The Articles of Confederation.
True or False: The Constitution we use today is the only one we've ever used.
False: Before our current Constitution we had the Articles of Confederation.
What city did the Constitutional Convention take place in?
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
What does the word "Ratify" mean?
To approve / to pass.
What are the three branches of government?
Legislative/Congress, Executive/President, Judicial/Supreme Court.
The President is only allowed to have _____ terms.
Two four year terms.
The nine members of the Supreme Court are called _____.
Justices.
What does the word "constitution" mean?
A document that sets the rules of how a government functions.
What disagreement did the Three Fifths Compromise settle?
Whether or not to count slaves as part of the population.
What is a "bill of rights"?
A list of rights the government can not take away.
What are the two houses of Congress called?
The House of Representatives & the Senate.
What is the Vice-President's job?
To become President if the President dies, is fired or quits.
To cast tie breaking votes in the Senate.
The members of the Supreme Court are chosen by _____, and approved by _____.
What were the Articles of Confederation?
The first constitution of the United States.
What was the New Jersey Plan?
The proposal that every state should send an equal number of representatives to Congress.
Founding Father ________ wrote a series of essays called The Federalist Papers to argue why the Constitution was a good idea.
Alexander Hamilton and/or James Madison.
The Legislative Branch is responsible for ______ the laws.
Creating / Writing.
The Executive Branch is responsible for ______ the laws.
Enforcing / Carrying Out.
The Judicial Branch is responsible for ______ the laws.
Interpreting / Explaining.
What was one of the strengths of the Articles of Confederation?
It kept the 13 states united during the Revolutionary War.
It set up how new states are added to the country.
What was the Virginia Plan?
The proposal that number of representatives a state sends to Congress should be based on population.
What did the Federalists believe about government and the Constitution?
They believed a strong national government was a good thing and that the Constitution should be ratified.
The number of representatives in the House of Representatives is _____ . The number of representatives in the Senate is _____.
Based on a state's population.
Equal.
The President has advisors who run the various executive Departments. This group is called the _____.
Presidential Cabinet.
What is the difference between "Civil" and "Criminal" trials?
Civil trials: settle legal disputes between people.
Criminal trials: determines if someone is guilty or innocent of a crime.
What was one of the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?
There was no national military.
The national government couldn't tax people.
There was no national currency.
There was no system of checks and balances.
What event led to Americans realizing the Articles of Confederation were not working and needed to be replaced?
Shay's Rebellion.
What did the Anti-Federalists believe about government and the Constitution?
They believed a strong national government was a bad idea and opposed ratifying the Constitution.
Congress has the ability to "impeach" a President. What does this mean?
Congress holds a trial to decide whether or not the President should be removed from office.
The President of the United States has "veto power". What does this mean?
The President can refuse to sign a law and send it back to Congress.
Why is the U.S. government split into multiple branches?
To prevent any one branch from getting to much power. We call this "Separation of Powers" and "Checks and Balances".
Why did the Articles of Confederation intentionally make the national government weak?
Because people were afraid that if the government is too strong it can take away people's rights.
What did the Great Compromise do to solve the disagreement over how many representatives each state gets?
It agreed to split Congress in two and use both the New Jersey and the Virginia Plans.
What did the Federalists do to convince the Anti-Federalists to support the Constitution?
They agreed to add a Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
How does a bill become a law?
Step One: Propose a bill to a committee.
Step Two: Debate and vote on it in one house of Congress.
Step Three: Debate and vote on it in the second house of Congress.
Step Four: The President signs it.
What is the Electoral College?
The group of electors who chose the President of the United States based on how their states people voted.
The Supreme Court has the power of Judicial Review. What does this mean?
The Supreme Court reviews whether or not laws are constitutional or unconstitutional (or whether or not they follow the rules of the Constitution).