American Government Study Guide

a state is a party. In other cases, the supreme court will act as the highest appeals court of the land. The power of the judicial branch increased with the ruling in Marbury vs. Madison in 1803. Thi s gave the supreme court the power of judicial review to declare any law or action unconstitutional if it violates the constitution. This solidi�ies the role of the courts to interpret the law. 3.4 Article IV The States Article IV of the United States Constitution deals directly with how states relate to one another and with the federal government. This was necessary to ensure the separation of the levels of government between the state and federal governments and to enable a stronger centralized federal government. At the beginning of article IV, the founding fathers established the full faith and credit clause. This is the idea that each state will honor the other states laws and agreements. This would ensure the safety and rights of American citizens traveling from state to state. Also included is the idea that each person is granted the same privileges and immunities regardless of what state they are coming from and what state they are entering. Even though states maintain their autonomy, it is required that all Amer- ican citizens are treated equally. Article IV includes the process of admitting new states into the union. All new states need is Congres- sional approval to be formed, but there are some restriction s to how states can be formed. The �irst rule is that a state cannot be made within the land of a speci�ic state that already exists. Also, if a state forms out of two different states’ land, then each state’s legislature must approve of the formation of a new state. Lastly, the governments of each i ndividual state must re�lect the national government of the United States of America. This means that each state must have republic , or representative form of govern- ment. States have three branches of government. They each have a state Congress, a chief executive or governor, and a state supreme court. This ensures a continuity between levels of government. 3.5 Article V The Amendment Process The founding fathers left a process in the constitution to change or amend the constitution for future generational needs and concerns. There are two ways the constitution can be changed but only one of them actually get used. The �irst and most used option is initiated by the United States Congress. If both the House and the Senate have a two-thirds majority to present a bill as an amendment to the constitution. This bill doesn’t require presidential approval since the two thirds congressional override already exists. Then the potential amendment is presented to all of the states’ legislatures. If three-fourths of the legislatures approve, then the bill becomes an amendment to the constitution.

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