U.S. Constitution Exam Study Guide

U.S. CONSTITUTION EXAM STUDY GUIDE This is our study guide for the U.S. Constitution Exam. There will be practice quizzes in class, and in addition you will have one/two opportunities to take the test. The dates for the practice quizzes and actual exam will be given in class. Our nation considers this information necessary for all new citizens. This is, in essence, your citizenship test. Treat it with the dignity and honor this country deserves, and you will succeed. The Basics Preamble to the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Preamble to the Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” - The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and approved on July 4, 1776. - Our first plan of government was called the Articles of Confederation - The Constitution was written in Philadelphia, at Independence Hall, in 1787. - The Constitution and the Bill of Rights (1st 10 Amendments) lays out the rules for the federal government only. Because of the 14th amendment, the rules in the Constitution (including amendments) must be followed by the states (“equal opportunity” clause). - The rules in the Constitution (including the amendments) are not rules for businesses or the private sector. Twitter does not have to obey the first amendment, but the federal and state governments do. - The Constitution gives the rules for what the government can do (generally). - The Bill of Rights gives the rules for what the government cannot do (specifically). - The U.S. has a representative democracy, which consists of representatives elected by the citizens. - Government is the power or authority that rules a country. - Laws are rules that citizens must follow. - The powers belonging to the government fall into four categories: expressed or enumerated (written in the Constitution), implied (not written but necessary to fulfill their expressed powers), reserved (belonging to the states and/or the people), and concurrent (belonging to both the states and the federal government). - The phrase “E Pluribus Unum” means “out of many, one”. - The different levels of government, from top to bottom, are - Federal or National (located in Washington, D.C.) - State (located in Sacramento, CA) - County (Ventura County) - City (Ventura, CA) The Constitutional Convention - The Articles of Confederation had weaknesses that became apparent in the 1780s. Congress was unable to tax or enforce its laws and as a result the states were left to govern themselves. Shay’s Rebellion was a major event that convinced many who would attend the Constitutional Convention that a stronger central government was necessary. - The Constitutional Convention was originally held to revise the Articles of Confederation, the nation’s first plan of government. George Washington was elected to preside over (lead) the convention. 55 delegates attended from 12 states (Rhode Island did not attend), but only 39 actually signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787. - James Madison proposed the Virginia Plan, which called for a two-house legislature based on population. The New Jersey plan called for a single house legislature. The Connecticut Compromise created a two-house legislature. The upper house, the Senate, would be based on equal representation (2 representatives per state). The lower house, the House of Representatives, would be based on population. - A major debate dominated the Convention. This involved how slaves would be counted for the purpose of representation in Congress. If slaves were to be counted as people, then southern states would get more people and power in Congress. Slaves, of course, were then considered property, so this seemed to violate that basic idea. If slaves were not counted as people and instead were considered property, then the southern states would get less people and power in Congress. A compromise was made. Slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a human being. Not two-fifths, and not four-fifths, but three-fifths. Although slavery has been abolished and therefore this number no longer legally applies, this number is still a part of Article 1 today. - The 3 parts to the Constitution are - The Preamble - 7 Articles - 27 Amendments - The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights - The 3 branches of government are - Legislative (Article 1, makes the laws) - Executive (Article 2, enforces the laws) - Judicial (Article 3, interprets the laws, makes sure the laws are fair) The Legislative Branch - The basic function of the Congress (Senate and House) is to create, debate, and make laws. This is generally done through committees (small groups of people) (more information on how a bill becomes a law below). A bill is a possible law before it has been voted on by both houses and signed by the President. Until the bill becomes a law, citizens and congress members have the right to debate and “speak to” the bill and the idea behind it. - There are currently 100 members of the Senate and 435 members of the House of Representatives. Both houses of the legislative branch together are known as Congress. - The census, or count of the people, is taken every 10 years. It determines how many representatives each state will have. - The House of Representatives