Ch. 3

Question 1

Constitution

Answer 1

the legal structure of a government, which establishes its power and authority as well as the limits on that power. (page 71)

Question 2

Federalism

Answer 2

a system of government in which power is divided, by a constitution, between a central government and regional governments. (page 71)

Question 3

Supremacy clause

Answer 3

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the Constitution and laws passed by the national government and all treaties are the supreme law of the land and superior to all laws adopted by any state or any subdivision. (page 71)

Question 4

Necessary and proper clause

Answer 4

Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution; it provides Congress with the authority to make all laws ‘necessary and proper’ to carry out its powers. (page 72)

Question 5

Unicameral

Answer 5

comprising one body or house, as in a one-house legislature. (page 74)

Question 6

Bicameral

Answer 6

having a legislative assembly composed of two chambers or houses. (page 76)

Question 7

Confederacy

Answer 7

the Confederate States of America, those southern states that seceded from the United States in late 1860 and 1861 and argued that the power of the states was more important than the power of the central government. (page 79)

Question 8

Radical Republicans

Answer 8

a bloc of Republicans in the U.S. Congress who pushed through the adoption of black suffrage as well as an extended period of military occupation of the South following the Civil War. (page 80)

Question 9

Grange

Answer 9

a militant farmers’ movement of the late nineteenth century that fought for improved conditions for farmers. (page 81)

Question 10

Limited government

Answer 10

a principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution. (page 84)

Question 11

Republican government

Answer 11

a representative democracy, a system of government in which power is derived from the people. (page 84)

Question 12

Separation of powers

Answer 12

the division of governmental power among several institutions that must cooperate in decision making. (page 85)

Question 13

Plural executive

Answer 13

an executive branch in which power is fragmented because the election of statewide officeholders is independent of the election of the governor. (page 87)

Question 14

Impeachment

Answer 14

under the Texas Constitution, the formal charge by the House of Representatives that leads to trial in the Senate and possible removal of a state official. (page 88)