US Constitution: Functions US History T. Hall. Article 1: Congress The first article of the Constitution creates the legislative branch, also called Congress.

US Constitution: Functions

US History

T. Hall

Article 1: Congress The first article of the Constitution creates the

legislative branch, also called Congress. The legislative branch is a bicameral legislature, which means it is broken into two parts. These two parts are the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Article 1: Congress The House of Representatives Made of 435 members, called

representatives. The number of representatives each state

receives is based on the number of people who live in that state (population).

For Example: Illinois has 12,830,632 people living in the state. Illinois receives 19, representatives. Montana’s population is 975,989, and they have 1 representative.

Article 1: Congress House of Representative members serve

terms of 2 years, and can serve as many terms as they like.

Qualifications to become a member of the US House of Representatives: Must be at least 25 years old Must be a US citizen for at least 7 years Must be a resident (live-in) the state that you

represent.

Article 1: Congress The Senate Composed of 100 members. Each state gets two

Senators. Senators serve terms of 6 years, and can serve as

many terms as they like. Qualifications to become a member of the US

Senator: Must be at least 30 years old Must be a US citizen for at least 9 years Must be a resident (live-in) the state that you

represent.

Understanding Questions

1. What branch of government does Article 1 create?

2. What are the two parts of the legislative branch?

3. How is representation determined in the House of Representatives?

4. How is representation determined in the Senate?

Article 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Bill: is a proposed law that has not yet been

made into an actual law. Laws: rules that limit personal behavior, and

create political and social structures, i.e. schools.

Article 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Step 1: a member of the House of

Representatives or Senate propose (introduce) a bill.

Step 2: the bill has to be approved by a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate.

Step 3: if the is approved by Congress, the President has the choice to either sign the bill or veto the bill.

Step 4: if the President signs the bill, then that bill has become a law.

Article 1: How a Bill Becomes a Law Step 4: if the President signs the bill, then

that bill has become a law. Step 5: if the President does not like the bill,

then he can veto the bill. Step 6: if the bill is vetoed, the bill goes back

to the House or Senate. Step 7: if 2/3 of both the House and Senate

approve the bill a second time, then the bill becomes a law.


5. How is a bill and law different?

6. Who has the power to veto a bill?

7. If a bill is vetoed, can it still become a law? How?

Article 1: Powers of Congress

Expressed Powers: are the listed powers given to congress. Examples are, to declare war, to tax, and to regulate trade.

Necessary and Proper Clause: is also called the “elastic clause”, and it states that congress can make any laws that it feels are needed to carry out their expressed powers.

Article 2: The President

The second Article of the Constitution creates the executive branch, which is the branch of the President.

The President has a cabinet, which is a group of people who give the President advice, and help the President enforce the laws of the US government.

Cabinet administrations include: FBI, DEA, EPA, etc.


The powers of the President include: The President’s most important power is to

enforce law, which he does through presidential agencies, like the DEA, FBI, and EPA.

The power to make agreements with foreign nations. Those agreements are called treaties.


The President is the Commander-in-Chief, which means is the head of the military.

The President can the power to sign/veto laws.


The President serves a term of 4 years, and can only serve 2 terms.

The qualifications to become President are: Must be at least 35 years old Must have been born in the United States Must have lived in the USA for 14 years


8. What is the most important job the President has?

9. How many terms can a President serve? How long are the terms?

10. What does it mean that the President is the Commander-in-Chief?

Article 3: The Judicial System

Article 3 creates the Judicial Branch and the court system. The Supreme Court is highest court in the United States.

The most important job of the Supreme Court is to determine whether acts of government and laws are constitutional (good) or unconstitutional (bad).

Article 3: The Judicial System The judges of the Supreme Court are called,

Justices, and there are 9 Justices. The head of the court is called the Chief Justice.

Justices serve for life. They only end their term by death, wrongdoing, or by quitting.

Justices are appointed by the President, but confirmed (approved) by the Senate.

Understanding Questions11. What is the name of the head of the

Supreme Court?

12. What is the most important role of the Supreme Court?

13. How many Justices are there?

14. Who chooses Supreme Court Justices?

Articles 4-7

Article 4: creates the relationships between states. Each state must recognize the laws of all other states.

Article 5: explains how to change (amend) the Constitution. An amendment can be added in two ways: A 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress Each state ratifies (approves) the amendment

Articles 4-7

Article 6: explains that the National government is superior to all state governments. That means all of the states have to follow the laws created by the National government.

Article 7: explains how the Constitution is ratified.


15. Does the state of Illinois have to recognize the laws of Michigan?

16. Name one way the constitution can be amended.

17. Does the state of Illinois have to follow the laws created by the National government?

Citizenship Amendments

Amendments to Know: 1,5,6,9,14,15,19,24,26 Amendment 1: The first amendment give every

citizen 5 freedoms, which include: Freedom of Speech Freedom of Religion Freedom of Press (publish, or make public, your

ideas) Right to Peaceably Assemble (get into a group) Right to Petition (protest the government)


18. What does it mean to petition the government?

19. What does it mean to have freedom of the press?

20. How many freedoms are in the first amendment?

Citizenship Amendments Amendment 5: provides rights to people

accused of a crime, which include: Cannot be tried for the same crime twice. Your life, liberty, and property cannot be taken without

due process. Due process is the court trial. Cannot be a witness against yourself, which means

you do not have to incriminate yourself. Essentially, the right to remain silent.

6th Amendment: Each citizen’s right to a trial by Jury


Amendment 9: states that people have more rights than just those specifically stated in the Constitution. Such as, the right to drive a car, etc.

Amendment 13: abolishes (ended) slavery in the United States.

Amendment 14: no state government can deny the Constitutional rights of any citizen.

Amendment 15: gave African American males the right to vote.


Amendment 19: gave women the right to vote Amendment 24: states that citizens do not have

to pay to vote. Made poll taxes illegal Amendment 26: states that the voting age is 18.

US Constitution: Functions US History T. Hall. Article 1: Congress The first article of the Constitution creates the legislative branch, also called Congress.

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