UNIT III
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UNIT II
FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Lesson 4
How was the US government organized under the Constitution? What is federalism?
SS.7.C.3.3 Illustrate the structure and function (three branches of government established in Articles I, II, and III with corresponding powers) of government in the United States as established in the Constitution.
Source
Adapted from lessons by the Bill of Rights Institute at
Overview
In this lesson, students will learn about the organization of the government under the United States Constitution.
Objectives
• Students will discuss the seven articles of the Constitution.
• Students will learn a mnemonic device/acronym to help them remember the seven articles of the Constitution.
• Students will design graphics to illustrate the seven articles of the Constitution.
Time
• One 50 minute class period
Passport Vocabulary
• Mnemonic
o Assisting or intended to assist memory.
• Acronym
o A word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term (i.e., FBI for Federal Bureau of Investigations).
Strategies
• Mnemonic devices
• Visual learning
Materials
• 8 ½ by 11 white paper
• Drawing and coloring supplies
• Copies of the Constitution, 1 per student ()
Activities
1. Begin class by reviewing the six goals of the Preamble with the students. Ask a student to remind the class of the last line of the Preamble, “do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Tell the class that today they will be examining the Constitution to learn about the way it set up our government.
2. Make sure that each student has a copy of the U.S. Constitution.
3. In a large group discussion, go through each article of the Constitution, one by one, and discuss its main idea:
o Article I established the legislative branch
o Article II established the executive branch
o Article III established the judicial branch
o Article IV describes the relationship among the states (known as federalism)
o Article V describes the process by which the Constitution can be amended
o Article VI explains that neither federal or state laws may conflict with any part of the Constitution (the Supremacy Clause)
o Article VII describes the process for ratification of the Constitution
4. Tell students that you have an acronym to help them remember the purpose of each article:
Lazy (Legislative branch)
Elephants (Executive branch)
Jump (Judicial branch)
Slowly (States/federalism)
And (Amendment process)
Sleep (Supremacy clause)
Regularly (Ratification)
5. Distribute a sheet of 8 ½ by 11 white paper to each student. Instruct them to fold it three times (hotdog, hamburger, and hamburger) so that they end up with eight boxes. In the first box, they should write “The Seven Articles of the Constitution by: student name.” They should then label each box “Article I,” “Article II,” and so on. In each box, they are to design a graphic that will (at a glance) remind them of the purpose of each article (e.g., the presidential seal for Article II or the scales of justice for Article III).
6. While students are working on their illustrations, play “Three Ring Circus” by Schoolhouse Rock ().
Extension Suggestion
Instruct students to come up with their own mnemonic device for remembering the seven articles of the Constitution.
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TEACHER CONTENT KNOWLEDGE RESOURCE
UNIT II
FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
Lesson 4
How was the US government organized under the Constitution? What is federalism?
SS.7.C.3.3 Demonstrate an understanding of the principles, functions, and organization of government.
Passport Vocabulary
• Mnemonic
o Assisting or intended to assist memory.
• Acronym
o A word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term (i.e., FBI for Federal Bureau of Investigations).
This document addresses the following issues:
1. The organization of government under the U.S. Constitution
2. Federalism explored
3. State power as reflected in the U.S. Constitution (graphic)
1. The organization of government under the U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Constitution is organized as a series of seven articles. Each of the seven articles deals with a power of government. The first three articles deal with the three branches of government in the order that the founders intended would reflect the amount of power that each branch would have under the new system. The legislative power, being the most powerful, is listed first, while the executive power, which enjoys checks on the legislative power, is listed second. The judiciary power is listed third (the power of the courts to overturn laws was not established until Marbury v. Madison in 1803).
The fourth and fifth articles address state powers and the role of the national government in protecting states. Article VI outlines how conflicts between the national and state governments will be addressed. Specifically, if a national and state law conflict with one another, then the national law is considered “supreme”. There is no arbitration, where a court decides which law should be in place. Rather, the national law takes precedence over state law in all circumstances where there is conflict between them.
The final article outlines the ratification process. Ratification requires the agreement of nine state legislatures or state conventions. The national Congress had no say in the ratification process.
