LESS. 9 “THE CONSTITUTION: A MORE PERFECT UNION” Book Ques. p.

165- 181
U.S. History Cambridge – Mrs. Angelo

Goal: Students will understand the structure of the U.S. Constitution.

Essential Question: How has the Constitution created “a more perfect union?”
Standards: SS.8.C.1.5 Apply the rights and principles contained in the Constitution and Bill of Rights to the
lives of citizens today.

Define Vocabulary:
Popular sovereignty: the idea that the government’s authority comes from the people
Judicial review: the power of the Supreme Court to decide whether laws and acts made by the legislative and
executive branches are unconstitutional
Federalism: the constitutional system that shares power between the national and state governments
Legislative branch: the lawmaking part of government, called the legislature. To legislate is to make a law.
Separation of powers: a key constitutional principle that divides the functions of government among three
branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—to prevent any one branch from gaining too much power
Majority rule: a basic principle of democracy that says laws are passed by majority vote and elections are
decided by a majority of the voters
Executive branch: the part of government that carries out, or executes, the laws
Checks and balances: the system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other two
branches
Interest group: an organization that actively promotes the view of some part of the public on specific issues in
order to influence government policy
Judicial branch: the part of government, consisting of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, that
interprets the laws
Interstate commerce: trade and other business dealings between two or more states

Section 1 Questions: p. 166

In your own words, briefly explain what the framers meant by each phrase from the preamble listed below.
“We the People” The framers based the authority of the constitution would be
based off the people and the principle of popular sovereignty
“form a more perfect Union” This showed that the framers wanted the states to cooperate
with each other and come together to form one strong union
“establish justice” The new Americans wanted to be ruled under the law not the
military or decisions of kings.
“insure domestic Tranquility” They wanted peace and order within the boundaries of their new
country
“provide for the common This says that the national or central government would be
defence” responsible for protecting the nation against foreign enemies and
they were responsible for organizing an army or group to protect
the people
“promote the general Welfare” This meant that the government would have to support a system
with an economy and build that would allow the people to
prosper
“secure the Blessings of The framers wanted a free nation where the people had their
Liberty” own rights and liberties that each individual could secure for
themselves and their ancestors

Sections 2-4 Questions p.167- 171 Fill out the chart for the three branches of government.
Section 2 Section 3 Section 4
Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch
Congress Office of the Supreme
House Senate President Court
Number of 435 100 1 9
Members
Length of 2 years 6 years 4 years Life
Term
 Are Members elected elected elected appointed
Elected of
Appointed?
Age 25 30 35 No explicit
Requirement requirements
Citizenship 7 years 9 years Natural born American No explicit
Requirement citizen requirements
Two or More Make laws, power to raise Carrying out laws, make Decide whether laws
Powers of army/ navy, declare war, treaties with consent of or acts made by
This Branch of and pay government debts the senate, and appoint congress are
Government supreme court justices unconstitutional, set
precedent for further
law cases as well as
overturn lower court
decisions

Section 5 Questions: p.172

1. Why did the framers adopt the principle of separation of powers and develop a system of checks and
balances? The framers developed a system of checks and balances because they wanted to limit the
government's power to ensure that one branch did not dominate the others.
2. Bold and underline the coinciding branch with the action. An example is done for you.
 Can impeach the President. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Calls special sessions of Congress. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Can declare executive actions unconstitutional. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Nominates Supreme Court justices. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Can override vetoes. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Can impeach federal judges. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )
 Approves Supreme Court justices. ( Executive / Legislative / Judicial )

Section 6 Questions: p.173

1. Why did the framers make it possible to change the Constitution but difficult to do so? The founders made
the amendment process difficult because they wanted to lock in the political deals that made ratification of the
Constitution possible. Moreover, they recognized that, for a government to function well, the ground rules
should be stable. ... They made passing an amendment too hard.
2. Explain one way that a constitutional amendment can be proposed and ratified. The Constitution provides
that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House
of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State
legislatures.
Section 7 Questions: p.174- 175
1. Why did the framers establish a federal system of government for the United States? The Framers chose
federalism as a way of government because they believed that governmental power inevitably poses a threat
to individual liberty, the exercise of governmental power must be restrained, and that to divide governmental
power is to prevent its abuse.
2. What power does the commerce clause give the national government? The commerce clause gives
Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, Indian tribes, and among the various states.
Thus, a state may not establish trade barriers against goods from another state, and so could not limit the
economic growth of that state.
3. What advantages were there to having the state’s share a common market? There were several advantages
to giving states a common market. First, goods and resources could flow more easily across the country. This
is important because different regions do different things well. New Englanders might be very good at making
cloth, but their region is not good for growing cotton.

Section 8 Questions: p.176- 177

1. Describe the principle of majority rule. A system in which the decision of more than half the people is
accepted by all.
2. What are two ways people can participate in the government? Voting in an election and contacting our
elected officials are two ways that Americans can participate in our democracy.