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NAME______
THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
Article 1. The Legislative Branch
Congress has the power to make laws
SECTION 1. A TWO HOUSE LEGISLATURE
We have a bicameral legislature-- has 2 houses.
Congress = House of Representatives and the Senate
SECTION 2. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Clause 1. Election of Members
1. Representative serves a two year term.
Clause 2. Qualifications
1. Must be 25 years old
` 2. Must be a U.S. citizen for 7 years before the election
3. Must be a resident of the state that elects you
Clause 3. Determining Representation (Reapportionment)
1. Take a census every 10 years
2. Congress totals the number of Reps. each state will get (that total must equal 435)
3. Congress will notify the state legislatures of any changes
4. State legislatures will determine new district boundaries
5. New districts will allow for new elections for the House of Reps
6. Illinois has 19 members in the House of Reps
Clause 4. Filling Vacancies (What happens if a representative dies in office?)
1. Usually a governor will issue an election to fill the vacancy
Clause 5. Selection of Officers; Powers of Impeachment
1. Choose a Speaker of the House
2. Formal charge of wrongdoing
SECTION 3. THE SENATE
Clause 1. Selection of Members
1. Senators term is six years
2. 1 voter per Senator
3. 2 Senators per state (all states get the same amount)
4. Originally Senators were chosen by state legislatures
5. Today chosen by direct election (17th Amendment)
Clause 2. Alternating Terms; Filling Vacancies
1. First class = 2 year term
2. Second class = 4 year term
3. Third class = 6 year term
4. Never will the Senators terms from one state be up for re-election at the same time
Clause 3. Qualifications
1. 30 years old
2. 9 year citizen of the United States
3. Be a resident of the state you are elected from
Clause 4. President of the Senate
1. Vice President presides over Senate meetings, but he or she can vote only to break a tie
Clause 5. Election of Senate Officers
1. President pro tempore—presides temporarily when vice-president is not available (very little power)
Clause 6. Impeachment Trials
1. Senate tries impeachments (acts as a jury)
2. House of Reps. Introduces the Articles of Impeachment
3. House needs a majority (218) vote to bring up charges
4. Senate needs 2/3s majority (67) to convict
5. Chief Justice of the United States presides when the President is on trial
Clause 7. Penalties Upon Conviction
1. A guilty conviction on the Articles of Impeachment is removal from office
2. A U.S. President cannot be pardoned if found guilty by 2/3s of the Senate (part of the checks and balance system)
SECTION 4. ELECTIONS AND MEETINGS
Clause 1. Election of Congress
1. state legislators setup the time, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives
2. Congress may alter such regulations
Clause 2. Annual Sessions
1. Congress must meet at least once every year
2. 1933—20th Amendment established January 3rd as the meeting date (a two year working
period)
SECTION 5. RULES FOR THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
Clause 1. Organization
1. Each house determines the qualifications of their members
2. A majority in each house constitutes a quorum (the smallest number of members who must be present for business to be conducted.)
QUIZ 1 3. Members can be expelled by a 2/3’s vote
Clause 2. Procedures
1. Each house can have its own rules
2. Filibuster- Delaying a bill through the use of discussion
3. Senate has Filibusters, House is more stringent on how they control debate so they do not
4. Cloture rule—rule in the Senate that will end a filibuster if 60 Senators agree to vote for the closing of debate
5. Censure—punishing a member of Congress, take away some of their power or seniority
Clause 3. A Written Record (Each house must keep this)
1. Congressional Journal—Published at the end of the session, contains the bare facts about the session
2. Congressional Record—Published daily, includes word for word what people had to say
3. Sunshine Law—All meetings must be open to the public and all records about the session are open to the public as well
Clause 4. Rules for Adjournment (rules for when they can stop meeting)
1. Each house needs the consent of the other house if they are going to adjourn for more than three days (law making process would stop if only one house adjourns, usually joint adjournment)
SECTION 6. PRIVLEGES AND RESTRICTIONS
Clause 1. Salaries and Immunities
1. Compensation—members will be paid (______)
2. Congressional immunity- can’t be arrested for minor crimes when traveling to or from Congress (breach of peace, treason, felony, are not exempt from this immunity)
3. Slander—saying something that is not true, they can do this in the House and Senate (done so that speech is not limited or censored)
4. Franking or Franklin privilege —free mail service
Clause 2. Restrictions on Other Employment
1. Can’t hold another federal positions
SECTION 7. LAW-MAKING PROCESS
Clause 1. Tax Bills
1. All bills for raising revenue (money) must start in the House of Representatives
Clause 2. How a Bill Becomes a Law
1. First method—passes one house by majority vote, passes second house by majority vote, goes to president, president signs it into law
2. Second method—passes one house by majority vote, passes second house by majority vote, goes to president, president vetoes, goes back to house it originated in and must pass by 2/3 vote, then goes to next house and must pass by 2/3 vote to become a law
3. Third method-- passes one house by majority vote, passes second house by majority vote, goes to president, president delays action for ten days excluding Sundays, becomes law
