Preamble
Article I, Sections 1-6
Article I, Sections 1-6
What opening three words describe the source of government authority in the U.S. Constitution?
WE THE PEOPLE
What part of the legislature must all bills for raising revenue originate?
The House of Representatives
How are the number of Electors determined per state for the Electoral College?
Add up the number of Senators and Representatives the state has in Congress
What article of the Constitution established a new Supreme Court?
Article III (3)
Bicameral, or divided into a Senate (equal representation) and a House (proportionate representation)
Identify TWO key powers of Congress under the Constitution that were not granted in the Articles of Confederation:
How many persons were Electors required to vote for on their ballot in the first iteration of the Electoral College system?
Two
(Amended in 1804, 12th Amendment, after the whole Aaron Burr thing)
Article VI (6)
What are the respective age, citizenship, and term requirements for Representatives and Senators?
House Reps = 25 years old, 7 years a citizen, 2 year term
Senators = 30 years old, 9 years a citizen, 6 year term
The Commerce Clause gives the Congress the power to do what?
Regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the states, and with "Indian Tribes"
According to the Electoral College system, what happens if no presidential candidate receives a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed?
The House shall immediately choose by ballot one candidate and vote by state delegation (one vote per state no matter the total number of representatives)
Summarize the meaning of the Full Faith and Credit Clause. (ARTICLE IV)
Requires that state courts respect the laws and judgments of courts from other states; this clause attempts to prevent conflict among states and ensure the dependability of judgments across the country
Prior to the first census, each state was prescribed an initial number of representatives in the House. Which state received the most representatives in the First Congress?
Virginia
What voting threshold of both the House and the Senate is required to override a presidential veto?
Two-Thirds
In the original Constitution, what happens if the President AND Vice President are Removed, or both Dead, or both Resigned, or both Unable to discharge the Powers and Duties of the Office?
Congress declares what Officer shall act as President, selected the Speaker of the House
What is the voting threshold for Congress or State-legislature-made Conventions to PROPOSE Amendments for ratification? (ARTICLE V)
Two-Thirds
Who becomes the President of the Senate AND what is this person's enumerated power?
The Vice President of the United States
"Shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided" = tiebreaker vote in the Senate
What clause is known as the "elastic clause" because it allows Congress the flexibility to create new laws needed for executing its powers?
The Necessary and Proper Clause
The VP received the second most votes for President
What is the voting threshold for for state legislatures or state conventions to RATIFY proposed constitutional amendments? (ARTICLE V)
Three-Fourths
House = "sole power of impeachment," or they pass the articles of impeachment by simple majority
Senate = "sole power to try all impeachments," or they conduct the impeachment trial for removal by supermajority 2/3 vote
The only temporary denied power to Congress in the Constitution was to not prohibit _____ for 20 years.
Slavery, or "the migration or importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit"
Identify TWO formal powers of the presidency that require the two-thirds "advice and consent" of the Senate:
Make Treaties
Appointment of Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the U.S.
What threshold of the 13 state conventions needed to ratify the new Constitution in order for it to be "sufficiently" passed and implemented as the new law of the land? (ARTICLE VII)
9 of 13
What political entity in the U.S. Federal system has the power of prescribing the "Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives?"
What export policy differed in the USA from other countries of the era?
No tax or duty shall be laid on exports from any state
What are the THREE criterion for removal from office on impeachment?
Conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors
Fill in the blank: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a _____ Form of Government. (ARTICLE IV)
Republican
For what two apportionments was the Census along with the Three-Fifths Rule used to determine?
Number of Representatives in the House per State
Direct Taxes per State
What legal privilege cannot be suspended unless in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it?
Complete the sentence: "The President shall be Commander in Chief of the ____ and ____ of the United States, and of the ____ of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States."
Army
Navy
Militia
Summarize the meaning of the Privileges AND Immunities Clause. (ARTICLE IV)
This clause protects the fundamental rights of individual citizens and restrains state efforts to discriminate against out-of-state citizens
When a vacancy happens in the representation from any state who has the enumerated power to temporarily fill the seat and call for a special election?
According to the Constitution, "No Bills of Attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." Define each bold term:
Bill of Attainder = a piece of legislation that declares a party is guilty of a crime; they allow the government to punish a party for a perceived crime without first going through the trial process
Ex post facto law = a criminal statute that punishes actions retroactively, thereby criminalizing conduct that was legal when originally performed
What are the unique age, citizenship, residency, and term requirements for the President?
35 years old, natural born citizen, 14 years a resident within the U.S., and 4 year terms
Amendments and laws changing the legal protection of the slave trade could be considered for the first time in what year? (ARTICLE V)
1808
Identify FOUR of the six ideals or purposes listed for the U.S. government in the Preamble of the Constitution:
More Perfect Union
Establish Justice
Insure Domestic Tranquility
Provide for the Common Defense
Promote the General Welfare
Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity
Identify FOUR powers are expressly denied to the States by the U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 10?
No state shall: Make treaties, alliances, or confederations, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, coin money, emit Bills of Credit, accept anything but specie in payment of debts, pass Bills of Attainder, or ex post facto laws, or laws impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any titles of nobility; nor may they (without the consent of Congress) lay imposts or duties on imports or exports, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in peace time, enter into any agreement or compact with another state or foreign power, or engage in War (unless actually invaded or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay)
Identify FOUR formal powers of the presidency that do not require the "advice and consent" of the Senate:
Commander in Chief
Power to require Executive Department opinion writing
Power grant Reprieves and Pardons
Fill vacant executive department commissions while senate is in recess
State of the Union
Convene Congress on extraordinary occasions
Receive ambassadors (Chief Diplomat)
Take care that the laws be faithfully executed
Commission all officers of the U.S.
What is the Constitution's definition of Treason and what is required to convict a person of treason?
"Levying War" against the U.S., or "adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."
Testimony of two witnesses to the same overt Act or Confession in open Court