The US Constitution | Period 3: 1754-1800 | AP US History | Khan Academy

Summary

This video script delves into the U.S. Constitution's structure, emphasizing its brevity and flexibility. It outlines the three branches of government established by the first three articles: the legislative (Article 1), the executive (Article 2), and the judicial (Article 3). The framers' intent was to balance power through separation of powers and checks and balances, ensuring no single branch dominates, thus maintaining a democratic and accountable government.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The U.S. Constitution was designed with a bicameral legislature, consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate, to balance representation based on population and equal state representation.
• 📜 The Constitution is notably concise, spanning only four pages, which was intentional to establish broad principles rather than specific laws.
• 🌐 The U.S. Constitution is the oldest national constitution still in effect, a testament to its flexibility and enduring principles.
• 🔑 The framers created a three-branch government to address the weaknesses of the single branch under the Articles of Confederation.
• ⚖️ The legislative branch, established in Article 1, was considered the most powerful, with the authority to make laws, tax, raise an army, and coin money.
• 🏅 The executive branch, outlined in Article 2 and headed by the President, is responsible for enforcing laws and has significant influence in foreign affairs.
• 📚 The judicial branch, as per Article 3, is headed by the Supreme Court, which interprets laws and determines their constitutionality.
• 🔄 The framers aimed to separate powers among the branches to prevent the concentration of power and to ensure a system of checks and balances.
• 🚫 The concept of checks and balances allows each branch to limit the powers of the others, such as the President's veto or the Supreme Court declaring laws unconstitutional.
• 🤝 Cooperation is necessary among the branches for effective governance, as they are designed to work together while keeping each other in check.

Q & A

What was the key compromise made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?

The key compromise was the agreement on a bicameral legislature, consisting of a House of Representatives with members apportioned based on state population and a Senate with two senators per state, regardless of its size.

How many articles are there in the U.S. Constitution?

There are seven articles in the U.S. Constitution.

Why was the U.S. Constitution designed to be relatively short and broad?

The Constitution was designed to be broad and concise to establish principles rather than specific laws, allowing for flexibility and application to various situations.

What is unique about the U.S. Constitution in comparison to other nations' constitutions?

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest constitution still in effect at the national level, which is a significant achievement considering its age and continued relevance.

Which branch of government was intended to be the most powerful according to the framers of the Constitution?

According to the framers, the legislative branch, established in Article 1, was intended to be the most powerful, as it was given the power to make laws, tax, raise an army, and coin money.

What is the role of the executive branch as established in Article 2 of the Constitution?

The executive branch, headed by the president, is responsible for enforcing or carrying out the laws made by Congress, including waging war, negotiating treaties, and appointing government officials.

What is the primary function of the judicial branch as outlined in Article 3?

The judicial branch, headed by the Supreme Court, is tasked with interpreting laws and determining whether actions by Congress and the president are within the bounds of the Constitution.

Why did the framers of the Constitution create a three-branch government?

The framers created a three-branch government to remedy the problems caused by the single branch government under the Articles of Confederation and to ensure a separation of powers to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

What is the principle of checks and balances in the context of the U.S. Constitution?

Checks and balances refer to the system where each branch of government can limit the powers of the other branches to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.

How can the president check the power of Congress?

The president can check the power of Congress by using the veto to reject laws they do not agree with.

How can the Supreme Court check the power of the executive and legislative branches?

The Supreme Court can check the power of the executive and legislative branches by declaring laws unconstitutional if they are not consistent with the Constitution.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ The Structure of the U.S. Constitution

The video script begins by discussing the bicameral legislature agreed upon at the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which included a House of Representatives with members apportioned by state population and a Senate with two senators per state. The script then transitions to an overview of the broader U.S. Constitution, emphasizing its brevity and the principles it establishes rather than specific laws. The original Constitution is noted for its conciseness, fitting on only four pages, in contrast to other nations' lengthy constitutions. The purpose of this brevity is to provide flexibility and broad guidelines for lawmaking. The script highlights the Constitution's endurance, being the oldest national constitution still in effect, and introduces the concept of a three-branch government as a solution to the problems of the single branch under the Articles of Confederation. The legislative branch is described as the most powerful, with law-making and taxation powers, while the executive branch, led by the President, is responsible for enforcing laws and conducting foreign affairs. The judicial branch, with the Supreme Court at its head, interprets laws and ensures they align with the Constitution.

05:02

🔍 Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

The second paragraph delves into the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances within the U.S. Constitution. The framers aimed to disperse government power across three branches to prevent the concentration of power and to mimic the dynamic of a game, where each branch can 'check' the others. The President can veto laws made by Congress, and Congress can impeach the President. The judicial branch's role is to review the constitutionality of laws and actions by the other branches. The Supreme Court has the power to declare laws unconstitutional. The President can influence the judicial branch by appointing judges, and Congress can impeach justices or alter court jurisdictions. This system of checks and balances is designed to maintain a balance of power and prevent any one branch from becoming too dominant, ensuring that government remains accountable and its power is kept in check.

Keywords

💡Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention refers to the gathering of delegates in 1787 to discuss and draft a new constitution for the United States. This event is pivotal to the video's theme as it sets the stage for the creation of the U.S. government structure. The convention resulted in the Great Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature.

💡Bicameral Legislature

A bicameral legislature consists of two separate chambers or houses. In the context of the video, this refers to the structure of the U.S. Congress, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. This concept is central to understanding the balance of power within the legislative branch.

💡House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one part of the U.S. Congress, where members are elected based on the population of their state. It exemplifies the principle of representation and is a key component of the legislative branch's structure discussed in the video.

💡Senate

The Senate is the other part of the U.S. Congress, where each state is represented by two senators regardless of population size. It highlights the principle of equal state representation within the legislative branch.

💡Separation of Powers

Separation of Powers is a core principle in the U.S. Constitution that divides government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another. The video emphasizes this principle by discussing the creation of three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.

💡Checks and Balances

Checks and balances is a system where each branch of government can limit the powers of the others. The video uses the metaphor of a 'giant governmental game of rock, paper, scissors' to illustrate how this system prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful.

💡Executive Branch

The executive branch, established in Article 2 of the Constitution, is headed by the President and is responsible for enforcing the laws made by Congress. The video discusses the executive branch's role in the three-branch system and its growth in power over time.

💡Judicial Branch

The judicial branch, established in Article 3, is headed by the Supreme Court and is tasked with interpreting laws and determining their constitutionality. The video explains how the judicial branch acts as a check on the legislative and executive branches by declaring laws unconstitutional.

💡Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States and served as the basis for the government before the current Constitution was adopted. The video mentions the Articles to contrast the problems it caused, such as a lack of a strong executive, with the improvements made in the new Constitution.

💡Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law that establishes the framework for the federal government. The video marvels at the Constitution's brevity and its establishment of broad principles that have allowed it to remain effective for over 200 years.

💡George Washington

George Washington, mentioned in the video, was the first president of the United States and a key figure in the country's early history. His role as the first executive is used to illustrate the executive branch's function and the importance of the presidency.

Highlights

The Constitutional Convention in 1787 resulted in a compromise for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate.

The House of Representatives has members apportioned based on state population, while each state gets two senators regardless of size.

The U.S. Constitution is notably concise, fitting the entire original document on four pages, in contrast to other nations' lengthy constitutions.

The Constitution establishes broad principles rather than specific laws, allowing for flexibility and application to various situations.

The U.S. Constitution is the oldest national constitution still in effect, a testament to its enduring design.

The framers created a three-branch government to address the shortcomings of the single-branch government under the Articles of Confederation.

Article 1 establishes Congress as the most powerful branch, responsible for making laws, taxing, raising an army, and minting money.

Article 2 establishes the executive branch, headed by the president, with responsibilities including enforcing laws and conducting foreign relations.

Article 3 establishes the judicial branch, with the Supreme Court at its head, tasked with interpreting laws and ensuring constitutionality.

The framers initially thought the judicial branch would be the weakest, but it has grown in power over time.

The Constitution's articles detail specific powers of each branch and the requirements for public office.

The separation of powers is a key principle of the Constitution, designed to prevent the concentration of too much power in one branch.

Checks and balances ensure that each branch can stop or check the actions of the others, akin to a game of rock, paper, scissors.

The president can veto laws made by Congress, and Congress can impeach the president.

The judicial branch can declare laws unconstitutional, providing a check on the legislative and executive branches.

The president can appoint judges, influencing the composition and rulings of the Supreme Court.

Congress can impeach justices or change the jurisdiction of lower courts to check the judicial branch.

The framers' design harnesses natural rivalries to keep government honest and prevent any branch from becoming too powerful.

Transcripts

- [Teacher] In the last video we discussed the great

compromise made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787,

where delegates who were trying to craft a new

governmental system for the United States agreed on how

the legislative branch of the government would be set up,

and the agreement they made was that it would be a two house

or bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives,

where the representatives would be apportioned

based on state population, and then a Senate where

every state would get two senators regardless of its size.

This is just one example of how the framers

of the constitution tried to introduce a notion of balance.

In this video, I wanna zoom out a little bit and look at

the broader constitution, because the legislative branch

was really only one part of it.

In fact, there are seven more articles of the constitution.

