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48 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Powers Set in Article I |
1) establishes the legislative branch, specifically creating Congress. 2) Spells out the procedure for making laws, lists the types of laws Congress may pass, and specifies the powers Congress does not have. |
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Powers set in Article II |
1) created the executive branch to carry out laws passed by Congress 2) specifies the power and duties of the presidency 3) describes qualifications for the president and procedures for electing a President and Vice President. |
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Powers set in Article III |
Establishes the Supreme Court and outlines their jurisdiction |
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Powers in Article IV |
1) states the power of the states 2) sets the procedure for admitting new states 3) gives guarantee that the government will protect the new states |
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Article V and Amending the Constitution |
The only way to amend the Constitution is to pass an amendment, that must be ratified by 2/3 of the states and the house of representatives or by holding a Constitutional Convention. |
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Supremacy Clause (Article VI) |
Establishes that the Constitution, laws passed by congress, and treaties are supreme laws of the land-- they override state laws. |
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Article VII |
The Constitution must be ratified by nine states in order to take effect. |
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Popular Sovereignty |
Rule by the people |
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Federalism/Federal System |
Power is divided between the national and state governments |
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Separation of Powers |
no one within the government has supreme power- it is split amongst branches. |
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Checks and balances |
What one branch does, another branch has the power to override and change. |
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Enumerated powers- economic |
Congress has the power to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, and punish counterfeiting. |
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Enumerated powers- defense |
Congress has the power to punish piracies, to declare war, to raise and support armed forces, to provide a navy, to regulate the armed forces, call forth the militia, and organize the militia. |
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The Elastic Clause |
gives Congress the right to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out all the powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I |
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"Wild Card" Powers |
Article II states that executive power will be vested in the president, thus giving him/her powers not explicitly stated in the Constitution |
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Precedents of George Washington |
Presidents should only serve for two terms and be cautious of entering into foreign alliances. |
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Dual Court System |
Federal Court- power derived from the Constitution- courts for the central government State Court- one court for each of the 50 states- derives power from the states' Constitution and laws |
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Determination of Jurisdiction |
determined by the subject matter of the case and the parties involved in it. |
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How to Overturn a Supreme Court Decision |
can be overturned by changing the Constitution |
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President as a Legislator |
The President proposed much of the legislative agenda and spells out the details of the programs that are enacted into law. |
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President vs. Congress
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President has used executive power to encroach upon Congress's power and Congress has attempted to pass legislation to limit the power of the President. |
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Congress vs. Supreme Court |
the Constitution gives Congress the power to create lower federal courts and limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court |
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Supreme Court vs. President |
Some court decisions need a President to carry them out; the President can choose not to. |
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Two ways to ratify amendment |
An amendment can be proposed and ratified by a two-thirds vote of each house of Congress or the amendment can be proposed by having a national convention and having 2/3 of the states accept the amendment. |
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Succession to the Presidency in 1841 (the death of President Harrison) |
John Tyler took over the Presidency but he was only an acting President, not actually president. |
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25th Amendment |
Vice President becomes President after President dies. |
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President's power over foreign/domestic affairs |
The president has the power to make executive agreements between him/herself and the head of state of another country. The president, domestically, can only request legislation from Congress. |
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Judicial Restraint |
Belief that the Court should avoid taking initiative on social and political questions in their rulings. |
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Judicial Activism |
The belief that the court should use their rulings to play a role in shaping national policies. |
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Why have a Bill of Rights? |
Added because anti-federalists believed that unless people's rights were explicitly stated, they were not guaranteed. |
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Limits of Freedom of Speech |
Prohibits: 1) slander 2) giving away military secrets/endangering the nation 3) Violent overthrows and attempts |
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Fourth Amendment |
Requires officers to have a specific reason, approved by Court, on why they need to conduct a search. If evidence is found in an illegal search, it is not counted. |
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Protections under 5th Amendment |
1) No one can be tried without a grand jury. 2) A person who is found innocent of a crime may not be charged again for the same offense (double jeopardy) 3) No one can be forced to testify against themselves. 4) Government cannot deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property. |
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8th Amendment |
Protection against cruel and unusual punishment- capital punishment does not qualify. |
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Civil War Amendments |
Guarantees the rights of citizens by prohibiting states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property. |
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Line of succession to Presidency (25th amendment) |
President --> Vice President --> Speaker of the House --> President Pro Tempore of the Senate --> Secretary of State |
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Expressed Powers |
powers explicitly stated in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers (the power to tax, defense rules, etc.) |
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Implied Powers |
the powers that the national government requires to carry out laws, etc- while not explicitly stated, they are built upon expressed powers. |
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Inherent Powers |
the power that the government can express simply because they are a government (control immigration) |
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Reserved Powers |
the powers the Constitution reserves strictly for the states. |
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Concurrent Powers |
the powers that both the state and national level have; each conducts on its own independent agenda. |
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Three things National government must do for the states |
1) guarantee the states a Republican form of government 2) protection from invasion and domestic violence 3) territorial boundaries will be respected. |
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Enabling Act |
when signed by the president, those interested in becoming a state are enabled to prepare a Constitution, submit it to Congress, and have Congress vote whether to accept the new state. |
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Conditions for admission as a state |
Congress can require certain conditions for a state to be accepted but those changes do not have to be upheld once the territory becomes an official state. |
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"Full Faith and Credit" Clause |
the obligation for each state to recognize public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. |
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Extradition |
The surrender of an individual by one state to another where that individual is sought for trial or punishment. |
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Interstate compacts |
An agreement among two or more states; the Constitution requires most of these agreements be approved by Congress. |
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States Rights vs. National Position |
States rights- action should be taken at the lower level; more individual National position- action should be unified and taken from the top level. |