The Seven Principles of Government The Constitution is

The Seven Principles of Government The Constitution is built upon seven basic principles of government. The Framers of the Constitution used these principles to create the “supreme law” of our land.

Who were the framers? The framers were the builders of our Constitution These men debated for the interests of their states, the people, and the nation. . Basic Principles 2

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Popular Sovereignty Definiton: What does popular refer to? Population, or people. A sovereign king does what? Rule So together, Popular Sovereignty means? Basic Principles 4

People Rule Basic Principles 5

Popular Sovereignty (people rule) The Preamble to the Constitution begins with this bold phrase, “We the People. . . ” These words announce that in the United States, the people establish government and give it its power. The people are sovereign. Since the government receives it power from the people, it can govern only with their consent. Basic Principles 6

Example: So how do we rule? Voting! The people’s power comes in the form of democracy. We have the right to push into a touch screen our choices for our government! Basic Principles 7

Republicanism n Define: n Power is held by the people and exercised through the efforts of representatives elected by those people.

Limited Government n Because the people are the source of government power, the government has only as much authority as the people give it. Government Authority People Basic Principles 9

More…Limited Gov’t. n Much of the Constitution, in fact, consists of specific limitation on government power. Freedom of Speech Bill of Rights Freedom of Press Freedom of Petition Freedom of Religion Freedom of Assembly Counsel, Fair Trial Privacy No Cruel/Unusual Punishment Bill of Rights Our rights and freedoms (Amendments 1 -10) protect us from Government rule. Basic Principles 10

More…Limited Government n Limited government means that neither the government nor any government official is “above the law” and can overstep these constitutional bounds. No one is Above the Law, or Constitution We t he Basic Principles Peop 11 le

Separation of Powers Limited Power Limited Government Power Basic Principles Limited Power Governme nt power is not only limited: it is also divided. 12

Separation of Powers The Constitution assigns specific powers to each of the three branches: Legislative (Congress), Executive (President) and Judicial (Supreme Court). (President) (Congress) Basic Principles (Supreme Court) 13

Checks and Balances The system of check and balances extends the restrictions established by the separation of powers. Each branch of government has the builtin authority and responsibility to restrain the power of the other two branches. This system makes government less efficient, but also prevents tyranny by one branch. (p 58) Basic Principles 14

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Federalism n n n A federal system divides power between a central government and smaller, local governments. This sharing of power is intended to ensure that the central government is powerful enough to be effective, yet not so powerful as to threaten States or citizens. It also allows individual States to deal with local problems at the local level—so long as their actions are constitutional. Federal Gov’t. Local Gov’t.

Individual Rights • Also known as Unalienable Rights. • Thomas Jefferson gets the idea from John Locke. • These are rights that you were born with and cannot be taken away from you. • Yours are protected in the first ten amendments to the US Constitution – The Bill of Rights! Basic Principles 17