Foundations of Government

Chapter 3: The US Constitution

  1. Structure and Principles of the Constitution
  1. Structure of the U.S Constitution
  1. The new country was a combination of their experiences under the ______and as a ______ colony
  2. The Founders solution to all the problems they experienced was a central government with ______powers
  3. They divided power between ______ branches with a system to ______ the other two branches
  4. Power was divided between the ______and federal government
  5. The Constitution presents the government’s ______, principles, ______, and limitations
  6. ______
  1. Explains why the Constitution was written and spells out the purposes of the government
  1. ______
  1. Each article covers a different topic about how the government is structured
  2. Articles 1-3 create the three branches
  3. Article 4 explains the relationship of the states to one another and to the national government
  4. Article 5 explains the ways that Constitution can be amended
  5. Article 6 established the Constitution as the “supreme Law of the Land”
  6. Article 7 addresses ratification
  1. ______
  1. 27 amendments
  2. Some amendments describe people’s individual rights
  3. Most are modifications to the structure of government
  1. Principles of The Constitution
  1. ______– powers are limited by the Constitution. King John signed Magna Carta in 1215 limiting the powers of the ruler.
  2. ______– the people hold the power and give the government its power. We consent to be governed.
  3. ______– power is divided between the national government and the states. Some are shared, some only for national government, some only for the states.
  4. ______– federal government is divided into three separate branches.
  5. ______– prevents any one branch from becoming too powerful, each branch can stop or ‘check’ the other two.
  6. ______– the people elect representatives to rule on their behalf
  1. Three Branches of Government
  1. The National Government
  1. The Constitution ______ powers between the states and the national government
  2. It created ______ branches of government each having its own power
  3. The structure of this systems was to ensure that not one ______or ______ could have all the power
  4. To ensure the principle of ______ government the Founders assigned different powers to the three branches and gave each branch a way to ______ the power of the other
  1. Legislative Branch
  1. Role is to make the ______
  2. It is divided up into ______ houses
  1. House of Representatives
  2. Senate
  1. The House of Representatives is determined by state ______
  2. The Senate each state can only send ______
  3. Enumerated and Express Powers
  1. The powers of Congress are listed under ______, Section 8 in the Constitution
  2. Enumerated powers are listed powers that Congress have, such as:
  1. Power to ______ taxes
  2. Borrow ______
  3. ______money
  4. Punish ______
  5. ______ commerce
  6. Make laws for national defense (example: declare war)
  7. They can also naturalize citizens
  8. Establish post offices & courts
  1. Executive Branch
  1. The President is the head of the ______ branch
  2. The executive branches job is to ______ the laws passed by Congress
  3. There are ______ departments that are part of the executive branch
  4. The executive branch includes numerous ______ agencies, boards, commissions, government corporations, and advisory
  5. Specific powers of the President (Article II, Sections 2 & 3):
  1. Grant ______
  2. Make treaties
  3. Appoint ambassadors & ______ Court justices
  4. Fire officials in the executive branch
  5. Make ______ with foreign nations
  6. Take emergency actions to save the nation
  7. Commander of all ______ forces but can only ask congress for a declaration of war
  1. Judicial Branch
  1. ______establishes the federal court system (Supreme Court)
  2. Judges hold office for ______ unless they commit a crime or choose to retire
  3. Federal courts hear cases about the US ______, federal law, ______treaties, international law, and ______
  4. We have a ______ court system, each court has the authority to hear certain kinds of cases
  5. Judicial Review
  1. Allows the courts to ______the Constitution and ______ laws that violate the Constitution
  2. This is not specifically mentioned in the ______
  3. ______ Papers No. 78 discusses the power of judicial review
  4. Marbury v. Madison (1803) stated that ______ Act of 1789 which gave the Court more power than the Constitution allowed was ______
  5. Marbury v. Madison established ______ review
  1. Relations Among the Branches
  1. Sharing Power
  1. To ensure a ______doesn’t get too powerful they have to share many responsibilities with ______
  1. Example: President has the power to negotiate treaties with foreign countries but the Senate must approve them before becoming law
  1. Congress is limited by the need for Presidential ______
  1. Example: Congress passes but laws must be signed by the President. The President can veto bills but Congress with two-third vote can override it.
  1. Checks and Balances
  1. The ability to limit the other branches has caused a certain amount of conflict:
  2. Congress’s power to monitor how the ______branch enforces laws
  3. Presidents have sometimes charged ______with trying to encroach upon the proper powers of the executive to lead and ______the nation
  4. Sometimes the executive branch and legislative branch come into conflict with the ______ branch
  5. In some rare cases a ______has refused to enforce a Supreme Court ______
  1. Amendments
  1. Proposing and Ratifying Amendments
  1. ______ methods of proposing amendments
  1. Two-Thirds vote in the House and Senate (all amendments were proposed by this method)
  2. Two-Thirds of the states ask Congress to call a convention to debate and then vote on the proposed amendment
  1. Once an amendment is ______ Congress must choose how to obtain state approval:
  1. Legislatures in three-fourths of the states can ratify the amendment
  2. State holds special conventions and then to have three-fourths of the convention approve it
  1. ______ amendments have been proposed over time, but only _____ have been ratified
  2. ______ wanted to make sure that the procedure was difficult because they believed most issues could be handled with the ______ political process.
