THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

1. PREAMBLE

THE PREAMBLEOn your white shee underline all the words as they are shown and number each purpose as shown.

THE PREAMBLE We the people of the United States, 1

in order to form a more perfect union, 2 establish justice, 3 insure domestic tranquility, 4 provide for the common defense, 5 promote the general welfare and 6 secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

PREAMBLE VOCABULARYCopy the vocabulary word,

the synonyms and the definitions.

UNIONBlending, coming together,

combinationThe act of joining together

people or things

ESTABLISHCreate, start, begin, set upTo start or set up something

that is intended to continue

JUSTICEFairness, fair play, morality

INSURE

Make certain, make sureTo make sure something will

happen

DOMESTIC

home, household, family, national, internal

Happening within one country

TRANQUILITYPeaceful, calm, quiet

COMMON General, universal, shared,

everyone’sBelonging to, or shared by

two or more people or things

PROMOTE Endorse, encourage, support,

sponsorTo encourage the growth and

development of something

GENERAL universal, common, wide-

ranging Including all or nearly all the

members of a group

WELFARE

well-being, health, security, success

LIBERTYFreedom independencethe state of being free within

society from oppressive restrictions

POSTERITYfuture generations

ORDAIN

order, proclaim, command, establish To order or establish something

formally, especially by law

 

THE PREAMBLE

WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We, the people of the United States

All the citizens of the United States

in order to form a more perfect

Union,

To come together and make things better for everyone who lives in our country

Establish Justice

To make things fair for all people

insure domestic Tranquility,

To make sure we can all have a good life and get along with one another

Provide for the common

defense,

To provide protectionto everyone

Promote general welfare,

To make life good for everybody by providing food, shelter, and safety

And secure the blessings of Liberty

To protect our rights and freedoms and not let anyone take them away

To ourselvesand

our posterity,

For ourselves and all our children and their children and every generation to come

Do ordain and establishthis Constitution

To approve of and begin to follow

For the United States of

America.

Our country,where we live

ASSIGNMENT Rewrite the Preamble changing the

underlined words. It must make sense. Read it out loud to yourself to make sure. You can rearrange the words to allow your paragraph to make sense.

DUE FEBRUARY 10, 2015 Assignment Name: Preamble

Rewrite

BASIC IDEAS THE FOUNDERS

INCLUDED IN THE CONSTITUTION

1. Natural Rights and Higher Law

Purpose of government is to protect the rights of people to life, liberty, and property (natural rights)

Everyone had to obey the state constitution (higher law)

2. Social ContractThe people agree to form a government to protect their natural rights

3. Popular SovereigntyThe idea that the people give the government its power

The government has no power unless the people give it to them

4. RepresentationThe legislature should be

made up of representatives elected by the people

1st limited to white property owning men

5. Separation of Powers A government divided into

different branches to keep powers separated

Legislative Branch-law making Executive Branch-enforces laws Judicial Branch-  interpret the law,

determine the constitutionality of the law, and apply it 

6. Checks and Balances One branch makes sure the other

branch is not abusing their powers In the legislature there were

usually two houses that kept checks on each other

Voters could elect new representatives if they didn’t like the way the government was working

7. Legislative Supremacy The majority of the governments power is

given to the legislative branch because these are the representatives elected by the people

Most didn’t like the idea of giving the governor (executive) lots of power because they remembered how the governors appointed by the king had abused their power

8. Declaration of Rights

Most state constitutions included a declaration of rights (Bill of Rights)

List of the basic rights of citizens

Bill of Rights Right to vote Elections Freedom of

speech and press

No taxation w/o representation

The right to have An attorney A jury trial Protection from illegal

searches and seizures Protection against self-

incrimination Protection from excessive

bail and fines Protection against cruel

and unusual punishment