7 Principles of Constitution

1. Principles of Democracy

2. TEKS/TAKS
 8.16 Government. The student understands
the American beliefs and principles reflected in
the U.S. Constitution and other important
historic documents. The student is expected
to:
 (D) analyze how the U.S. Constitution reflects the
principles of limited government, republicanism,
checks and balances, federalism, separation of
powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights.

3. “Supreme Law of the Land”
 In the United States, the US
Constitution is the Supreme Law . No
law and no person can override the
Constitution.

4. The Principles of Democracy
 Are the basic rules that the people of the
United States live by. We made our US
Constitution and all of our laws follow
these principles.
 Are 7 basic principles or rules for all of us
to follow in order to peacefully live
together as one nation.

5. Principles of Democracy
 POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
 Limited Government
 FEDERALISM
 Republicanism
 SEPARATION OF POWERS
 Checks and Balances
 INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

6. Click on the Principles below
to continue
Popular Sovereignty Limited Government
Federalism Republicanism Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances Individual Rights
Finished ALL of the
above? Then click here for
review

7. Popular Sovereignty
 Political power rests with the people
who can create, alter and abolish their
government.
 In our country, this principle is found in
the Constitution’s __________

8. Preamble
 “ We the People of
the United States, in
order to form a more
perfect union, …. do
ordain and establish
this Constitution for
the United States of
America.”

9. We, the People can …
 Amend the Constitution to keep up
with today’s generation
 Petition the government to do
something we want
 Form groups that support causes we
believe in
 And lots more!!

10. Remember –
 Popular Sovereignty
means We, the People
control our government!
Return to “Principles”

11. Limited Government
 Does this mean we
can tell our
government what to
do or what not to do?

12. YES!!!
 In the Constitution, the people established
the government to serve us. We were tired
of the abusive King and fought for
independence. We did not want to be
abused by another king or government so
we ….

13. MADE RULES FOR
GOVERNMENT!

14. Powers granted
 Government can only do certain things
like
 Pass new laws or taxes if a majority of our
representatives in Congress agrees
 Coin money
 Make treaties with foreign nations
 Raise an army and navy
 Regulate trade between the states [interstate
commerce]
 And more.

15. Powers denied
 Government can NOT do certain things
 Why is First Lady Michelle Obama not called
a Queen?
 We have no titles of nobility in the United
States
 Can Congress pass a law today that says
what we did yesterday was wrong?

16. NO WAY!
 These types of laws are called ex post
facto laws . The Constitution prohibits
Congress and state governments from
passing such unfair laws.
 Can a state declare war on another
country?

17. NO.
 The Constitution only
gives the national
government the
power to declare war.
Think of the mess we
would be in if 50
different states could
declare war!

18. Limited Government
 Congress and the state
governments are restricted by what
the Constitution says.
 Gov’t officials also have to follow
the rules
-- Think of the Constitution as the
government’s return to
Click to
parents!
“Principles”

19. Federalism
o Is the distribution of power between
the national government, the states’
governments and local
governments .
 Refers to the different levels within our
government.

20. Federalism
 Compare to a building
with 3 floors … National
State
Local

21.  Each level of government has its own
responsibilities.
 Sometimes, these responsibilities are
shared or overlap [known as concurrent
powers ] . For example, taxes: national =
income tax, state = sales tax, local =
property tax

22.  Sometimes, these responsibilities belong
to just one level. For example,
National = can declare war ,
States = can determine driver’s
license requirements or high school
diploma requirements

23. Federalism
 Levels of government --- 3 layers
 Remember:
 you are a resident of Montgomery County,
 a resident of the state of Texas, and
 a citizen of the United States

24. Federalism
 National,
state and
local …
… governments working under one
Constitution
Click here to return to “Principles” 

25. Republicanism
 A form of government where the people
vote for representatives to make
laws and run the government on
their behalf [to take care of the people]

26. Republicanism’s tie to Popular
Sovereignty?
 The People control the government by
voting for elected representatives 
the representatives meet with other
representatives to make laws for the
public good 
if the representatives abuse the
people, the people can take back their
“consent” and vote them out of office 
then the people vote for new elected
representatives ….Hey, are we starting
over?

27. Yes!
 Remember: in a Republic, the
representatives work for the people!
Return to “Principles”

28. Separation of Powers
 Each branch of government is given an
equal, but different, set of powers
 The US Constitution is divided into
different Articles (like chapters in your
book)

29. This diagram illustrates the
separation of powers
US Constitution
Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch
Congress President Supreme Court
Makes Laws Enforces Laws Interprets Laws

30. Each of the first 3 articles deals
with a different branch of
government –
 Article I  Legislature (Congress)
 Article II  Executive (President)
 Article III  Judiciary (Supreme Court and
other courts)

31. Responsibilities
Each branch has a different responsibility in
our government ---
o Legislative branch -- makes our laws
o Executive branch – enforces our laws
o Judicial branch – interprets our laws

32.  Think: each branch of government not only
has different powers but also different
buildings!
Return to “Principles” 

33. Separation of Powers
There’s no way you can walk into
all 3 buildings at the same time!
o Capitol = Legislative
o White House = Executive
o Supreme Court building = Judiciary

34. Checks and Balances
The ability of each branch of
government to oversee the
other branches, to prevent
abuse and to keep everything in
“balance” or…
No branch is number one over the
other two.