4. Pocket Veto - What if Congress adjourns and a bill has not been signed by the President?
Passes one house by majority vote, passes second house by majority vote, goes to president, delays action for ten days excluding Sundays, within that time Congress adjourns, BILL DOES NOT BECOME A LAW
Clause 3. Resolutions Passed by Congress
1. Resolution—a formal expression of opinion or will
2. Simple resolution—deals with the matters of one house
3. Concurrent—deals with both houses Joint—deals with both houses and goes to the president for approval
SECTION 8. POWERS DELEGATED TO CONGRESS “The Congress shall have the power....”
Clause 1. Taxes
1. Congress can collect taxes for three purposes:
a. Pay off debts
b. Provide defense
c. Provide for the common welfare
Clause 2. Borrowing
1. They can borrow money on the credit of the United States (selling bonds is one example)
2. Debt—Total amount of money that the government owes ( currently over $6 trillion)
3. Deficit—Yearly amount of money that the government owes
Clause 3. Commerce
1. Interstate—Trade between two or more states
2. Intrastate—Trade within a state
3. Congress can only regulate interstate trade
Clause 4. Naturalization; Bankruptcy
1. Natural born citizen—born in the United States
2. Naturalized citizen—foreigner becoming a citizen by following rules set by Congress
3. Jus soli - “law of land” - if you are born here you are a citizen
4. Jus sanguinis - “law of blood”- if one of your parents is an American citizen then you are as well
5. A naturalized citizen can never be President of the U.S.
6. Bankruptcy—courts declare bankruptcy
Clause 5. Coins; Weights; Measures
1. Congress will make (coin) money
2. Congress will set up our weights and measures
Clause 6. Counterfeiting
1. Congress determines the punishment
Clause 7. Post Offices
Clause 8. Copyrights; Patents
1. Congress promotes inventions
2. Copyrights—Secures rights of ownership for the life of the owner (publications and literature)
3. Patents—Secures the rights of inventors generally for 20 years
Clause 9. Federal Courts
1. Congress has the power to set up inferior, or lower, federal courts
Clause 10. Piracy
1. Congress can punish for crimes committed on the water
Clause 11. Declarations of War
1. Only Congress can declare war
Clause 12. Army
1. Congress controls the power of the purse (giving money) regarding the military
Clause 13. Navy
1. Congress can maintain a navy
Clause 14. Rules for the Military
1. Congress establishes rules for the military
2. Court martial - Court proceedings that follow military laws
Clause 15. Militia
1. Congress governs state militias (National Guard)
2. National guard can be deployed for three reasons:
a. Execute laws of the union
b. Suppress insurrections (riots)
c. Repel invasions
Clause 16. Rules for the Militia
1. Congress allows the states to appoint National Guard officers and train their own soldiers
Clause 17. National Capital
1. Washington, in the District of Columbia, is a federal city under the control of Congress
2. Since 1973, people of the city elect their own officials
Clause 18. Necessary Laws (Necessary and Proper Clause)
1. Congress has the power to establish any rules they deem necessary and proper
2. Elastic Clause—expands the powers of Congress
SECTION 9. POWERS DENIED TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Clause 1. The Slave Trade
1. Congress stopped the importation of slaves in 1808
2. Use the word “such persons” as opposed to “slaves”
Clause 2. Writ of Habeas Corpus
1. Habeas corpus - “you have the body” - You have the right to test the legality of your detention - judge is not concerned with guilt or innocence
a. The writ can be suspended in times of rebellion, invasion, or the public safety requires it (Abraham Lincoln during Civil War)
Clause 3. Bills of Attainder and Ex Post Facto Laws
1. Congress cannot pass a bill of attainder (legislative act against a named person) Congress makes a law that says Mike Sims is a thief and will serve 25 years in prison - This is Unconstitutional!!
