1. The
Constitution
Ch. 3, Section 1

2. Six Main Principles-
p. 70-71

3. Popular Sovereignty
 Rule by the people
 Consent of the
governed
 Citizens (aka “the
governed”) must
give their consent,
or “OK”, for the
government to
function

4. Federalism-
diagram on p. 74
 Power divided between state and national
governments
 Why federal and not unitary?
 Articles of Confederation had failed so no one wanted
the states to have all the power
 BUT people we’re still scared to give all the power to
the national government
 National government acts for country as a whole
 State governments control more local issues

6. Separation of Powers
 3 branches (legislative,
executive, judicial)
 Each branch has its
own responsibilities
 Keeps any one branch
from gaining too
much power

8. Checks and Balances
(see chart on p. 73)
 Each branch has some control over the other
 President can check Congress by vetoing
the laws it passes
 Congress can check the president by
overriding that veto (2/3 of each house
has to agree)
 Courts can check Congress by ruling their
laws as unconstitutional
 President can check courts by appointing
judges, but the senate must approve

10. Judicial Review
 Ability of courts to declare laws unconstitutional
 Supreme court has final say
 Constitution does not directly give the courts this
power, but it does say “judicial power shall extend
to all cases arising under the Constitution”
 Marbury vs. Madison- court case giving federal
courts the power to rule on the actions of the
government

11. Limited Government
 Constitution lists the
powers the government
has and the powers it does
not have
 First 10 amendments (bill
of rights) are examples of
these limits
 Protects the country from
the abuse of power