CHapter 8 The Constitution
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margaretcheard on May 2, 2011
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84 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 1) What two documents are the most important in American history? | 1) The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution |
| 2) What are three reasons for the success of the Constitution? | 2) A. It contains biblical principles; B. the American spirit was dedicated to following the Constitution; C. it has been flexible enough to allow changes to be implemented |
| 3) What are the two ways of making changes in the Constitution? | 3) Amending the Constitution itself or giving a new interpretation to parts of the Constitution |
| 4) What keeps one branch of government from getting too much power? | 4) the separation of powers and the balance of powers |
| 5) What system divides the powers of government between the national government and the state governments? | 5) a federal system |
| 6) What is meant by this statement: "The United States Constitution is the nation's most important export"? | 6) Other nations have greatly benefited by copying some of its principles and language |
| 7) Separation of powers | 7) Powers of the federal government are divided among three branches |
| 8) checks and balances | 8) each branch of government has powers that limit the powers of the other two branches |
| 9) federal system | 9) the system that divides powers of governing between the national government and state governments |
| 10) Preamble | 10) introductory section of the Constitution |
| 11) bicameral system | 11) a legislative system made up of two houses |
| 12) impeachment | 12) the charging a federal official with a crime or wrongdoing |
| 13) president pro tempore | 13) leader who serves as leader of the Senate when the vice president is away |
| 14) veto | 14) to reject (President can veto legislation) |
| 15) pocket veto | 15) if congress adjourns within ten days of passed legislation and president does not veto or sign bill, the bill is vetoed by a pocket veto. |
| 16) What is the primary function of the legislative branch? | 16) to make laws |
| 17) What are the two houses of Congress called? | 17) House of Representatives and Senate |
| 18) What is a bicameral system? | 18) a legislative system made up of two bodies or houses |
| 19) How much older does a senator have to be than a representative? | 19) five years older |
| 20) Who is the head of the House? Who selects him? | 20) The Speaker of the House is its head. He is elected by the members of the House. |
| 21) How many senators does each state have? How long are their terms? | 21) Each state has two senators. They serve for six year-terms |
| 22) Who is the head of the Senate? How often does he vote? | 22) The vice president is head of Senate. He votes in case of a tie. |
| 23) What function does the Senate play in impeachment? What is the punishment (judgment) for impeachment? | 23) The Senate tries cases of impeachment. Impeached federal officials are removed from office and barred from holding any federal office. |
| 24) When can a pocket veto be used? | 24) Pocket veto can be used if Congress is dismissing within ten days of the legislation being signed |
| 25) What federal areas or properties does Congress control? | 25) Washington, DC, military installations, national parks, national cemeteries |
| 26) What is another name for the "necessary and proper clause"? | 26) the elastic clause |
| 27) What is a writ of habeas corpus? | 27) the right not to be held without being charged. |
| 28) In addition to things forbidden Congress, list four things that states are forbidden to do | 28) declare war; make alliances with foreign governments; to keep a navy; to keep an army |
| 29) naturalization | 29) process by which a foreign born person can gain citizenship |
| 30) bankruptcy | 30) the way a debtor is declared unable to pay his creditors |
| 31) counterfeiting | 31) making illegal money |
| 32) copyrights | 32) guarantees protecting a work of art |
| 33) patents | 33) guarantees protecting an invention |
| 34) elastic clause | 34) clause in the Constitution known as the "necessary and proper clause" |
| 35)habeas corpus | 35) the right of not being held without being charged |
| 35) the right of not being held without being charged | 36) a writing that permits punishment of someone without having been tried |
| 37) ex post facto law | 37) a law written after the supposed violation |
| 38) What is the primary function of the executive branch? | 38) To execute or carry out the laws. |
| 39) How long does the president serve? | 39) Four-year term |
| 40) What are the qualifications of the president of the United States? | 40) 1. A natural born citizen; 2. At least 35 years old; 3. A resident of the U.S. for 14 years. |
| 41) Concerning treaties and appointments, what check does the Senate have on the president? | 41) The Senate can refuse to approve the president's choices for offices and his treaties. |
| 42) reprieve | 42) a temporary postponement of punishment |
| 43) pardon | 43) forgiveness of a crime and freedom from punishment |
| 44) original jurisdiction | 44) the court has first opportunity to hear the case |