  1. The Bill of Rights
  1. 1st Amendment
  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______-.
  5. ______
  1. ______-
  2. Right to Bear Arms
  3. ______
  4. Prohibits Quartering of Soldiers
  5. ______
  6. No Unreasonable Searches
  7. 5th Amendment
  8. A person cannot be deprived of life, liberty, or property without ______. Certain legal procedures must be carried out before a person can be punished
  9. Also contains:
  1. ______gives government the right to take private property for public use, but they must give you fair compensation (payment) for the property. Like taking your home to build a road.
  2. ______cannot be tried for the same crime twice. Like OJ Simpson.
  3. ______is required to issue an indictment before you can be tried for a serious crime.
  4. ______cannot be forced to testify against yourself. Supreme Court ruling of Miranda v. Arizona says you must be informed of your rights or what you say cannot be used.
  1. ______
  2. Fair and Impartial Trial
  3. ______
  1. Right to jury trial in federal courts to settle all disputes about property worth more than $20
  1. ______
  2. No Cruel or Unusual Punishment
  3. No high bail
  4. ______
  1. Just because the Constitution doesn’t list a right doesn’t mean we don’t have it. the people have all rights not specifically given to the government.
  1. ______
  2. The federal government has only those powers specifically given to it in the Constitution. All other powers are reserved for the states or the people!
  1. Later Amendments
  1. ______
  1. Prohibits a state from being sued in federal court by citizens of another state or another nation
  1. ______
  2. Calls for the Electoral College to use separate ballots in voting for president and vice president
  3. ______
  4. Banned slavery in the United States
  5. ______
  6. Granted citizenship to former slaves
  7. ______
  8. Voting rights for former slaves
  9. ______
  10. Established the federal government to tax a person income
  11. ______
  12. Direct election of US senators
  13. ______
  14. Made the manufacturing, transportation, or sell of alcohol illegal (Prohibition, repealed by the 21st Amendment)
  15. ______
  16. Gave women the right to vote in the US
  17. ______
  18. Set new dates for when the President and vice president are inaugurated and when congress can begin its term
  19. ______
  20. Limits the President term in office to two elected terms
  21. ______
  22. Granted voters in Washington, D.C. the right to vote for president and vice president
  23. ______
  24. Forbade requiring the payment of a poll tax to vote in a federal election
  25. ______
  26. Provided for succession to the office of president in the event of death or incapacity and for filling vacancies in the office of vice president
  27. ______
  28. Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
  29. ______
  30. Banned Congress from increasing its members’ salaries until after the next election
  1. State Constitutions and Local Charters
  2. The Structures of State Governments
  1. Legislative Branch
  1. Pass laws that deal with a variety of ______
  2. State legislatures have ______ power than US Congress
  3. Each legislature have______ Nebraska only has one chamber
  1. The Executive Branch
  1. Called the ______
  2. Power to ______out state laws
  3. Responsibilities
  1. Sign legislation
  2. Budgeting
  3. Appointing officials
  4. Planning economic growth
  5. Coordinate the work of executive departments
  1. Amount of control over the ______ branch varies between the states
  2. In some states the people vote for all ______ of the executive branch
  3. Governors must work close with the ______government especially when it comes to federal funding
  4. They are commander and chief of the ______ guard
  1. The Judicial Branch
  1. They uphold and ______state laws
  2. Help to resolve ______with citizens or business ______
  3. Courts can ______ criminals
  4. Level of courts:
  1. Minor Courts
  2. Trial Courts
  3. Appellate Courts
  4. Highest Court: Supreme Court
  5. Rights and Amendments in State Constitutions
  1. All states contain a ______
  2. State Constitutions tend to have ______number of amendment
  1. Average: 115
  1. Amendments might change the ______ of the state government, redefine the powers allocated to the ______ parts of government, or expand/restructure individual ______
  2. Local Governments
  1. Exist only if a state constitution ______them and gives them local ______
  2. Types of local government are based on their ______ and population
  3. State constitutions create ______, counties, townships, ______, special districts, ______, and boroughs
  4. State constitutions can ______ the ways local governments can raise and spend money
  5. They are limited in their ______ powers
  6. Local Charters
  1. Documents that state ______ issues to local governments
  2. They grant communities a ______ status and allow them to have separate governments
  3. They explain the ______ and responsibilities of the local government
  4. Explains how they ______ officials