2. Federalism explored
The U.S. Constitution was written in response to concerns about the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. The weaknesses took two basic forms. One core weakness was that the national government had very little power. There was a national Congress that did not have the power to tax or to raise its own army or navy. The second weakness was that, because there was no national government, the states could act, in many ways, as if they were independent states. This meant that states engaged in independent relationships with other countries, and also found themselves in conflict with one another at times. Together, the Articles of Confederation did not encourage or otherwise advance national unity or a sense of nationhood among the states.
Ratifying the new constitution required the approval of nine state legislatures or nine state conventions, whichever the state decided. This was the same system that was required for passing a national law under the Articles of Confederation.
The U.S. Constitution in many ways reflects the problems experienced under the Articles of Confederation, as the founders sought to solve these problems. The founders also wanted to insure that the new document was ratified; otherwise their efforts would have been wasted. As it was up to the states alone to ratify the new document (the national Congress under the Articles of Confederation did not have a say in ratifying the new Constitution), then it was critically important that the states support the new document.
The U.S. Constitution reflects concerns about the states under the Articles of Confederation as well as an understanding that it was up to the states to ratify the new document. One of the ways that the founders accomplished these two apparently contradictory goals (limit state power because of the consequences under the Articles of Confederation while at the same time seeking state support for the new document) was to create a system of federalism, where the new government created opportunities for states to enjoy unique powers and to share others with the newly formed national government. For example, only the national government has the power to raise and support armies, while it is up to the states to decide whether or not citizens must be registered in order to vote on Election Day. Both the state and national governments have the power to tax; some states tax incomes (New York) while others do not (Florida). The power to tax is a shared power.
3. State power as reflected in the U.S. Constitution (graphic)
The following table outlines how the U.S. Constitution is organized in a way that reflects shifts from the state-centered government under the Articles of Confederation to a shared power arrangement between the national and the state governments.
|Article in the U.S. |State Powers Given |State Powers Taken Away |
|Constitution | | |
|I-Congress |Section 2: States represented in the national House of |Section 7: Bills for raising national taxes originate in the House of |
| |Representatives |Representatives |
| | | |
| |Section 3: States represented in the national legislature |Section 8: Powers held by the states under the Articles of Confederation are|
| |in the Senate |now held by the national Congress (i.e. raise and support armies, coin money,|
| | |establish rule of naturalization); powers denied the national Congress under |
| |Section 4: States set the rules for electing members of |the Articles of Confederation are now given to the national Congress (lay and|
| |Congress, within the context of existing national law |collect taxes, raise and support armies and navies) |
| | | |
| |Section 5: Each house sets its own rules and may punish its|Section 9: Importation of slaves to end by 1808 |
| |own members |Section 10: Rights specifically denied to states |
|II-Executive |Section 1: States choose members of the Electoral College, | |
| |who choose the president | |
| | | |
| |Section 2: Senate confirmation of nominations | |
|III-Judicial |Section 1: Congress creates the courts | |
|IV-States |Section 1: Full faith and credit given to each state |Section 2: States may not harbor fugitives |
| | | |
| |Section 2: Citizens of each state entitled to the | |
| |privileges and immunities of citizens of other states | |
| | | |
| |Section 3: State legislatures must approve of new states | |
| |being formed by merger or division | |
| | | |
| |Section 4: States guaranteed a republican (representative) | |
| |form of government | |
| | | |
| |National government will protect state governments from | |
| |invasion | |
| | | |
| |National government will protect state governments against | |
| |domestic violence | |
|V-Amendment (Note: |States must approve of amendments to the U.S. Constitution |Congress must approve of amendments to the U.S. Constitution |
|Article V has no | | |
|sections) | | |
|VI-Supremacy of the | |All laws and treaties made at the national level are the “supreme law of the |
|National Government | |land” |
|(Note: Article VI has | | |
|no sections) | |The national law is supreme over any conflicting state law |
|VII-Ratification |States ratify the new Constitution | |
|(Note: Article VII has| | |
|no sections) | | |
REFERENCES
Beer, Samuel H. To Make a Nation: The Rediscovery of American Federalism. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1993.
Hall, Kermit. “An Introductory Bibliography to American Constitutional History” in This Constitution: A Bicentennial Chronicle, 1985. Available at: .
Wood, Gordon. “The Origins of the Constitution” in This Constitution: A Bicentennial Chronicle, 1985. Available at: .
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