THE THINKERS
This French writer argued that liberty disappears when the same hands make the law, enforce the law, and judge the law.
Who is Montesquieu?
Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could request money from the states but had no power to do this.
What is tax?
Supporters of ratifying the Constitution were known by this name.
Who are the Federalists?
Religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech are all protected by this amendment.
What is the First Amendment?
Article I of the Constitution creates this branch of government.
What is the legislative branch, or Congress?
Government may do only what the Constitution permits it to do. Name the principle.
What is limited government?
This trophy is awarded every year to the most outstanding player in college football.
The Heisman Trophy
This English philosopher argued that government exists by the consent of the governed and that people hold natural rights before any government exists.
Who is John Locke?
The Articles created no executive and none of these, so two states in a dispute had no neutral referee.
What are federal courts?
The essays defending the Constitution were published under this single pen name.
What is Publius?
Police need probable cause and must particularly describe the place and things under this amendment.
What is the Fourth Amendment?
Congress is described by this word, meaning it has two chambers.
What is bicameral?
Governmental authority comes from the consent of the people. Name the principle.
What is popular sovereignty?
Texas and Oklahoma play the Red River Rivalry every October at the State Fair in this city.
Dallas
This Englishman organized the English common law into a written commentary that the Founders relied on heavily.
Who is William Blackstone?
Amending the Articles of Confederation required the agreement of this many states.
What is thirteen, all of them?
In this numbered essay, Madison argued that a LARGE republic is safer for liberty because many competing factions make an oppressive majority hard to assemble.
What is Federalist No. 10?
This amendment protects a person from being compelled to testify against himself.
What is the Fifth Amendment?
The large majority of bills introduced in Congress die here, without ever reaching a floor vote.
What is committee?
Power is divided between the national government and the states. Name the principle.
What is federalism?
This school finished a perfect season by beating Miami 27-21 for its first-ever national championship in January 2026.
Indiana
Montesquieu published his separation of powers argument in this 1748 book.
What is The Spirit of the Laws?
This 1786 uprising of Massachusetts farmers ended when private merchants paid for a militia, because Congress could not.
What is Shays' Rebellion?
In this numbered essay, Madison wrote that ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
What is Federalist No. 51?
This amendment states that listing certain rights does not deny or disparage others retained by the people.
What is the Ninth Amendment?
This power of the courts to strike down laws is nowhere in Article III. It comes from Marbury v. Madison in 1803.
What is judicial review?
The President vetoes a bill and Congress overrides the veto with a two-thirds vote. Name the principle this illustrates.
What are checks and balances?
In 2024, the College Football Playoff expanded from 4 teams to this many.
12 teams
Locke and Hobbes both used this theory about why people agree to be governed, but they reached opposite conclusions about how strong government should be.
What is social contract theory?
Delegates gathered in this city in May 1787, authorized only to revise the Articles, and wrote a new document instead.
What is Philadelphia?
Large states wanted representation by population and small states wanted it equal. This agreement settled it by creating two chambers.
What is the Great Compromise?
Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states or to the people under this amendment.
What is the Tenth Amendment?
The FCC, the SEC, and NASA are sometimes called this, although the phrase is a nickname and not a legal category.
What is the fourth branch?
A court refuses to write a new criminal statute, because all legislative power belongs to Congress. Name the principle this illustrates.
What is separation of powers?
This Tennessee Volunteers quarterback finished 2nd in the 1997 Heisman voting, then went #1 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, winning two Super Bowls in the process.
Peyton Manning