The Articles of Confed. & Federalism
The Constitution
The Constitution Part 2
Supreme Court Infor
Bill of Rights
The Amendments
Landmark Cases
Landmark Cases
100

What is the difference between federalists & anti-federalists?

federalists - wanted stronger central government 

anti-federalists - wanted power to remain with the states, and feared a central government. 

100

What branch is established by Article 1?

Legislative

100

How many are the number of votes for the Senate and the House of Representatives decided?

Senate = 2 per state

HOR = determined by the population of the state

100

What is the order in which a case is to move through the federal court system

US Dist. Court - US Court of Appeals - Supreme Court

100

Amendment #3

Soldiers can’t just take over your house in peace time without your permission

100

Amendment # 13

*No slavery it is illegal in the US

100

Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857

Slaves were property, not citizens.  No rights.

Overturned Missouri Compromise (free states)

100

United States v. Nixon

1974

Executive Privilege not absolute; can’t cover up crimes! – Limits President’s power

200

Describe 3 positives about the the Articles of Confederation.

- states got to keep their power and independence

- gave Congress the power to create a military

- no all powerful central government

- representatives were elected for state representation

200

What branch is established by Article 2?

Executive

200

This term refers the power of the Supreme Court to decide whether or not laws violate the U.S. Constitution.

Judicial Power

200

What is concurrent jurisdiction? 

The power of the Supreme Court to review any federal, state, or local law to see if it's Constitutional

200

Amendment #4

The government can’t search or take your property without a warrant or your permission.

200

Amendment # 14

*If you are born here you are a US citizen. That means you have the rights and liberties that all citizens have and are protected under the law. No state can try to make laws that take these away from you.

200

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896

Separate but Equal constitutional; 14 amendment only required equal access to facilities, not the same facilities

200

Regents of California v. Bakke

1978

Colleges can’t use race as the only determining factor in admissions; Quotas violate Civil Rights Act and 14th Amendment

300
What were the negatives about the Articles of Confederation?

- No central government meant nothing got done

- large states felt under represented

- all states had to agree to pass federal laws

- congress couldn't enforce laws or collect taxes

300

What branch is established by Article 3?

Judicial

300

What year was the US Constitution written and signed?

1787

300

What is judicial review?

The power of the Supreme Court to review any federal, state, or local law to see if it's Constitutional

300

Amendment #5 & 6 

5 - You can’t be tried in court for the same crime twice. You can’t be deprived of your legal rights.

You have the right not to incriminate yourself. Your property can’t be taken by the government without proper compensation

6 - You have the right to a lawyer. You have the right to speedy trial with a non-biased jury

300

Amendment # 15

*If you are a US citizen you can’t be denied the right to vote based on race or the fact that you were formerly a slave.

300

Brown v. Topeka 

Board of Ed

1954

Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson

Racial Segregation violates 14th Amend. Equal Protection Clause

300

Swann v. Charlotte-Meck Schools 1941

Fed. District Courts could order school districts to force busing to de-segregate

400

Name 3 items the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation had in common.

- both created a gov.,  had a congress, created a military, had representative government, and wanted states to have some level of independence 

400

What is established by Article 4?

Federalism - Dividing powers between the federal government and state governments

400

This term refers to the national government sharing power with state governments

federalism

400

How many justices are supposed to sit on the Supreme Court?

9

400

Amendment #7 & 8

7 - You have the right to a jury in a civil (non-criminal) trial

8 - Bail must be fair/ reasonable

400

Amendment # 19

*Any US citizen can vote and cannot be discriminated against because of gender. 

* Women’s right to vote

400

Marbury v. Madison

1803

Judiciary Act is unconstitutional

Established JUDICIAL REVIEW – Supreme Court has final say in interpreting Constitution

400

Leandro v. State (NC)

1997

Created guidelines to defining “sound basic education”; equal access to educ, not equal funding

500

Name 3 items the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation differed on.

- Const has 3 branches, a president, stronger central government, bicameral congress to represent small and large states needs, the power to enforce federal laws and tax, and 2/3 of congress needs to agree to pass a law.

- one branch, states had total power, all states had the same amount of votes in congress, all states had to vote to change laws

500

What is established by Article 5 & 7?

5:

- In order to amend the Constitution the amendment needs to be proposed (introduced) and then ratified (passed) by 2/3 of the entire Congress.

7:

- This article discussed how to ratify or make the Constitution the law of the land (9/13 must vote in favor of ratification)

- It allowed for the Amendments (including The Bill of Rights) to the Constitution in later years.

500

What are the lengths of terms for each of the following:

President

Senator

House of Representatives Member

President = 4 years (2 term max)

Senator = 6 years

HOR = 2 years

500

Describe the 5 step process the SC uses to make a decision.

1. Lawyers from each side prepare a brief.

2. Each lawyer gets 30 minutes to present their oral arguments.

3. The justices get together and conference about the material presented. They then vote on a decision.

4. Once justice writes down the court's decision and reasoning.

5. The court reports the decision.

500

Amendment #9

Not all rights are listed in the Constitution, but just because it is not listed doesn’t mean you don’t have that right.

500

Amendment # 18 & 21

18 amendment = prohibition, so the 21st is the amendment that repeals it

500

Korematsu v. United States

1944

Rights may be denied during times of crisis—“emergency and peril”

Internment critical for national defense

500

Bethel Schools v. Frasier

1986

Schools can limit speech if it is lewd or offensive

600

What was the compromise that appeased both the federalists and the anti-federalists?

The Amendments to the Constitution

600

What is established by Article 6?

  • States can have different laws than the federal ones, but if there is a disagreement than the federal law over-rules the state law.


  • Constitution is the highest law of the land and all other lower levels must follow it.
600

This term refers to Congress and describes how legislative power is to be shared between two bodies of authority so that one doesn't have more power than the other.

Bicameral

600

What is Writ of Certiorari?

An order for lower court to send its records to the Supreme Court for review

600

Amendment #10

The Constitution is not the only place where a citizens rights are provided. States and the citizens themselves have power to determine rights not listed.

600

Amendment # 26

*Voting age for US citizens is 18+ years of age

600

Roe v. Wade

1973

Women choice to abort in 1st trimester

State to define Abortion policies during 2nd and 3rd

600

Engel v. Vitale

1962

Prayer in schools is an official approval of religion, violating the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment