constitution

Question 1

Article 1, Section 1

Answer 1

Congress, and only Congress, has the power to make laws. And the Congress is a bicameral legislative body—that is, it’s divided into two chambers, the House and the Senate.

Question 2

Article 1, Section 2

Answer 2

Every two years, voters get a chance to cast ballots to determine who will represent them in the House of Representatives and States aren’t allowed to limit voting rights.

Question 3

Article 1, Section 6

Answer 3

congressmen have “legislative immunity”; that is, they cannot be charged with a crime for anything they say in Congress, and they cannot be arrested or harassed by the police unless they have committed treason or other serious crimes.

Question 4

Article 1, Section 7

Answer 4

All tax and tariff legislation must originate in the House of Representatives, although the Senate retains its normal power to amend any bill sent to it from the House.

Question 5

Article 1, section 8

Answer 5

The very first power given to Congress by the Constitution is the power to tax. Money is power, and in the governmental structure created by the Constitution, Congress—not the president—controls the money.

Question 6

Article 1, section 10

Answer 6

Under the Constitution, only the federal government has the power to conduct foreign diplomacy or print money. And the states are barred from doing many things. limits their power.

Question 7

Article 2, section 1

Answer 7

By granting the president a sweeping “executive power”—a power not carefully defined in the Constitution— Article II establishes the presidency as a strong office within the American government.

Question 8

Article 2, Section 2

Answer 8

Here the Framers spell out several of the president’s more important powers. First and foremost, he is commander-in-chief of the military. Second, he is the boss of the heads of all the civilian departments of government.

Question 9

Article 2, Section 4

Answer 9

Allow for impeachment

Question 10

Article 3, Section 1

Answer 10

Here the Constitution creates only the Supreme Court, granting it all “the judicial power of the United States.” Thus the Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch.

Question 11

Article 3, Section 2

Answer 11

This section establishes the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Federal courts can decide cases involving federal law, disputes between different states, and disputes between residents of different states.

Question 12

Article 4, Section 1

Answer 12

Each state has to recognize the laws, records, and court rulings of the other states.

Question 13

Article 4, Section 2

Answer 13

States can’t discriminate against the residents of other states.

Question 14

Article 4, Section 3

Answer 14

The Framers of the Constitution planned for the future growth of the country, setting up a system to allow new states formed on the western frontier to enter the Union as equals of the original states.

Question 15

Article 4, Section 4

Answer 15

The federal government ensures that each state must maintain a representative form of government; no state is allowed to become a dictatorship.

Question 16

Article 5

Answer 16

The Constitution can be amended (that is, changed) through a formal process established by the Framers in 1787. For an amendment to take effect, it first needs to be officially proposed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress (or by two-thirds of all state legislatures), then it needs to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures.

Question 17

Article 7

Answer 17

the Framers at the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 decided that ratification by nine states should be enough to allow the new Constitution to take effect.