Constitutional Principle



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|Constitutional Principle |Explanation |

|Popular Sovereignty |Ultimate power and final authority rests with “we the people” or all citizens. |

| |Constitution based on consent of governed |

| |Authority for government rests with the people |

| |Voting for governmental officials to represent them |

|Federalism |Power is divided between the central (national or federal) government and the state governments. Some |

| |powers are concurrent and thus held by both levels of government (e.g. the power to tax) and some are |

| |exclusive (only federal government can declare war) |

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| |No longer a confederation [like Articles of Con] |

| |More power to the central government |

| |States have power, too: |

| |Article I, section 10 |

| |10th Amendment, |

|Separation of Powers |Power within the national government is divided among three separate branches. Each branch has its own|

| |primary function: Legislative (write the laws); Executive (enforce the laws and protect nation) and |

| |Judicial (settle disputes) |

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| |Divide powers to avoid tyranny |

| |Articles I, II and III spell out those powers |

|Checks and Balances |Each branch of the national government has certain controls (checks) over the other two branches (e.g. |

| |President oversees Congressional laws and can either approve or veto them) |

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| |Overseeing the actions of the other two branches |

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|Judicial Review |Power of courts to say that laws and actions of local, state or national governments are invalid |

| |because they conflict with the principles of the Constitution. Not officially established until 1803 |

| |with Marbury v. Madison. |

| |Allows the courts to act as referee on the actions of others. |

| |Determines if an action follows the Constitution. |

|Limited Government |Government’s power is limited by the rule of law which includes the Constitution and the laws which are|

| |passed in pursuance of that Constitution. This means the government is not all-powerful; some actions |

| |are allowed while others are prohibited. (e.g. 1st amendment) |

| |Clearly defined rules about the actions of government |

| |What government can and cannot do |

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