2. Congress cannot pass an ex post facto law (after the fact) Betty Boone sells fireworks on July 4th - On July 10th, Congress passes a law that makes it illegal to sell fireworks and tries to punish Betty for what she did on July 4th
Clause 4. Apportionment of Direct Taxes
1. Congress cannot put a direct tax on an individual (16th amendment overrides this)
Clause 5. Taxes on Exports
1. Congress cannot tax exports
Clause 6. Special Preference to Trade
1. Import taxes must be the same at all ports
Clause 7. Spending
1. The Federal Government cannot spend money unless Congress appropriates it
2. The government must publish a statement showing how it spends public funds
Clause 8. Creation of Titles of Nobility
1. Titles of nobility will not be granted
2. Any gifts from foreign countries must approved by Congress
SECTION 10. POWERS DENIED TO THE STATES
Clause 1. Unconditional Prohibitions
1. States cannot form treaties or alliances with any other states or countries
2. States cannot coin or make money
Clause 2. Powers Conditionally Denied
1. States can not tax imports or exports with the consent of Congress
Clause 3. Other Denied Powers
1. States can not harbor troops in times of peace
2. States can not engage in war
QUIZ 2
Article 2. The Executive Branch
President’s main job is to enforce or carry out the laws
SECTION 1. PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT
Clause 1. Chief Executive
1. President serves for four years
2. 1951—22 Amendment changed it to a maximum of 2 terms or ten years
Clause 2. Selection of Electors
1. Electors—Presidential voters
2. Electoral college—system used to elect the President, founders didn’t want a pure form of democracy, wanted a representative democracy
3. 538=total number of Presidential electors, must have 270 to become president
4. Purpose of the electoral college---give each state somewhat equal representation
Clause 3. Electoral College Procedures
1. Three—former method of electoral college (changed by 12th Amendment)
Clause 4. Time of Elections
1. Official ballot for President is cast by the Electoral College
2. Electoral College—cast votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December
Clause 5. Qualifications for President
1. 35 years old, 14 year resident, natural born citizen
2. 1st seven presidents were not natural born
3. 1st natural born was Martin Van Buren
4. Youngest—Teddy Roosevelt=42
5. Youngest elected—John Kennedy=43
6. Oldest—Ronald Reagan=69
Clause 6. Presidential Succession (Changed by the 25th Amendment)
1. The amendment provides for involuntary removal of the President from his power.
Clause 7. Salary
1. Can not increase or decrease during the term
2. Can not receive any other salary from the federal government during the term
3. 2001 - Salary doubled to $400,000/ year
Clause 8. Oath of Office
1. Any judge can swear a president into office, most common is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
SECTION 2. POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Clause 1. Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
1. President is the head of the military - Commander in Chief
2. President can grant pardons to criminals who have committed federal crimes (except in cases of impeachment)
Clause 2. Making Treaties and Nominations
1. President needs approval by the U.S. Senate to create certain and specific treaties and appointments
Clause 3. Temporary Appointments
1. The President can fill position by temporarily
SECTION 3. DUTIES
1. State of the Union Address - The President explains the condition of the country - usually in January
2. President can convene and adjourn Congress in the event of a special circumstance
3. Main job is to see that the laws are faithfully executed
4. Appoints federal judges (the Senate must approve his appointments)
SECTION 4. IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
1. President, Vice President, and all civil officers can be impeached
2. Can only be impeached for three things: treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
3. Judges are civil officers that are the most often convicted of impeachment