Midterm Flashcards
On which point did the Virginia and New Jersey plans disagree?
How the states should be represented
____________, _________________, and _________________ were the authors of ______________which were written to encourage New York to ratify the constitution.
John jay
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
The federalist papers
Which compromise combined parts of the New Jersey and virginia plans to make the legislature like it is today?
Connecticut compromise
Which was a compromise between the northern and southern states at the constitutional convention?
Congress could tax imports but not exports
What was an important agruement against the proposed constitution?
It did not guarantee basic rights
Why did smaller states favor the New Jersey plan over the virginia plan?
Because it called for the states to be represented equally
How did the 3/5 compromise affect representation in congress?
Every 5 slaves were counted as 3 free men
What finally solved the primary conflict at the constitutional convention over representation in congress?
The Connecticut compromise
What was the main reason that federalist supported ratification of the constitution?
The need for a stronger central government
What did federalist the federalist agree to in order to gain support for the new constitution?
Adding amendments to protect basic rights
The delegates to the Philadelphia convention of 1787 originally ,et to
Recommend revisions to the articles of the confederation
The new jersey plan gave congress the power to
Levy taxs
The Connecticut compromise particularly satisfied and appeased
Smaller, less populous states
The New Jersey plan called for
A federal executive for more than one person
Representatives are elected
From congressional districts
Senators are elected
At large
Senators are elected for
Six years terms
Representatives are elected for
Two year terms
Each congressional term is divided into
Two sessions
Until 1913, senators were chosen by
Their states legislature
What is the minimum number of representatives in congress (both senators and members of the house) that a state can have?
Three
Due to the length of their terms, house members may be more likely to
Listen to constituents views
Why did the framers of the constitution create a bicameral congress?
To settle a conflict during a constitutional convention
When may the president ask congress to hold a special session?
To deal with an emergency situation
What was the main idea of the Supreme Court ruling in wesberry v. Sanders?
One persons vote should be worth the same as another’s
In which house of congress does each state have the same number of votes, no Mayer how large or small its population?
The senate
How often does the constitution require congress to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives?
Every ten years
How many sessions are there within each term of congress?
Two
What was the goal of the framers of the constitution when they created a bicameral congress?
The two houses would check one another
When does each new term of congress begin?
January of every odd numbered year
Which of the following was an important reason that the framers favored a bicameral legislature?
Both parliament and the colonial legislatures were bicameral
Based on Supreme Court cases, which of the following practices is permissible?
Drawing district lines using race as one of a mix of factors
The framers intended the senate to primarily represent
The states
The framers intended the House of Representatives to primarily represent
The citizens of our republic
The framers hoped that ___________ would help make the senate a more responsible body than the house.
Longer terms
Which can congress do through its commerce power?
Control foreign trade
The federal government often spends more money than it takes in each year. It then borrows money to make up the difference. What is this called?
Deficit financing
According to constitution, who has the main respect sublimity for foreign policy?
The president
According to the constitution, how can the United States declare war?
Only by an act of congress
Most bankruptcy cases are determined
In state municipal courts
What does the necessary and proper clause give to congress?
A basis for implied powers
Liberal construction has led to which of the following in the United States?
A larger national government
Which is a result of Congress’s broad definition of commerce?
Federal power has increased
Congress has applied the necessary and proper clause to its use of the comerce clause. In doing so, how is the term commerce now defined by congress?
It refers to just about every form of economic activity
Which of the following is a limit the constitution places on the commerce power?
Congress cannot tax exports
Why did congress pass the war powers resolution after the Vietnam war?
To limit the presidents war making powers
Which is true when congress claims an implied power based on the necessary and proper clause of the constitution?
The implied power is based in at lease one if the expressed powers
Which of the following is a example of a tax congress would have the power to levy?
A tax on individuals’ income
As the lawmaking body of the sovereign United States, what kind if power does congress have in relation to foreign policy and national security?
Inherent power
Which is a joint committee that finalizes a bill so it can go to the president?
Conference committee
Which correctly discribes how a joint committee works?
Both houses participate
Congress begins a term in which of the following?
