📜 Constitutions
What is a constitution?
An overall plan for how government works
What does limited government mean?
Government has power, but there are limits on what it can do.
In a republic, who do citizens elect?
Representatives.
What freedom allows people to have their own religious beliefs?
Religious freedom.
True or False: The new states wrote their own constitutions after independence.
True
True or False: Ordinary laws must follow the constitution.
Name ONE job that government needs power to do.
Build roads, support schools, collect taxes, etc.
What is direct democracy?
People vote directly on government decisions.
True or False: A state government can force everyone to practice the same religion.
False
What does the word contradiction mean?
Two ideas or things that do not match / go against each other.
A state makes a law that goes against its constitution. What do we call that law?
Unconstitutional
Who had most of the power in many new state governments: the legislature or the governor?
The legislature.
People elect Sofia to make decisions for them. Is this direct or representative democracy?
Representative democracy.
What does freedom of speech protect?
People's right to express their opinions and ideas.
Why was slavery a contradiction to American ideas about liberty and equality?
Enslaved people were denied the liberty, equality, and rights Americans said people deserved.
A constitution explains what the government CAN do. What else does it explain?
What the government CANNOT do / limits on government power.
A governor wants to make every decision alone, without following the constitution. What Chapter 2 idea is being ignored?
Limited government.
Why would direct democracy be difficult in a large state?
There are too many people and decisions for everyone to vote on every issue.
A group peacefully gathers to ask the government to change a law. Name ONE right they are using.
Freedom of assembly or the right to petition the government.
After independence, did every state respond to slavery in the same way?
NO. Some northern states ended slavery immediately, some states used gradual plans, and southern states did not end slavery at that time.
A state constitution says the governor cannot make laws alone. The governor makes a new law without the legislature anyway.
What TWO things are wrong with this situation?
The governor is not following the constitution.
The governor is using power that the constitution does not give them.
Why did Americans want government to have SOME power but not TOO MUCH power?
It needed enough power to do its jobs, but limits were necessary to protect people's rights and prevent abuse of power.
Explain the difference between direct democracy and representative democracy.
Direct democracy: people vote on issues themselves. Representative democracy: people elect representatives who make decisions for them.
What does separation of church and state mean in Chapter 2?
The government does not establish an official state religion or control people's religious beliefs.
After independence, Americans gave their state legislatures more power but gave their governors less power.
Why did Americans make this decision?
Americans feared having another leader with too much power, like the king. They trusted elected legislatures more because the people chose their representatives.