Political Divisions Are Crafted Write
expressing your opinion on the effectiveness of the
a paragraph explaining how political divisions formed
United States’ federal system as a form of government.
through the process of admitting states into the Union.
Consider such things as: division of power; how each
Make sure to: describe the political division crafted
level operates; conflicts between national and state
in this process; explain the role of the Northwest
governments.
Ordinance of 1787 in establishing the process; and
describe the relationship between the existing states 24. Create a Written Presentation Create a written
and a newly admitted state. presentation about the conflict between the national and
state governments on the issue of same-sex marriage.
19. Analyze Information Use the following quote to write a
Consider the following questions: What is the legality of
paragraph to describe the circumstances leading to the
same-sex marriage among the states? What is DOMA?
formation of a national judiciary. Consider the following:
How did the case of United States v. Windsor influence
the provisions for a federal court system in the Articles of
the recognition of same-sex marriage? Which level of
Confederation; the reasons why a federal court system
government do you think should have jurisdiction over
was necessary; and the effect of filling that need.
this issue?

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 TOPIC 3 ASSESSMENT

25. Create a Written or Oral Presentation Select forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service
one of the Federalist Papers (No. 10, 39, or 51) and in time of War or public danger; nor shall
analyze it and its Anti-Federalists’ counterargument on any person be subject for the same offence to
the governmental principle it addresses. Also identify be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor
elements within the essays that could be viewed as shall be compelled in any criminal case to be
propaganda. Consider the following: the views of
a witness against himself, nor be deprived of
the Federalists and Anti-Federalists; the Federalist
life, liberty, or property, without due process
Papers No. 10, No. 39, or No. 51; Anti-Federalist
counterarguments made in Centinel No. 1 or Brutus No.
of law; nor shall private property be taken for
1; the ratification process of the U.S. Constitution; and public use, without just compensation.”
how these arguments were used as propaganda during —Amendment V, Bill of Rights
the ratification process.
26. Identify Freedoms and Rights Use the Amendment 27. Write About the Essential Question Write an
below to write a paragraph describing the freedoms essay on the Essential Question: What is the
protected by the 5th Amendment. Make sure to: identify right balance of power in good government? Use
the five protections guaranteed by the 5th Amendment; evidence from your study of this Topic to support your
explain how these protections place limits on the answer.
government.

“No person shall be held to answer for a

capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on
a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury,
except in cases arising in the land or naval

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 [Link]
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