So here, I'd like to spend some time taking a closer look

at some of the other articles, paying special attention

to the executive branch and the judicial branch,

but before we do that, I just want to take a moment

to marvel at the size of the constitution.

Not because it's so big, but because it's so small.

This is the first page of the constitution,

famously starting with, "We the people," but the entire

original constitution could fit on four pages.

Compare that to the constitutions of many other nations

which are hundreds of pages long,

and I think the idea here in having a constitution

that's really only seven articles long

was that it was gonna set down principles.

This wasn't going to be a whole set of laws that outlined

everything that a state should do in any situation

but rather a set of broad ideas around which

lawmaking decisions could happen.

In a way, you could think of the constitution

as being kind of broad enough to be flexible.

They spoke in larger generalities that could be

applied to many different situations,

and I think the proof that this was a good way to think

about putting together a constitution is just in the fact

that we'd still have this constitution today,

more than 200 years after it was written in 1787.

The US Constitution is the oldest constitution in the world

that is still in effect at the national level.

I think that's a pretty big deal.

How did this constitution work?

Well, let's look a little bit more closely at these first

three articles and the branches of government they created.

One of the ways that the framers of the constitution

attempted to remedy the problems caused by the single branch

government under the Articles of Confederation

was creating a three branch government.

One branch, established in Article 1,

would be the Congress and within this building

is the House of Representatives and the Senate.

And this would be in the eyes of the framers,

really the most powerful of the branches.

They gave Congress the power to make law,

to tax, to raise an army, to coin money.

They really envisioned that most of the day to day

operations and most of the power of government

would fall under the duties of Congress,

but one thing that the Articles of Confederation

had lacked was a powerful executive,

so the second branch of government,

established in Article 2 is the executive branch,

the head of which is the president.

The job of the executive would be to enforce

or carry out the laws made by Congress,

and that would include doing things like waging war.

Remember that the first president was George Washington,

who had been the General of the Revolutionary Armies,

but the president could also kind of have the front lines

on dealing with foreign nations, so negotiating treaties,

and would also have the power

of appointing many government officials.

And lastly, the third branch would be the judicial branch

of government, established in Article 3.

The head of the judicial branch would be the Supreme Court,

the highest court in the land.

Of course, there are many other smaller courts

below it at the state and district level.

The Supreme Court's job, along with other courts,

would be to interpret the law, to see whether or not

things done by Congress and the president

fell within the bounds of the constitution.

And the framers really thought that the judicial branch

would end up being the weakest branch of government,

although both the presidency and the Supreme Court

have grown in power over the years.

Now, this is an incredibly brief overview

of these three branches.

These articles include lots more in them

about the specific powers of each of these branches

and the kinds of requirements one would need

to become a representative or president,

so I highly recommend that you read more about

the Constitution and check out these articles.

But what I want you to get out of this is that the framers

here were trying to separate the powers of government,

so they wanted to make sure that to avoid

having too much power in government.

Remember that they are trying to escape from the monarchy.

They want to make sure that government power

is kind of diffused among these three branches

with the idea that they're going to have to argue

with each other to get things done, they're going to have to

cooperate with each other to get things done,

so the separation of powers is one of the key

principles of the Constitution.

Another key principle is checks and balances.

What do I mean by checks and balances?

Well, this is the idea that each of the branches

of government has the power to check in the sense of stop,

like checkmate in chess, the other branches of government.

I think of this as kind of like a giant

governmental game of rock, paper, scissors.

Now, there are many ways that these branches can

check each other, but I just wanna give a couple of quick

examples to help you understand what that might be like.

Alright, say that Congress makes a law,

and the president doesn't like that law.

The president can use the power

of the veto to kill that law,

and if Congress gets annoyed enough with the president,

they might use their power to impeach the president.

What about the judicial branch?

The judicial branch's main checking function

is declaring laws unconstitutional.

The president or Congress may put through

a law that the Supreme Court says

is not consistent with the Constitution.

The judicial branch can then kill that law

by declaring it unconstitutional.

What happens if the other branches are unhappy

with the judicial branch?

One way that the president can check the judicial branch

is through appointing judges.

This would kind of change the composition of the court,

the people on the court, and so over time,

the presidency can influence who is on the Supreme Court

and how they rule on laws.

And lastly, if Congress isn't happy with the Supreme Court,

they might be able to impeach justices,

or change jurisdiction of the lower courts.

In this way, like the separation of powers,

the framers intended to make sure that

one branch couldn't get too powerful,

because it would be able to check the other branches.

You could really think of this as being a brilliant way

of harnessing peoples' natural inclination

to look out for themselves.

As rivalries developed, as people tried to do

what they thought was best, they could help keep

government honest by fighting among themselves,

and as they all strove and checked each other,

it would keep all of government from becoming too powerful.