Key Vocab
Determines how the President is elected through a compromise between a popular vote by citizens and a vote in Congress.
Electoral College
This was the first written form of government of the U.S. primarily created out of wartime urgency during the American Revolution, which later became revised to become the United States Constitution.
Articles of Confederation
The branch of government where I start out as a bill
Legislative
Legislative, Executive, Judicial
Which Amendment under the Bill of Rights prohibits this action? A city passes a law that completely bans private citizens from owning any firearms.
2nd Amendment - Right to Bear Arms
System of government in which power is shared between the national government and the states
Federal System
The United States Constitution is divided into parts called
Articles
True or False: Any member of Congress (either a senator or House representative) may propose a bill.
True
True or False: Each branch of government is correctly matched with its essential role.
Legislative - Makes Laws
Executive - Carries Out Laws
Judicial - Interprets Laws
True
Which Amendment under the Bill of Rights prohibits this action? A police officer enters a person’s home without a warrant or probable cause and searches their belongings without consent.
4th Amendment - Search and Seizure
The Constitution’s authority comes directly from the people, not the states.
Popular Sovereignty
A brief introduction of the U.S. Constitution that states the goals of the new government.
Preamble
Where does the bill go if both houses of Congress approve it (determined by a simple majority vote)?
The President, who may then choose to sign or veto
Separates powers between the 3 branches of government, enabling each branch of government to effectively limit the power of the other two branches.
Checks & Balances
Which Amendment under the Bill of Rights prohibits this action? A judge imposes a punishment of life imprisonment for a minor convicted of a nonviolent crime.
8th Amendment - Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Power to decide whether laws and acts made by the legislative and executive branches conflict with the Constitution; defined in an early Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison.
Judicial Review
Article V within the Constitution, put in place by the Founding Fathers as a safety net, is how changes to the document itself are made.
Amendment Process
What happens to the bill if both houses of Congress approve it (by a simple majority vote) and the President signs it?
It becomes a law!
Before an Amendment can officially go into effect, it requires a final ratification by at least ____________
Three-fourths (3/4) majority of the states to approve
Which Amendment under the Bill of Rights prohibits this action? A suspect is forced by the police to testify against themselves during an interrogation
5th Amendment - Self-Incrimination
Congress may "make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper" to carry out its other powers giving Congress the flexibility needed to do its job.
Elastic Clause
The first 10 Amendments, which lists the rights and freedoms that all people in the United States are entitled to, guaranteeing equal protection for all.
Bill of Rights
What is required to override the President's veto?
Two-thirds (2/3) majority in both houses of Congress
Voting in elections or joining political parties, interest groups are how citizens exercise this power.
Which Amendment under the Bill of Rights prohibits this action? A local government requires homeowners to provide lodging for soldiers in their private homes without their consent.
3rd Amendment - No Quartering of Soldiers