Basic Principles of the Constitution

Unit Overview

In this unit, students will explain the basic principles of the United States Constitution, which help define our government. (CS #5).

Section A: Content Statement 5

Content Statement #5

Basic principles which help define the government of the United States include:

• popular sovereignty;

• limited government;

• federalism;

• separation of powers; and

• checks and balances.

Popular sovereignty is the principle that governmental authority is derived from the people. Under this principle, the government governs with the consent of the governed.

The principle of limited government holds that a government can only exercise the powers granted to it. The government must be conducted according to the the rule of law.

Federalism is a system in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The principle of separation of powers requires a distribution of governmental powers among independent branches.

Checks and balances constitute a system for controlling government power.

Let’s Practice: Basic Principles

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Section B: Basic Principles

The basic principles helped define the government of the United States. These principles are popular sovereignty, limited government, federalism, separation of powers, and checks and balances.

Popular Sovereignty	Power to govern belongs to the people	Government must be based on the consent of the governed
Separation of Powers	Division of government’s powers into three separate branches	President – executive Congress – legislative Supreme Court – judicial
Checks and Balances	Each branch of government has some control over the others	Keeps each branch of government from overstepping its bounds
Limited Government	Guarantees that the government does not hold all the power	The rule of law
Federalism	Division of governmental power between the national government and state government	Expressed – federal only Reserved – state only Concurrent - share

Let’s Practice: Which Principle

The power of the U.S. government is constrained by the separation of powers and checks and balances between branches. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution structured the government so that the three branches have separate powers. The branches must both cooperate and compete to enact policy. Each of the branches has the power to check the other two, which ensures that no one branch can become too powerful and that government as a whole is constrained.

Below is a chart on the Separation of Powers of the branches of government.

Let’s Practice: Which Branch?

In addition to separating powers among the branches, the Framers gave each branch the power to check, or stop, the actions of the other two branches in meaningful ways. This system of checks and balances keeps each branch of government from overstepping its bounds, and consequently, the federal government itself from becoming too powerful.

Below is a chart on the Checks and Balances of the branches of government.

Let’s Practice: Checks and Balances

States and the federal government have both exclusive powers and concurrent powers. There is an ongoing negotiation over the balance of power between the two levels. Federalism describes the system of shared governance between national and state governments. In the United States, the federalist system emerged because the states evolved from separate colonies, which had diverse populations and different needs.

Below is a chart on Federalism.

Let’s Practice: Federalism