U.S. Constitution Test Study Guide – Flashcards
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The Articles of Confederation
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An agreement made by the thirteen existing states to bind them loosely together.
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The Confederation Congress
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A lone, weak branch of federal government in which each state seated between 2 and 7 members. Each state receved a single vote on each matter, easily allowing small states to obstruct the passing of laws. Could only settle state-state disputes, represent them in foreign affairs and create military alliances.
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Executive Authority.
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Something of which the Confederation Congress had none.
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Separation of Powers
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A concept which would distribute authority between three branches of government, each of which would check and balance the others, but not do their jobs.
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Checks and Balances
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A concept which operates on the principle of power division, and the review of one branches' decisions by the others, and vice-versa.
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Federalism
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An ideology which splits power in a roughly even fashion between local and federal governments.
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The Constitutional Convention(s)
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A series of meetings by delegates from all states which resulted in the scrapping of the Articles of Confederation, ad the writing of the U.S. Constitution.
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Preamble
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The first section of the constitution which defines the functions of the national government in the first place. These are to: establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty.
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Articles.
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The manner in which the constitution is organized. Each one defines the function of a branch of government or set of rights, laws, or otherwise.
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Article 1.
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Defines the functions, rights, and restrictions imposed upon the legislative branch of government.
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The Legislative Branch.
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Is given the duty of legislating, or making laws. This may also be defined as transforming the will of the people into public policy.
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Public Policy.
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Goals which the government decides to pursue.
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Democracy.
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A system of government which is entirely and directly dependent on the opinions of the people.
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Republic.
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A system of government which relies on representatives to make clear the will of the people they represent in meetings.
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Representative
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A citizen of a district elected by that district to represent it in meetings of the higher government. The representative does not accurately and fully make clear the will of the people they represent, it is the duty of those people to vote the representative out of office.
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Bicameral System
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A system which effectively balances the powers of population and simply being a state through two chambers of congress: the House , and the Senate.
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The House
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The House operates on the principle that a state with more population than another is given more representatives and thereby more voting influence. The House has 435 members in total who are proportionally distributed by state population. As each representative represents fewer people than each senator, a representative is compelled to offer more opinions and suffer more changes in standing than a senator. Representatives are elected every 2 years.
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The Senate
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The Senate operates on the principle a state is a state, no matter its size. Each state has 2 senators, making 100 in total. Due to the larger number of opinions directed at the senators and therefore to some extent cancelling one another out, the senators are not compelled to change their standings quite so often, or express their people's wants, as, as a whole, the population the senator represents changes it's opinion less often. Senators are elected every 6 years. The Vice President is the president of the Senate.
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The Three-Fifths Compromise.
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An idea brought about by James Wilson of Pennsylvania as a compromise between the southern slave-owners who wanted their slaves to count as population for voting power in the house even though they could not vote and the northern abolitionists, who thought exactly the opposite.
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To be eligible to be elected to the House, one must....
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-Be at least 25 years old -Have been an American citizen for at least 7 years -Live in the state they wish to represent
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To be eligible to be elected to the Senate, one must.....
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-Be at least 30 years old -Have been an American citizen for at least 9 years -Live in the state they wish to represent
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Impeach
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Meaning literally "to bring charges against", the president, vice president, cabinet members, and supreme and federal court judges may be impeached for: treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. In an impeachment proceeding, the chief justice of the supreme court acts as the judge, the senate as the jury, and the house as the prosecutors. The senate votes to convict or acquit.
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Quorum
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A mandate that more than half the members of either chamber of congress must be present at a meeting in order to conduct official business, in order to stop small numbers of lawmakers from hijacking congress' power.
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Forma Session
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A brief meeting of both houses in order to allow bills to be passed.
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How a bill becomes a law...
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Proposal- Sponsorship- Committee referral and consideration- Consideration and voting by house- Consideration and voting by senate- Presidential action- Publication as a law.
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Functions of Congress
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-Controlling the attainment of citizenship -Controlling how people and businesses file for bankruptcy protection -Controlling the national mints and punishing counterfeiters -Running the national post -Running the federal court system -Protecting artists (meaning all art, not just paintings and such) from plagiarism.
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War related powers and responsibilities of congress
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-To declare war -To establish, fond, and regulate a military.
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The Elastic or Basket Clause...
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Gives congress the right to make all nesescary and proper laws it needs to fulfill its function.
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Habeas Corpus
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The right to appear in public court and challenge the legitimacy of one's arrest and detention. It cannot be suspended except in times of invasion or rebellion.
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The Ex Post Facto law(s)
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Latin for after the fact, the ex Post Facto law states that no person shall be punished for an act that was performed before a law made it illegal.
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Article 2
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Defines the functions, rights, and restrictions imposed upon the executive branch of government.
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Executive Branch
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Consists of the president, the vice president, and the members of the president's cabinet. Exists to execute and enforce the laws that congress passes.
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President
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-Must be a natural born American citizen -Must be at least 35 years old -Must have been living in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
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Electoral College
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A system which allows each state the same number of electors as they have representatives. If the majority of the state goes one way in the election, then the electors are expected all to cast their votes that way in a winner-takes-all system. Although the constitution does not mandate that the electors follow the will of the people they represent, a "faithless elector" will not be looked upon kindly by the people they misrepresented.
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The Pardon
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A power wielded by the president that allows he/she to free a non-federal officer of charges suggesting breakage of federal law.
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The president has the power to appoint....
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-Ambassadors to foreign countries -Supreme court justices -Cabinet members
