CELEBRATE CONSTITUTION DAY!

September 17, 2010By: Caroline Busnach

“The Constitution of the United States was not, like

the fabled Goddess of Wisdom,

the offspring of a single brain. It ought to be regarded as the

work of many heads and many hands.”

James Madison (Father of the Constitution), March 10, 1834

Father of the Constitution

James Madison4th President of the United States

See if you can answer these questions…

What is a constitution?

Why did the United States create its constitution?

Who were the Founding Fathers?

What is our national government?

A constitution is an agreed upon set of rules and laws that tells people how their

government is set up, what their government can

do, and what their government can’t do.

The Articles of Confederation

•This was the government prior to the Constitution•It created a confederate government• This type of government made the states stronger than the central government• States had separate money and it was worthless in other states• People were going into debt• America needed a change

In 1787 leaders of the United States, called the “Founding

Fathers”, believed that it was necessary to write down

in one document the most important rules for

governing our nation.All of the original states,

except for Rhode Island, sent representatives to the

Constitutional Convention.

The delegates felt it necessary to divide the power of the government into three

separate branches. This way each branch could check, or balance, the other

two branches, so power would not be in the hands of one

person, or one group of people alone.

The Legislative Branch

•Also called Congress•Consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate•This branch is able to:•Make laws• Impeach officials, or remove them from power• Originate spending bills• Approve treaties• Declare war

Executive Branch•This branch is headed by the President, but also includes the Vice President, the Cabinet, and independent agencies•It employs over 4 million people! •The cabinet is an advisory body made up of the heads of 15 departments. These heads are appointed, or chosen, by the president. Some of these are:

• Department of Agriculture• Department of Education• Department of Defense

•Some responsibilities of the President include:• Carrying out federal laws• Recommending new laws• Vetoing, or rejecting laws• Directing national defense and foreign policy. He is the

commander in chief of all Armed Forces.• Performing ceremonial duties, such as hosting foreign

dignitaries

The Judicial Branch

•This branch interprets laws passed by the legislative branch•It currently consists of nine federal justices (this number is left up to the Senate to decide upon)•They serve until their death or until they retire•The president appoints a judge to serve on this branch, but they must be approved by Congress

Important principles of the Constitution

• Separation of Power• Legislative-makes laws• Executive-makes sure laws are carried out• Judicial-interprets laws

• Checks and balances• No one branch has more power over

the others• Shared Power

• A Federation-strong central government that shares power with the states• Only federal government can declare war

and print money• Only states can establish schools and

regulate local governments• Both can impose taxes, regulate banks,

and have their own courts

Important parts of the Constitution

•The Preamble•The Articles•The Amendments• The Bill of Rights

THE PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice,

insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do

ordain and establish this constitution for the United States

of America.

The Articles

There are 7 articlesThese state the original rules of the constitution

The Amendments•A change to the Constitution•Can be proposed by congress or states •Has to be approved by ¾ of the states•First ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights• Added almost immediately to protect

individual rights• Example: First Amendment:

Freedom of Speech and Press•Some amendments make corrections to the original constitution•Other amendments give rights to certain groups of people. For example the 19th amendment allowed women to vote•The last amendment to the constitution was made in 1992

Overview of our Constitution:

Sing-a-long

SchoolTube - School House Rock: The Preamble

Activity:Quick! The country has just passed a new law:

Every schoolmust form its own constitution and submit it to the state government by the end of the

week. Luckily, your group has some knowledge, so your principal has

called upon you to help with this task. Working together with your group, write up

ten rulesthat will be included in your school constitution. Be sure to remember

the most important thing the framers of the U.S. Constitution realized during the

Constitutional Convention: it’s important to compromise!

Helpful links for further lessons:

http://hmheducation.com/history/resources_1.php

http://hmheducation.com/history/pdfs/ElemLessonPlan_DocumentingDemocracy.pdf

http://hmheducation.com/history/pdfs/ElemLessonPlan_DocumentingDemocracy_wTTE.pdf

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

http://www.congressforkids.net/Constitution_threebranches.htm

http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government

Created by: Caroline Busnach on 8/24/10

Parker SchoolBillerica, MA 01821