is based on population. It is known as “The People’s House”. - The requirements to be in the House of Representatives are: - 25 years old - a U.S. citizen for 7 years - a resident of the state in which elected - U.S. Representatives serve 2 year terms, and there is no limit on the number of terms they can serve - The leader of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House - The powers belonging to the the House of Representatives are: - start impeachment process - start money (budget, or appropriations) bills - select the President if no candidate has a majority in the Electoral College - The Senate contains 2 members per state. It is known as “The Upper House”. - The requirements to be a member of the Senate are: - 30 years old - a U.S. citizen for 9 years - a resident of the state in which elected - U.S. Senators serve 6 year terms, and there is no limit on the number of terms they can serve. ⅓ of the Senate is up for reelection every 2 years. - The official president of the Senate is the Vice-President. He/she only casts a vote in the Senate if there is a tie. The day-to-day leader of the Senate is called the President Pro Tempore. - The powers belonging to the Senate are: - serve as a jury in an impeachment trial - approve presidential treaties - approve presidential appointments (who the President appoints to the Cabinet, Supreme Court, etc.) - Only Congress has the power to declare war, but the President can send troops to various places for lengths of time (i.e. we are not technically at war with Iraq or Afghanistan, but have troops stationed there). - Congress must assemble (meet) at least once each year. The Executive Branch - The President of the United States is the chief executive. They are also the commander-in-chief (highest position) of the military of the United States. - Presidential elections are held every (typically) first Tuesday in November, every 4 years. - The requirements to be president are: - 35 years old - born in the United States - a resident of the United States for 14 years - The President serves terms of 4 years and cannot serve more than 2 terms. - The President has the power to grant pardons (forgiveness and freedom from punishment), reprieves (an order to delay a punishment), or amnesty (similar to a pardon, but applies to a group of people) - The President can make a treaty (agreement) with another country, but the Senate must approve it - The President may appoint members of his Cabinet, but the Senate must approve them. The Cabinet includes the Vice-President and the heads (Secretaries) of the Executive Departments. - There are currently 15 executive departments (State, Treasury, Defense [previously War], Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security) You need to know the first four. - The head of each department is called a secretary (for example, the Secretary of State). The only exception to this is the head of the Department of Justice, who is known as the Attorney General The Judicial Branch - The three levels of Federal Courts (from highest to lowest) are: - Supreme Court (9 members appointed by the President, approved by Senate) - Appellate or Court of Appeals - District - Most of the work of the Federal Courts takes place in the District Courts. District Courts are the only courts that have jury trials. - The job of the Judicial Branch is to interpret laws, which includes deciding if the laws agree with the Constitution or not. - The two types of court cases are criminal (where a law has possibly been broken) and civil (where one person or group brings a lawsuit against another person or group). - The Supreme Court is made up of a Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices. Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the President and serve for life terms. There are no requirements to be a member of the Supreme Court. The first African-American Supreme Court Justice was Thurgood Marshall and the first female Supreme Court Justice was Sandra Day O’Conner. - Judicial Review is the power of the courts to see if a law agrees with the Constitution or not. - A subpoena is an order from the court for a person to appear in court in person - We will study in class (and you should be familiar with) the following important Supreme Court cases - Marbury v. Madison - Miranda v. Arizona - Tinker v. Des Moines - New Jersey v. T.L.O. - A precedent is a decision made by a court that affects later court decisions. Current Figures and California Current President: Joseph Biden (D) Current Vice-President: Kamala Harris (D) California Senators: Dianne Feinstein (D) and Alex Padilla (D) (CA first Hispanic senator) Representative (Ventura is part of 26th Congressional District): Julia Brownley Current Supreme Court Chief Justice: John Roberts Current CA Governor: Gavin Newsom CA Legislature is divided into Senate (upper house, 40 members) and Assembly (lower house, 80 members). The Bill of Rights and Amendments THE BILL OF RIGHTS * Amendment 1 (religion, speech, press, assembly petition) (1791) * Amendment 2 (right to bear arms) (1791) Amendment 3 (no quartering of troops) (1791) * Amendment 4 (illegal search and seizure) (1791) * Amendment 5 (Grand Jury, no double jeopardy, self-incrimination, due process) (1791) * Amendment 6 (criminal