Facts about the Constitution
Recite the FIRST THREE WORDS of the Preamble to
WE THE PEOPLE (of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Unites States of America.)
Name the two PLANS related to the conflict the states had when it came to deciding representation. Describe the major difference between the states.
What are the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan. New Jersey represented the smaller states, and Virginia represented the larger states. The major difference was SIZE (or population).
What are the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
The purpose of the Preamble to the US Constitution
What is to explain the purpose of the document? (To tell WHY the Constitution was written)
A Federalist believes....
What is the power should lie with a strong central government ("Federal" is very similar to "national" - the whole country.)
Name two rights covered by the Bill of Rights, OTHER THAN (not including) the first amendment.
Various answers, including:
the right to bear arms, no housing of soldiers, freedom from illegal search and seizure, right to a fair trial, no cruel or unusual punishment, certain rights go to people, certain rights go to states
Name the three PARTS of the Constitution
What are the Preamble, the (seven) Articles, and the Amendments (NOT the Bill of Rights!)
Only the United States Congress which consists of _________ and the ______________ has the power to ______________.
The House of Representatives and the Senate MAKE (federal) Laws
The main reason the Bill of Rights was needed....
Anti-Federalist patriots realized that describing basic rights and freedoms would be crucial to safeguarding the American way of life (and preventing another situation like they had under King George III.)
FULLY explain the 3/5ths Compromise: what was it, why was it necessary, who did it effect?
What is: a compromise that said every five enslaved people would count as three white men for population when determining the number of representatives each state would get. It was necessary because slave states wanted them to count for representation, but not for taxes, and non-slave states did not want them to count (since they could not vote).
The Bill of Rights was not part of the ORIGINAL Constitution. When was it added? (About how many years later? You will get credit if you are within one year of the correct answer.)
What is 1791? The original Constitution was signed ("ratified") on 1788, so... three years later.
Several States refused to ratify the Constitution until a ___________ was added.
Bill of Rights.
The ______________ is the highest elected official in the United States. This person is the head of the ____________ Branch, and their power is to __________ __________.
President.... enforce laws
Define "bicameral," AND explain how it is used in the US Constitution.
"bi" means two, and "camera" means "vaulted building; arched roof or ceiling," from Latin camera "a vault, vaulted room." It refers to the two houses of Congress
Describe and explain the Great Compromise. What was the problem, what was the solution / outcome?
What is: the larger states (with higher populations) wanted representation to be based on number of people. The smaller states (who had less people) wanted equal representation for every state.
The solution was to create two "houses" to Congress: one with representation based on population (The House of Representatives) and one with equal representation (The Senate).
This amendment guarantees DUE PROCESS OF LAW, it also protects the accused from being coerced to testify against himself. This is the ________ th Amendment.
What is the 5th Amendment?
Explain how the US Constitution came to be. (What was the plan when the Committee met? Why?)
The Constitutional Committee met to fix the Articles of Confederation, but there were SO many mistakes, they couldn't. The Constitution is the result.
The Judicial Branch consists of the ______________ _________ and the lower _________. Their job is to ____________ the laws.
Supreme Court .... (lower) courts. INTERPRET (the laws)
The number of Articles to the Constitution
What is seven?
State the number of states that had to ratify the Constitution in order for it to take effect. Then, name at least five of those FIRST ____ (required number).
NINE states had to vote yes to ratify the Constitution. The first NINE states were:
The 1st amendment guarantees FIVE freedoms. Name at least FOUR of them.
What is Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Assembly and Freedom to Petition the government?