Facts about the US Constitution you might want to know

U.S. Constitution

The primary source of law is the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the blueprint for the country's legal system. It is the highest form of law. States also have their own constitutions, which serve as their highest forms of legal documents. If a law does not comport with the Constitution, the law is declared unconstitutional or void.

What this means is that other forms of law must comport with the Constitution. In other words, a common legal claim asserted by a party challenging a law is that the law is unconstitutional. This means that the law violates a provision of the Constitution and is unenforceable.

What does the U.S. Constitution do?

This most fundamental of all legal documents defines and limits the powers of the federal government. It also separates and defines the powers of this federal government into three branches of government - the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Constitution also establishes the baseline between the federal government and various state governments.

The U.S. Constitution has seven articles

The U.S. Constitution is composed of seven articles. The first three articles are the longest and arguably the most important. These three articles explain the powers of the three branches of government - legislative, executive, and judicial.

Article I of the Constitution outlines the powers of the U.S. Congress. Article II outlines the power of the president - the chief officer of the executive branch. Article III outlines the powers of the judicial branch.

Article IV deals with the states and how the laws of one state are treated in other states. It also deals with how to admit a state to the union. Article V describes the amendment process. Article VI - a very short part of the Constitution - contains the Supremacy Clause, which ensures that federal law and the Constitution are the highest law of the land. Article VII consists of a single sentence explaining that it would take nine states to ratify the Constitution.

What is federalism?

Federalism refers to a division of power between the federal government and the state governments. In federalism, some powers are delegated to the national, federal government and other powers are kept or reserved by the state governments.

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