| 45) appellate jurisdictio | 45) the court has a right to hear cases that have been tried in lower courts. |
| 46) What is the primary function of the judicial branch? | 46) Judicial branch interprets the law and judges violations of the law. |
| 47) What is the nation's highest court and the only one specifically established by the Constitution? | 47) The Supreme Court |
| 48) What branch of government was given the power to create inferior or lower courts? | 48) Congress has the power to create lower courts. |
| 49) How long is the term of a federal judge? | 49) No definite term of office was given to federal judges |
| 50) Where is a case normally tried | 50) Trials are held where the crimes were committed |
| 51) Except in impeachment cases, what is the method of trial? | 51) Trial by jury is the ordinary method of trying cases. |
| 52) To prevent unjust accusations, what is necessary to convict a person of treason? | 52) An open confession or the testimony of two witnesses who both saw the same treasonous act. |
| 53) extradition | 53) returning a criminal to the state in which the crime was committed |
| 54) suffrage | 54) vote |
| 55) poll tax | 55) a tax required to be paid before one can vote |
| 56) With what does Article IV deal? | 56) Relations between the states |
| 57) Give some examples of public civil acts that are respected from state to state. | 57) Marriage licenses, wills, and contracts |
| 58) What branch of government admits new states to the union? | 58) Congress |
| 59) What kind of government are new states to have? | 59) a republican form of government |
| 60) What groups have the power to propose amendments? | 60) Congress or the states |
| 61) How much support is required to propose an amendment? | 61) two-thirds majority is required to propose an amendment. |
| 62) How much approval is needed to ratify an amendment? | 62) three-fourths are required to ratify a proposed amendment |
| 63) What provision can never be changed unless a state would consent to it? | 63) No state shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate |
| 64) What is considered the supreme law of the land? | 64) The Constitution |
| 65) What was to happen to debts contracted before the adoption of the Constitution? | 65) They shall bind the U.S. under the Constitution to pay the debts |
| 66) How does the adoption of the Constitution assure that state officers will support it? | 66) All state officers and federal officers are bound by oath to support the Constitution |
| 67) How many states had to ratify the Constitution before it became the law of the land? | 67) Nine states had to ratify before it became effective |
| 68) On what day was the Constitution signed? | 68) Signed on Sept., 17, 1787 |
| 69) What are the first ten amendments usually called? | 69) Bill of Rights |
| 70) With what do these amendments deal? | 70) The principle of limited government. That is, the people have rights the government can't take away, and that limits the government |
| 71) What five freedoms are included in the First Amendment? | 71) religion, speech, press, assembly, petition |
| 72) What are the three rights you have if accused, according to the Fifth Amendment? | 72) No person shall be tried for serious came unless indicted by a grand jury. 2) No person shall be tried twice for the same crime. 3) No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. |
| 73) Why was a speedy public trial important? | 73) The accused cannot be held in jail indefinitely and cannot be given a secret, unjust trial. |
| 74) What does the Eighth Amendment insure about any punishments or fines? | 74) It insures that the accused will not be given excessive fines and punishments. That is, the fines and punishments will be just and reasonable |
| 75) To whom do rights not listed in the Constitution go? | 75) The unlisted rights go to the people and the states |
| 76) According to the Fourteenth Amendment, who besides he federal government cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law? | 76) The states are now bound by this amendment. |
| 77) What is meant by "due process of law"? | 77) A fair legal proceeding |
| 78) What amendment makes income taxes constitutional? | 78) XVI Amendment |
| 79) What amendment gives voters rather than state legislators the right to elect senators? | 79) XVII Amendment |
| 80) What does the Eighteenth Amendment prohibit? When and by what amendment was it repealed? | 80) Manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic drinks. It was repealed in 1933 by the XXI Amendment |
| 81) Who was given the right to vote in each of the following? Amendment 15 Amendment 19 Amendment 26 | 81) Amendment 15 : Blacks; Amendment 19: women; Amendment 26: eighteen year olds. |
| 82) According to the Twentieth Amendment, when is the president to be inaugurated? | 82) January 20th at noon in the year following his election. |
| 83) What section of the country got the right to vote for president in 1961? | 83) Washington D.C. |
| 84) If the vice president becomes president, who picks a new vice president, and how is he approved? | 84) The new president (formerly vice president) would nominate his own vice president, subject to the approval of Congress. |
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