🪴 Jacob's Notes

Unit 5 - The Constitution Part 4

Mar 10, 20253 min read

Part 1 Part 3 unit5-pt2

Article 2

Section 1

  • Executive Branch
  • President of the United States
  • Serves a 4 year term
  • No re-election limit until 22nd amendment
  • President is elected by electoral college
    • Process by which states get votes
    • Based on Amount of representatives plus 2 senators, need 270 to win, which is majority of 538
    • Minimum amount of electors for 1 state is 3
  • The President and Vice President are a package deal
  • Requirements:
    • Natural born citizen
    • 35 years old
    • resident of US for 14 years

Presidential Succession List

  1. President
  2. VP
  3. Speaker of House
  4. Pres of Senate Pro Tempore
  5. Sec of State
  6. Sec of Defense
  7. Sec of Treasury
  8. Attorney General
  • Presidential salary cannot be increased or decreased within their term

Section 2

  • President is also head of all departments, like the treasury or DoD
  • Power to offer pardons is given to president
  • President is nations chief diplomat
    • Can make treaties with other nations
    • Must be ratified by 2/3 of senate
  • Other powers:
    • Appoint ambassadors
    • Appoint federal judges and Supreme Court justices
    • Cabinet secretaries
    • Appoint other offices, but must be approved by Senate
  • Recess appointments can be made to fill a vacancy, but will expire after next senate section
  • President can convene both parts of congress
  • Receives foreign ambassadors and as head of state
  • Enforces federal laws

Article 3

Section 1

  • Supreme Court
  • No requirements, no term limits
  • appointed by president
  • Congress may create lower federal courts
  • Responsibilities of fed courts:
    • Anything with constitution
    • Federal laws
    • treaties
    • cases with ambassadors
    • admirality and maritime
    • cases involving US
    • cases between states

Section 2

  • All cases subject to trial by jury
  • All trials held in state of which crime is committed
  • Congress can choose what state something is charged in if it is not explicit

Section 3

  • Defines treason as levying war against America or giving aid to enemies
  • 2 witnesses need to be present for treason
  • Death penalty

Article 4

Section 1

  • Relations among states
  • Full faith and credit clause: states need to respect the records and courts of other states
    • Ex. Drivers licenses

Section 2

  • States cannot discriminate against citizens of other states
  • Extradition: Executives can send fugitives back to the state in which the crime was committed

Section 3

  • Congress can admit new states
  • New states cannot be formed out of old states unless both agree and congress
  • Congress governs all territories and property belonging to the United States

Section 4

  • Federal government guarantees each state a republican form of government
  • States can ask the federal government for help in quelling violence or unrest

Article 5

  • The Amendment Process
  • Congressional Route
    • 2/3 of both houses of congress
    • 3/4 of state legislatures
  • State route
    • 2/3 of states in convention
    • 3/4 of state legislatures vote for it

Article 6

  • The US will honor all debts incurred prior to the adoption of the Constitution
  • The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and then it goes to federal, then the states
  • Elected officials are bound by oath to support the constitution
  • No religious test will ever be required for public office

Article 7

  • Ratification fo Constitution
  • 9/13 states had to approve of it, then the govt was formed
    • All 13 ratified

Backlinks

Graph View