Chapter 12 Notes Flashcards
What is the primary purpose of Congress?
To make laws
Specific powers given in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution are what?
enumerated powers (aka listed powers)
The first clause of Article I, Section 8 deals with taxes and gives the reasons for them:
“to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.”
What is a duty?
A tax on an import
What is an excise tax?
Tax on the sale of goods produced within the United States
Amendment that created income taxes
Sixteenth Amendment
What is fiat money?
paper money whose value depends only on the trustworthiness of the government that issues it
Clause 6 gives Congress the obvious authority to do what?
to punish those who make counterfeit money
What events set in motion the move to convene the Constitutional Convention?
The inability of the Articles of Confederation to regulate trade among the states
Which case gave broad power to Congress to regulate interstate commerce (between or among the states)?
Gibbons v. Ogden
Which case had the Supreme Court rule that even economic activity that wasn’t “commerce” (a farmer keeping his wheat for personal consumption, not selling it) still affected commerce because its absence in the market affected prices and market conditions?
Wickard v. Filburn
What is granted automatically to those born in the United States?
Citizenship
What year was citizenship given to Native Americans?
1887
How many of civilian employees of the federal government worked for the postal service?
One-third
Why is there a time limit on patents and copyrights?
To avoid monopolies
How many people are on the Supreme Court?
9
In 1790 Congress established the district with land ceded from Maryland and Virginia; however, in 1846 Virginia’s land was returned to the state.
True
Which amendment gave the district three electoral votes so that the citizens there could participate in presidential elections?
Twenty-third Amendment
What are implied powers?
National government powers derived from the powers expressly given by the Constitution
Aka inherent powers
What are resolutions?
declarations that do not have the authority of law, but rather express congressional opinion.
The power to elect the president if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes on what two occasions?
the 1800 election of Thomas Jefferson and the 1824 election of John Quincy Adams
Which two presidents have ever been impeached by the House?
Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998
What are reserved powers?
Constitutional powers are not withheld from the states, but are withheld from national government
Which states that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or the people”?
The Tenth Amendment