U.S. Government

Unit 2: Constitution Outline
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Constitution Outline

Each question number is worth 2 points.

Legislative Branch

Art. I Sec 1:

1.      Congress is divided into

 

Art. I, Sec. 2, Cl. 1:

2.      Length of a Representative’s term

 

Cl. 2

3.      Qualification of a Representative:

a.        

b.       

c.        

Cl. 3

4.      Number of representatives in the House is fixed at:

 

Cl. 5

5.      Title of presiding officer of the House:

6.      What power does only the House have? Define it.

 

 

Art. I, Sec. 3, Cl. 1

7.      Number of Senators in Senate:

8.      Length of term of a Senator:

 

Cl. 3:

9.      Qualifications of Senator:

a.        

 

b.       

 

c.        

 

Cl. 4:

10.  Title of presiding officer of the Senate:

 

Cl. 6

11.  The Senate has the sole power to do what?

 

 

Art. I, Sec.7, Cl. 2

12.  Where does a bill go after it passes the House and the Senate?

 

 

 

Art. I Sec. 8:  Powers delegated to Congress.  Write the power:

13.  Federal courts, Cl. 9:

 

 

14.  About the military

a.       Cl. 11:

 

 

b.      Cl. 12, 13, 15

 

 

 

c.       Cl. 14, 16      

 

 

 

Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 18:

15.  Write the power that the note says that this clause gives Congress.

 

 

 

16.  Why is it called the “elastic clause”?

 

 

 

Art. I Sec. 9: Powers denied the federal government

            Explain each:

17.  Suspend writ of habeas corpus, cl. 2

 

 

18.  Pass bill of attainder cl. 3

 

 

19.  Pass ex post facto law cl. 3

 

 

Executive Branch

 

Art II. Sec. 1, Cl 1

1.      Why is the President called the Chief Executive?

 

 

2.      What is the term of the President?

 

 

 

Art. II. Sec 1, Cl. 5

3.      List the Qualifications for office:

a.        

 

b.

 

c.

 

Art. II. Sec. 1, Cl. 8

4.      Write the oath the President swears or affirms:

 

 

 

 

 

5.      Who administers the oath of office?

 

Art. II. Sec 2, Cl 1  Powers of the President

6.       

a.

 

b.      Can get advice from

 

c.       Can grant _______________________ and ________________________________

Define these two words.

 

 

 

Art. II. Sec. 2, Cl. 3

7.      What can the President do when the Senate is in recess?

 

 

Art. II. Sec. 3:  Duties

8.      .

a.       .

b.      .

c.       .

d.      .

e.       .

 

Art. II. Sec. 4

9.      Who can be impeached and removed?

 

 

 

a.       Reasons

                                                                           i.      .

 

                                                                         ii.      .

 

 

                                                                        iii.      High Crimes (define):

 

 

                                                                       iv.      Misdemeanors (define):

 

 

Judicial Branch

Art. III. Sec. 1

1.      What court was created by the Constitution?

 

 

2.      How were the other federal courts created?

 

 

3.      What is the term of office for federal judges?

 

 

Art. III. Sec. 2 Cl. 1

4.      What right was established by the Marbury v. Madison case?

 

Art. III. Sec. 2  Cl 2

5.      What does an appellate court do?

 

 

6.      Except for a few cases, what kind of court is the Supreme Court?

 

 

Art. III. Sec. 2, Cl. 3

7.      What right is guaranteed in this clause?

 

 

8.      Where must trials take place?

 

Art. III Sec. 3, Cl. 1

9.      Define treason

 

 

10.  What’s an overt act?

 

Relations Among States

 

Art. IV. Sec. 2 Cl. 2

1.      What are residents of states guaranteed?

 

Art. IV. Sec 3  Cl 1

2.      What restriction is placed on new states admittance into the union?

 

Art. IV. Sec. 3 Cl. 2

3.      Who makes laws with regard to land not owned by states?

 

Art. IV. Sec. 4

4.      What two protections are guaranteed to states?

a.       .

b.      .

 

Amendments

 

Art V.            Summarize Article V.

 

 

National Supremacy

 

Article VI.  Sec. 2

1.      How does the Central Government impose national supremacy in the “Supremacy Clause”?

 

Article VI. Sec 3

2.      Who is bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution?

 

3.      What is not required of these people with regard to testing?

 

Ratification

 

What is the purpose of Article VII?     

The Preamble to the United States Constitution

Read and complete the following worksheet.

 "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 preamble is the first part of the Constitution.  It is a preface or introduction to the other parts of the Constitution.  The Preamble tells why the Constitution was written.  It is not law.  Rather, the Preamble states purposes, or goals. 

The Preamble names six goals that the writers wanted the United States to reach.  These goals reflect the beliefs that the makers of the Constitution had about how government should serve citizens. 

The first goal stated in the Preamble is "to form a more perfect union."  This means that the citizens of the United States wanted a better union of the states than they had under the Articles of Confederation.  The central government should be strong in order to unite the state governments as one strong nation. 

The second goal is "to establish justice."  This means that the United States should have a system of laws.  Conflicts between people, or between citizens and their government, should be settled fairly in a court of law. 

The third goal is "to insure domestic tranquility."  This means that life would be peaceful in all the states.  The government should prevent behavior that could threaten health, safety, or property. 

The fourth goal is "to provide for common defense."  This means that citizens would be able to protect themselves and their country from any enemies.  The government should have military forces to defend citizens against attack by outsiders. 

The fifth goal is "to promote the general welfare."  This means that people should have good living conditions.  The government is supposed to help make it possible for citizens to work productively and enjoy the rewards of their work. 

The sixth goal is "to secure the blessings of liberty."  This means that citizens now and in the future should be free.  The government should try to protect civil rights and liberties of all citizens. 
 


 

1. What is the Preamble?

 

 

2. What six goals for government are stated in the Preamble?  Explain each.  

a.

b.

c.

d.

e

f.

 

3. In your opinion, which goal is the most important?  Why?

 

 

4. Rewrite the Preamble, in your own words, to include all the goals that are in the original version and any that you would include if you were writing it today.


Preamble -- Art Project

  1. Students will be given a copy of the Preamble.
  2. Students will depict the Preamble through use of one or more of the following mediums:
      

a.

Song

b.

Poem

c.

Painting

d.

Video

e.

Sculpture

f.

Calligraphy

g.

Other (must have teacher's approval first and must link with a form of art)

  1. Students are required to work by themselves unless prior approval has been obtained from the teacher.
  2. The projects will be presented with a short (3 minutes maximum) explanation or demonstration in front of the class on the scheduled date.