35. Example:
Congress
passes a law
the President
thinks is wrong.
The President
checks Congress
by …

36. Using the VETO [to
refuse to sign and
make into law].

37. Congress thinks
the President is
wrong. Congress
checks the
President by …

38. Re-passing the law with
a 2/3 vote or override.
The Supreme Court thinks
Congress or the President is
wrong. The Court can …

39. Declare the law or
action unconstitutional
by using judicial review to
compare the law or action to what
the Constitution ‘says’.
Return to TAKS question 2

40. Checks and Balances
Keeps our system even
 Return to “Principles”

41. Individual Rights
 Each person in the United States has
rights
The Declaration of
Independence spoke of
these as being
“ unalienable” or
not separate from you

42. By limiting government and
separating powers the Constitution
provides ….
For your Rights!

43. More protection is
provided by the … ah,
let me think, the…

44. Bill of Rights!
 The First 10 amendments
to the Constitution
 Prohibits Congress or the
national government from
taking away your basic rights

45.  Can you list
some
examples of
your rights
found in the Bill
of Rights?

46. 1 Amendment –
st
 Freedom of Speech
 Freedom of the Press
 Freedom of Assembly
 Freedom to Petition
 Free Exercise of Religion
 No Government Established
Religion

47.  4th Amendment – no unreasonable
search without a warrant
 5th Amendment – right to not
incriminate yourself
 6th Amendment – right to an
attorney

48. Wow! What a list?!
 Are
these the only rights
you have?
or

49. No!
 Incase they forgot to list some
rights, the 9 Amendment
th
covers all other rights not
listed in Amendments 1-8.
Example: right to privacy

50. Are your rights absolute?
Can you exercise your
rights at any time?

51. Sorry, the answer is no.
 Your rights are
limited by the
rights of the
person
standing next
to you .

52. Think of your rights
as a bubble that
walks around with
you. When you go
down the hall, your
rights bump into
someone else’s
rights!
Return to “Principles”

53. Let’s review –
 Principles of Democracy are…
 the rules our society used to
form our government
 the rules we still use today to
guide us

54. Principles of Democracy
include …
 Popular Sovereignty
 Limited Government
 Individual rights
 Federalism
 Separation of Powers
 Checks and Balances
 Republicanism

55. TAKS Practice:
No freeman shall be arrested or imprisoned or
dispossessed or … in any way harmed … except by the
lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
--- Magna Carta, 1215
Which aspect of the US government did this document
most clearly influence?
A. Separation of powers
B. Guarantee of individual rights
C. Duties of the president
D. System of checks and balances

56. Sorry, A is incorrect
The phrase “except by the lawful judgment
of his peers” refers to trial by jury while “or
by the law of the land” refers to due
process. Separation of powers refers to
the different duties of government’s
branches.
Try again

57. Sorry, C is incorrect
Look again at the words “imprisoned” and
“judgment of his peers”. These words refer
to being sent to prison after a jury finds
one guilty. The President cannot try a
person.
Try again

58. Sorry, D is incorrect.
A system of checks and balances involves
one person doing something and the other
person seeing if it is right. When a teacher
corrects your paper, he checks it for you.
Here, the Magna Carta is talking about not
sending someone to prison without a trial.
Try again

59. You got it!
 B is correct. The excerpt is talking about
the right to trial by jury and the right to due
process. Both of these individual rights are
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights.

60. TAKS again: It’s a Go!!
Supreme Court
Reviews Bush’s
Affirmative Action Plan
2. What principle does the
headline illustrate?
A. republicanism
B. individual rights
C. limited government
D. checks and balances

61. A is not the right answer.
Republicanism involves elected
representatives acting in place of the
voters at home. The Supreme Court is not
elected and does not directly represent the
people.
Try again.

62. Sorry, B is not the right answer.
Although affirmative action is a civil right, it
is not the answer because affirmative
action is not the subject of the sentence
[it’s the object].
Try again

63. Sorry. C is not the correct answer.
This is a close one. The federal and state
governments are limited in their powers
but here the action verb is “reviews”.
Define judicial review. Then look at
what the Supreme Court is doing.
Try again

64. Terrific! D is the answer!!
The judicial branch is checking the
government’s action – a plan for
affirmative action to see if it follows the
Constitution. The Court said this plan
followed the Constitution and did not
have to be changed.

65. TAKS practice:
3. When the federal courts required all public
schools in all states to desegregate, Pres.
Eisenhower sent troops to protect the
“Little Rock Nine” and to implement the
Brown decision. This action was an
example of
A. federalism.
B. nullification.
C. reverse discrimination.
D. republicanism.

66. B is not the right answer.
Nullification means to declare a national
law void and invalid; to make useless.
Although Gov. Faubus did try to nullify the
courts’ orders, the action in the question
concerns Pres. Eisenhower and his
troops. What did Pres. Eisenhower think
was ranked higher: federal or state law?
Try again

67. Sorry. C is not the right answer.
Reverse discrimination
means favoring minorities
over whites. This question
does not concern this issue.
Try again

68. Missed… D is not the correct
answer.
Republicanism involves elected
representatives acting for the people.
Congress is not involved in this question.
That’s okay … try again!

69. Super! You really know your
government!
A is the correct answer. During
integration the federal and
state governments had to work
together to advance civil rights.
In the 1950s the federal
government led the way for the
states and kept the US
Constitution supreme over
state laws.

70. You’ve done at great job!
Complete your worksheet including the diagrams
on the back. If you have any blanks or wish to
review again, you may.