Sample Question, 1The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

were proposals that:A. Disagreed about the power of the Central GovernmentB. Disagreed about the method of representationC. Were resolved by the Great CompormiseD. All of these

Sample Question, 2Who is responsible for the approval of

all treaties?A. the presidentB. the senateC. the Vice-PresidentD. the House of Representatives

Sample Question, 3Which of the following is a power held

only by the states?A. declare warB. issue marriage licensesC. draft soldiersD. coin money

Sample Question, 4Which fraction of the US Senate is up

for election every two years?A. 4/5B. 2/3C. 3/4D. 1/3

Sample Question, 5The Constitution provides for the

election of the President and VP by:A. the peopleB. the SenateC. the Electoral CollegeD. All of these

Sample Question, 6Which of the following was not

designated to check the power of the president?A. impeachmentB. popular election of presidentsC. judicial reviewD. legislative power to override vetoes

Sample Question, 7How does the executive branch check

the legislative branch?A. by controlling salariesB. by declaring laws unconstitutionalC. by vetoing billsD. by overriding vetoes

Sample Question, 8The Bill of Rights guarantees all of the

following rights or freedoms except?A. freedom of religion, speech and the pressB. freedom from slaveryC. right to bear armsD. right to assembly

Sample Question, 9A law which punished someone for

something which was not a crime when the person committed it is called:A. ex post factoB. bill of attainderC. habeas corpusD. quorum

Sample Question, 10Who has the power to declare war?

A. the presidentB. the supreme courtC. congressD. all of these

Sample Question, 11This states that a person cannot be

imprisoned without cause or reason:A. ex post factoB. bill of attainderC. habeas corpusD. quorum

Foundations of the Constitution, I

• Before the Constitution, the United States was governed by the Articles of Confederation.

• The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia, PA

• The Constitution is divided into The Preamble, the Articles, and the Amendments

• The constitution divided the powers of the federal government into three branches in order to prevent any person or branch from gaining too much power

• The idea of the government being divided into the three branches to carry out different duties is called “separation of powers”

Foundations of the Constitution, II

• Powers held in common by the national and state governments are called concurrent powers

• Powers not stated in the Constitution but which can be used by the government to expand the Constitution are called implied powers

• Any government official can be impeached, or charged with a crime

• In order to be able to carry out business, Congress and other groups need a quorum

• In order to make certain each state has the correct number of Representatives, the Census bureau counts the population every ten years.

Article One, The Legislative, I

• This branch makes the laws• Together, both branches are known as

Congress• In the House, the number Representatives

are determined by state population• The presiding officer of the House is the

Speaker, currently Dennis Hastert• Representatives must be 25 years old• Representatives serve for only 2 years• The House is in charge of removing from

office those who have been impeached

Article One, The Legislative, II

• Each state has 2 Senators (2 x 50 states = 100 Senators

• Senators serve six years• The Vice-President, currently Richard

Chenney, is in charge of the Senate• The VP can only vote in case of a tie• Bills are passed by a 2/3 in both houses• Tax bills begin in the House• The power that gives Congress the power

and the flexibility to pass laws that are “necessary and proper” to the fulfillment of its duties is called The Elastic Clause

Article Two, The Executive• The Executive Branch enforces laws• The chief officer of the Executive is the President,

currently George W Bush• The president of the US must be a natural born

citizen• One duty of the president is that he is

Commander in Chief of the armed forces• Another duty is that he can appoint government

officials, including vacant Senator seats• The president can veto a bill, but Congress can

override that veto with a 2/3 vote• The presidents closest advisors are his Cabinet

Article Three, The Judicial• The judicial branch interprets the laws• The Constitution does not list any

requirements to be a Supreme Court justice

• Justices are on the court for life• There are currently nine Justices• John Roberts is the current Chief Justice• The judicial branch can check the

legislative branch by declaring laws unconstitutional

• The Supreme Court gained the right to do so through the case Marbury v. Madison and is known as Judicial Review

The Amendments• Amendments must be ratified by ¾ of the states• The Constitution has been amended 27 times• The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of

Rights• The thirteenth amendment, a Civil War

amendment, abolished slavery• Both African-Americans and women gained the

right to vote through amendments (15 & 19)• The 22nd amendment limited the president to two

terms• The 24th amendment abolished the poll tax• The 26th amendment lowered the voting age in

every state to 18

Illinois Government• Illinois became the 21st state in 1818• The current Illinois constitution was written in

1970• The first article is the Bill of Rights• Illinois has 118 representative districts• Illinois has 59 senate districts• The governor must be at least 25 years old• The Comptroller works with the treasurer to pay

funds• The current governor is Rod Blagojevich• IL’s current US Senators are Richard Durbin and

Barack Obama• The capital began in Kaskaskia, moved to

Vandalia, and is now Springfield