Articles of the Constitution
Learning the articles couldn't be easier!
Article I
Article 1 of the Constitution creates a bicameral legislature which is the Senate and the House of Representatives. Section 2 of the Article establishes the rules for the House of Representatives and Section 3 establishes the rules for the Senate. The Founding Fathers saw this branch as being the most important. This branch is responsible for making laws.
Article II
In Article 2 of the Constitution it states, ¨The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America¨. It also states that he shall hold office for a term of four years with a vice president. It states the criteria for running for president and also establishes the electoral college. This branch is responsible for enforcing laws.
Article III
The Judicial Branch is headed by the Supreme Court with the judge serving for as long as he shows ¨good behavior.¨ There is also a severe punishment for treason that was established by the Supreme Court. This branch is responsible for interpreting laws.
Article IV
This article covers how states must interact with each other and obey other states laws as well as the fact that all state governments must be democracies. It also states that any criminal fleeing a state that they committed a crime in must return to the state in which the crime took place so they can be tried. Also states cannot unite with other states to form one.
Article V
The amendment process is very complex. First, the bill must be passed in the Senate and House of Representatives with 2/3 of the people voting for the bill. Then it must be approved by 3/4 of the states' legislatures. The 21st amendment was the only one to use state legislatures for ratification. This article was established by the Founding Fathers because they knew that the document would not be perfect and knew that there had to be a way to change or amend it.
Article VI
This article establishes the fact that the Constitution is the ¨Supreme Law of the Land.¨ This talks about how if there is a disagreement between the state governments and the federal government, then the federal government will win. This is because the federal government has authority over the state governments.
Article VII
This articles states that after 9 of the 13 states ratify the Constitution, then the law will go into effect in those 9 states.