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
According to the First Amendment, Congress cannot restrict what?
religious freedom
freedoms of speech and the press
the rights to assemble and petition the government
List the types of backdoor spending.
entitlement, borrowing power, and guaranteed loans
Citizens need to hold members of Congress accountable and demand the highest ethical standards
T
What are pork-barrel politics?
Big spending projects that are designed to help a member of Congress get reelected
What is log-rolling?
The practice in Congress of one member supporting a colleague’s spending project in return for supporting his or her own pork-barrel project
To what event was the War Powers Act of 1973 a reaction?
The aftermath of the Vietnam War
What are entitlements?
Government compensation programs that Congress has protected by law
What is a subpoena?
A document that requires a person to testify before a congressional committee
ESSAY
What are the financial powers of Congress?
- Power to tax
- Raise income tax
- Raising duties
- Imposts and excises
- Coin and print money
- Create a national bank and Federal Reserve system
Discuss the primary military powers of Congress.
- In Clause 10 Congress has the power “to define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas and offenses against the law of nations.” This clause authorizes Congress to legislate in the area of international law.
- Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, constitutes the “war power” of the national government. This war power is perhaps the single greatest authority given to our national government. Some constitutional scholars argue that the power would exist even if it had not been mentioned in the Constitution, because it is a basic right of government.
- Clause 11 mentions two technical matters related to military action. A letter of marque (not used for over a century and a half) is a license granted by a nation to a private citizen to capture a merchant ship of another nation. Reprisal is retaliation by one nation against another when provoked; it may involve seizing property or people. The final portion of this clause gives Congress power to deal with the issue of prisoners of war.