prosecutions, jury trial, right to confront and counsel) (1791) * Amendment 7 (right to jury trial in civil cases) (1791) * Amendment 8 (no excess bail and fines, cruel and unusual punishment) (1791) * Amendment 9 (unwritten rights cannot be taken away) (1791) * Amendment 10 (any right not given to federal is reserved for states or people) (1791) ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS Amendment 11 (suits against a state) (1795) Amendment 12 (changed the way president and vice-president are elected) (1804) * Amendment 13 (abolition of slavery) (1865) * Amendment 14 (privileges and immunities, due process, equal protection, representatives, debt from Civil War) (1868) * Amendment 15 (rights not to be denied based on race) (1870) Amendment 16 (income tax) (1913) Amendment 17 (direct election of senators) (1913) * Amendment 18 (Prohibition) (1919) * Amendment 19 (women’s right to vote) (1920) Amendment 20 (Presidential term and succession) (1933) * Amendment 21 (repeal of prohibition) (1933) * Amendment 22 (two term limit on president) (1951) Amendment 23 (presidential vote in Washington, D.C.) (1961) Amendment 24 (poll tax) (1964) Amendment 25 (presidential succession) (1967) * Amendment 26 (right to vote at 18) (1971) Amendment 27 (delays congressional pay raises until next term) (1992) * = you will only need to be familiar with these amendments How a Bill Becomes a Law *** The purpose of the “Legislative Process” is to ensure a fair step-by-step way for an idea to become an actual law that must be obeyed by citizens. It must travel through this process to ensure that not every idea or bill gets immediately passed, and so that ordinary citizens who might be affected by a bill have a right to speak their minds to Congress before they vote.*** 1. A bill may be introduced into the House or Senate by a member of the House or Senate 2. The bill is first referred to a committee for a hearing. The committee studies the bill, and may hold public hearings. It can then pass, reject, or take no action on a bill. Most bills do not make it past a committee. 3. If a committee passes a bill, it is read only on the floor of the House or Senate, and is then referred to a Rules Committee. 4. The Rules Committee can either place the bill on the calendar to be debated by the House or Senate, or can take no action. 5. At the second reading, a bill is open to debate and amendment, before being placed on the third reading calendar for final passage. 6. After passing one house, the bill goes through the same process in the other house. 7. When the bill passes both houses, it is sent to the president to be signed. The president can sign the bill into law or can veto part or all of it. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses. If the president fails to sign the bill while Congress is in session, it becomes a law. If the president fails to sign the bill while Congress is not in session, it is killed and this is called a pocket veto. - a quorum, or minimum number of people (usually half) is necessary for any business to take place. The Senate and House cannot meet or vote without a quorum. - sometimes Senators or Representatives will use a tactic called a filibuster. This means they will attempt to kill a bill by “talking it to death”. The only way to prevent a filibuster is to vote for cloture. Cloture limits a Senator or Representative to one hour of debate. The Flag of the United States - The flag first originated (began) during the American Revolution - The blue field on the flag is called the union. The number of stars has always represented the number of states. It began with 13, and currently has 50. - There are six white stripes and seven red stripes on the flag, representing the 13 original colonies - It is considered inappropriate to fly the U.S. flag at night, except in certain places allowed by law and when illuminated by light. It should usually only be flown between sunrise and sunset. - A flag should not be flown if it is tattered, weathered, or worn (i.e. it is ripped in any way or has been faded because of exposure to sunlight or the weather). - A flag must be folded a certain way, and can only be disposed of by burning or burying it - A flag should never be flown if it is torn, faded, or tattered, and it should not be used as drapery (for example, it should always be flowing and not used as decoration such as a tablecloth). - Other flags should never be larger, nor be placed above the U.S. flag Constitution Preamble and Principles **NOTE**: Students should be familiar with the various parts of the Preamble. Students should be familiar with the meaning behind each phrase (this will be covered in class). Students should also be familiar with the Seven Principles of the Constitution. Information for both can be found in our TCI textbook, and/or the other various resources provided in the 8th grade folder. Parts of the Preamble to be familiar with: a) establish justice b) ensure domestic tranquility c) provide for the common defense d) promote the general welfare e) secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity Seven Principles of the Constitution: #1. Limited Government #2. Popular Sovereignty #3. Individual Rights #4. Republicanism #5. Federalism #6. Separation of Powers #7. Checks and Balances