Sean
The constitution was written in 1788 by our founding fathers and is a set of rules that guides how the US government works.
It does 3 things:
1. It divides the national government into 3 branches consisting of a legislative, an executive, and the judicial branch, with a system of checks and balances, amount the three branches.
Examples of checks and balances are:
a. The House can vote to impeach the president, but the Senate must approve it.
b. The president can issue an executive order, but the supreme court can rule it unconstitutional.
c. A congressman, or congressmen, can create a bill, but it won’t become law unless both legislative bodies approve it and the president signs off on it.
d. The president nominates the supreme court justices but the senate must approve them.
The constitution also tells the branches what powers they have and how they work.
2. It divides the power between the federal government and the states.
3. It protects the various individual liberties and rights of the citizens.
Quickly gain a basic understanding of what the U.S. Constitution is, why it was written, and what it says by watching the video.
