The Constitutional Convention
What was the first government of the United States called that ended up failing miserably?
The Articles of Confederation
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
What is the main job of the Legislative Branch?
To create laws
What is the main job of the Executive Branch?
To enforce laws
What is the main job of the Judicial Branch?
To interpret laws and ensure those who do not follow the law are lawfully and fairly punished.
What do our founding fathers do at the Constitutional Convention?
They threw out the Articles of Confederation and wrote the Constitution.
How did we end up with a Bill of Rights?
Several states, and the anti-federalists in them, were afraid the Constitution did not protect individual rights, and wanted a document that listed those rights specifically.
What does Bicameral mean?
Two houses of Congress
Who is our current President and who is his vice-president?
VP: Michael R. Pence
What is the highest court in the land?
The Supreme Court
What were the two things our founding fathers argued about MOST?
Slavery and population representation for voting in congress.
Anti-federalists wanted a weak government central government with strong state governments and did not support the Constitution as it was written. They demanded a bill of rights.
True or False: There are no term limits for Senators and Representatives.
True; they can serve for life as long as they keep being reelected.
How long does a president serve, and how many terms can he serve?
The president serves for four years at a time and can run and win twice.
What can the Supreme Court do if they find a law is unconstitutional (goes against peoples' rights)?
They can cause the law to be done away with or changed. This is called Judicial Review.
What was the 3/5ths compromise?
It was the compromise that said that every three out of five slaves would be allowed to count as part of the population for voting representation and taxes. (This meant the southern states could have more representatives in congress, but had to pay more taxes).
What, exactly, does amendment mean?
Addition or change to something
How many members are in the Senate and how is that number decided?
There are 100 members, and that number is decided by each state being given two representatives.
What is ONE power the Executive Branch has over the Legislative Branch?
The president has the power to pass or veto (reject) laws given to him by the Legislative Branch.
Several of our first ten amendments talk about the courts. What does one of those amendments say?
That everyone is entitled to a fair trial
There will be jury trials in criminal cases
A civil trial can happen in any case over $20
You have the right to remain silent and not self-incriminate
You have the right to a public defender
You cannot have excessive bail
You have the right to know the charges against you.
You have the right to question all witnesses.
What does the first amendment says? What five rights does it lists?
RAPPS
Religion
Assembly
Press
Petition
Speech
How many members are in the House of Representatives and how is that number decided?
There are 435 members and how many representatives each state gets is determined by the population of that state.
What are some of the President's jobs?
Commander-in-chief
Foreign diplomat
Symbol of the nation
Enforcer
Vetoes laws/passes laws
Obeys the Constitution
Defends the Constitution
Protects the people
Recite the Preamble
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 blessing of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.