POL 101: U.S Government 2B

Checks and Balances - Fearing that any one branch would become too powerful the founders Created a system in which each branch acts as a power check on both other. Branches - Each branch can severely impede the abilities of other branches to implement Major change Constitutional Amendments - Constitution is very difficult to amend - There have only been 27 amendments since the constitution was ratified - 10 of these were added within the first 3 years of ratification as the bill of Rights - Most common way to amend constitution - First the amendment must be approved by 2/3 of both branches of Congress - Then the amendment must be ratified by ¾ of all state legislatures - This method has been used for just about every amendment Bill of Rights - The first 10 amendment to the constitution - Guarantee personal freedoms such as speech, assembly, religion, and press - Insisted on Anti-Federalists - Federalists felt it was not needed because of reserved power Constitutional Interpretation - The constitution is extremely vague and ambiguous in certain parts

- This had led to constant disagreements on the intent of the founders - Living constitution vs originalism