AP® United States History review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/us-history/units/3/3-9)
Unit 3 · Topic 3.9
3.9 The Constitution
The Constitution created a limited but flexible national government. It divides power between the national government and the states (federalism) and among three branches that check one another, and it can be amended. Its compromises and vague wording also left room for long debates over federal power and slavery.
Key terms
- federalism
- separation of powers
- checks and balances
- limited government
- amendment process
Popular sovereignty and limited government
The Constitution begins 'We the People', signaling popular sovereignty, the idea that the government's authority comes from the people. It is also a limited government: it has only the powers the Constitution grants. Article I lists Congress's enumerated powers, such as taxing, borrowing money, regulating trade between states and with foreign nations and with Native nations, coining money, declaring war and raising armies.
But the Constitution is also flexible. The necessary and proper clause, often called the elastic clause, lets Congress pass laws needed to carry out its listed powers. How far that clause stretches became one of the first big arguments of the new government (3.10).
Federalism
Federalism means power is shared between the national government and the state governments. Some powers belong to the national government (foreign policy, coining money), some to the states (running elections, local government, most criminal law), and some are shared (taxing). The supremacy clause in Article VI makes the Constitution and federal laws the 'supreme Law of the Land' when they conflict with state laws. The Tenth Amendment reserves powers not given to the national government to the states or the people.
The line between federal and state power was not drawn precisely, so Americans fought over it repeatedly: in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798), the Nullification Crisis (1832) and secession (1860–1861).
Separation of powers and checks and balances
The Constitution separates powers among three branches so that no one person or group holds all power: Congress makes laws (Article I), the president enforces them (Article II), and the courts decide cases under them (Article III). Each branch can check the others.
| Branch | Main power | Example checks on other branches |
|---|---|---|
| Legislative (Congress) | Makes laws; controls taxing and spending | Can override a veto with two-thirds of both houses; the Senate approves treaties (two-thirds) and confirms appointments; the House can impeach and the Senate can remove officials |
| Executive (President) | Enforces laws; commands the military; conducts foreign policy | Can veto bills; appoints judges |
| Judicial (Courts) | Decides cases under the Constitution and laws | Judicial review: can strike down unconstitutional laws (established in Marbury v. Madison, 1803) |
Limits on direct democracy, and amendment
The framers trusted ordinary voters only partly. Voters elected the House directly, but state legislatures chose senators (until the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913), and the Electoral College chose the president. States set voting qualifications, which usually meant only white men with property could vote at first.
The amendment process makes change possible but hard. An amendment must be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress (or by a convention requested by two-thirds of the states) and ratified by three-fourths of the states. This let the Constitution adapt, as with the Bill of Rights and later the Reconstruction amendments (5.10).
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Linking a principle to a fear
Short-answer practice: Briefly explain ONE way the structure of the Constitution reflected the framers' concerns about the abuse of power.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Name a principle: separation of powers, checks and balances, or federalism.
- Step 2: Describe how it works with a specific example.
- Step 3: Explain the fear behind it and where that fear came from.
Answer: Model answer: The framers built in checks and balances so that no branch could dominate the others; for example, the president can veto laws passed by Congress, but Congress can override that veto with a two-thirds vote. This reflected their experience with what they saw as the tyranny of King George III and Parliament, and Enlightenment thinkers like Montesquieu who argued that dividing power protects liberty.
Common mistakes
- Saying judicial review is written in the Constitution. The Supreme Court claimed it in Marbury v. Madison (1803).
- Confusing separation of powers (among the three branches) with federalism (between national and state governments).
- Thinking the original Constitution let voters elect senators. State legislatures chose them until 1913.
On the exam
- APUSH tests the Constitution as history: why the framers built it this way and what arguments it caused. You do not need the detail of an AP Government course.
- Debates over federal versus state power run from 1787 to the Civil War. This topic is a good anchor for continuity and change essays.
Connected topics
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Check yourself
4 questions on 3.9 The Constitution. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Which of the following is an example of checks and balances in the United States Constitution?
Which feature of the original Constitution most clearly reflects the framers' wish to limit the direct power of popular majorities?
Under the Constitution, powers such as coining money and making treaties belong to the national government, while the states keep powers such as running elections and setting up local governments. This arrangement is an example of
Article II: "Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."
Article VIII: "All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defense or general welfare . . . shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the value of all land within each State . . . . The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States . . . ."
Article XIII: ". . . nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State."
Source: Articles of Confederation, approved by the Continental Congress in 1777 and in effect from 1781 to 1789.
The Constitution of 1787 most directly addressed the problem created by Article II by
0 of 4 answered