The Constitution of the United States of America – The 7 PrinciplesAfter the American Revolution, the Framers of the Constitution constructed a new system of government. The Constitution, as it was called,

established seven principles that guided the Framers’ efforts to establish a new government. To picture how these principles work, imagine seven building blocks that come together to form a foundation for our government. This foundation will guide the Framers as they strive to create a fair and equal Constitution.

Principle Definition Event in U.S. History & Why it Fits

Checks and Balances

Federalism

Individual Rights

Limited Government

Popular Sovereignty

Republicanism

Separation of Powers

Checks and Balances

To prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. Gives each

branch a way to supervise the others.

FederalismThe powers of the government are

divided between the national government and the states. Some powers are shared, and others are

reserved to one.

Individual RightsProtections offered to each citizen. Established by the Bill of Rights – rights that should never be taken

away.

Limited Government

The powers of the government are limited to what is in the Constitution. Also, no one is above the law (police,

president, judges, etc.)

Popular Sovereignty

The people hold supreme power. The power of the government comes

from the consent of the governed.

RepublicanismEstablished that our government was democratic in which representatives

are elected by the people.

Separation of Powers

Powers of the government are divided among the three branches; Executive, Legislative, and Judicial

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the “Court Packing Scheme”During the Great Depression, the people of the United States elected Franklin D.

Roosevelt to become the 32nd president of the U.S. FDR, as he was known by, implemented a plan to help the people get through the Depression, known as the

New Deal.

The Supreme Court struck down many programs that FDR created as part of his New Deal, which made FDR very upset. In order to get more of his programs passed, he asked Congress to allow him to expand the Court from 9 to 15 justices. He wanted

to do this so that he could appoint judges that would allow him to pass his programs.

The Supreme Court was able to convince Congress that expanding the court was unconstitutional and would upset the balance of the government. FDR’s “Court Packing Scheme” was struck down by the Judicial and Legislative branches of the

United States.

The American Civil WarThe Civil War addressed two central issues: 1) the role of the federal government and 2) the nature of the union. Slavery accelerated tensions between the nation

centered and state-centered concept of our government.

On one hand, there were those who argued that each state had the power to abolish federal laws within its boundaries or ultimately separate from the union. On

the other side were those who believed that the nation was indestructible and Federal laws had supreme authority as specified in the Constitution.

The role of the national government was settled by the Civil War. Before the Civil War, the national government acted as servant to the states. During, and after, the

War, the Federal Government increased its power and states’ rights such as secession, were suppressed when the North won.

The 15th & 19th AmendmentsSince the establishment of our country, several groups of citizens have been denied their right to vote. Following the Civil War, the American government passed what would be called the Reconstruction Amendments; the 13th, 14th, and 15th. The 14th

Amendment gave African-American males universal suffrage (The right to vote).

Now that black males were provided the ability to vote, women in the United States were still denied suffrage. It wasn’t until 1920 that the 19th Amendment was signed. After the on-set of World War I, it became hard for opponents of women’s suffrage

to deny that women were equals of men.

Richard Nixon and the Watergate ScandalIn 1972, a group of individuals were caught breaking into the Democratic Party’s national headquarters at the Watergate Hotel and Complex in Washington, D.C.

Through an investigation of the event, evidence surfaced that exposed the suspects were part of President Richard Nixon’s Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) and that President Nixon had participated in a cover-up of the event to prevent any

connection to the White House and his presidency.

President Nixon was required to sit in front of a Senate committee who lead the investigation, and when questioned about the cover-up Nixon continued to deny

any involvement. Later, it was found that President Nixon recorded every conversation that happened in his office. Nixon was forced to hand the tapes over

and although portions of the tapes had been destroyed, it was clear President Nixon had some involvement. Richard Nixon broke the law by lying under oath and

interfering with the investigation. He would then resign, stepping down as president of the United States.

The Constitution of the United States of AmericaThe preamble, or the introduction, to our Constitution states, “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States…” This idea of “we the people” establishes that the government

of the United States would be founded by the people and the government would be created to serve the people

The Founding Fathers did not want the newly formed government to be tyrannical and restrict the power of the people. They wrote our Constitution in a way that

reserved powers for its citizens and used language that reinforced that the government was responsible for the welfare of the people.

In other words, THE PEOPLE RULE.

Presidential Election of 2008 - Barack ObamaOn November 4, 2008, after a campaign that lasted nearly two years, Americans

elected Illinois senator Barack Obama their 44th president. The result was historic, as Obama, a first-term U.S. senator, became the country’s first African American

president.

With the highest voter turnout rate in four decades, Obama and Delaware senator Joe Biden defeated the Republican nominees of Arizona senator John

McCain and Alaska governor Sarah Palin. The Obama-Biden ticket won nearly 53 percent of the popular vote.

Going to WarThe Legislative branch of the American government holds the most powers when it comes to war. It has powers such as being the sole branch that formally declares war on another country, controls how those wars are funded, and can make laws

that are necessary and proper for carrying out the execution of the war.

The executive branch shares some power with Congress when it comes to war. The president holds the title, “Commander in Chief”, which gives him or her supreme

command over our nation’s military. Furthermore, the president can send troops to another country for up to 60 days without Congress formally declaring war.

The judicial branch of our federal government has the job of overseeing that actions and laws established within the war are constitutional. For the most part, the

judicial branch does not limit the war powers of the Legislative or Executive branches, but in the instances where some laws have been found unconstitutional,

it has been after combat has ceased or a power was abused other than the war power.