Every odd numbered year
How often does congress begin a new term?
Every two years
After the Vice President, who is next in line to become president of the United States?
Speaker of the house
Standing committees _______________________
Play a critical role in the lawmaking process
Which describes how a select committee may help congress?
Conducts investigations
In the president of the senate is absent, which officer serves in his or her place?
President pro tempore
Which is the most powerful member of the senate?
The majority leader
Why is the house rules committee so powerful?
It decides whether or not a bill will get a vote by the full house
What makes opening day in the senate different from opening day in the house?
The senate is a continuous body
Which is more important factor in the selection of committee chairmen?
Length of service in congress
Why are committee chairmen important in the legislative process?
They have a major say in which bills the committee will consider
Select committees are ______________
Temporary committees set up for a certain purpose
The speaker of the house is sworn in by
The dean of the house
The opening day of a new term of congress occurs in
January
The first step in introducing a bill in the house is to place it in the
Hopper
What is rhe purpose of a conference committee
To develop a compromise bill
Why does the house have so many calendars and rules?
Because of the huge workload of the house
Which is true of debate in the senate as compared to the house
More freedom to debate
Which allows congress to override a presidents veto
2/3 vote of each house
How is a bill introduced in the senate
It is read twice and sent it a standing committee
What does a house member do before proposing a new bill
Seeks conspirators
What happens to most bills that are referred to committees
They are pigeonholed and die
What must happen before a bill can be sent to the president for approval?
It must pass both houses before a bill can be sent to the president for approval
Bills for raising revenue must originate in the
House if representatives
Who can introduce a bill in the senate?
Only senators who have been formally recognized for the purpose
How can a majority of members of the house force a bill to the floor that has been buried in committee?
File a discharge petition
Why are the senates proceedings less formal and it’s rules less strict than those in the house?
The senate has fewer members
A political community that occupies a definite territory and has an organized government with the power to make and enforce laws without approval form any higher authority
State
Any sizable group of people who are united by a common bonds of race, language, custom, tradition, and sometimes, religion.
Nation
An agreement about basic beliefs
Consensus
The supreme and absolute authority within territorial boundaries
Sovereignty
The institution through with the state maintains social order, provides public services, and enforces binding decisions on citizens.
Government
The theory that the state evolved from the family
Evolutionary theory
The theory that the state was born of force - when all the people of an area were brought under the authority of one person or group
Force theory
Belief that certain people are either defended from gods or chosen by gods to rule
Divine right
Theory that by contract, people surrender to the state the power needed to maintain order and the state, in turn, agrees to protect its citizens
Social contract
A concept that is old as antiquity, it flourished in the 17th century. In general, it supposed that man by use of reason could know in the main the fundamental principles of morality
Natural law
A government that gives all key powers to the national or central government
Unitary system
A government that divides the powers of government between the national government and state or provincial governments
Federal system
A loose union of independent states
Confederacy
A plan that provides the rules for government
Constitution
A government in which a constitution has authority to place clearly recognized limits on the powers of those who govern
Constitutional government
A statement in a constitution that sets forth the goals and purposes of government
Preamble
The effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government
Politics
A system of government in which the power to rule is in the hands of a single individual
Autocracy
A system of government in which a small group holds power
Oligarchy
Government in which the people rule
Democracy
Autocracy in which king, queen, or emperor exercises supreme powers of government
Monarchy
A form of democracy in which the people govern themselves by voting on issues
Direct democracy
A government in which voters hold sovereign power; elected representatives responsible to the people, exercise that power
Republic
A group of individuals with broad common interest who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government and determine public policy
Political party
An economic system providing free choice and individual incentive for workers, investors, consumers, and business enterprises
Capitalism
The philosophy that government should keep its hands off the economy
Laissez-faire
An economy in which free enterprise is combined with and supported by government decisions in the marketplace. Government keeps competition free and fair and protects public interest.
Mixed-market economy
An economic system in which the government owns the basic means of production, distributes the products and wages, and provides social services such as health care and welfare
Socialism
An economic system in which the central government directs all major economic decisions
Communism
What are four features of a state?
A) population
B) territory
C) sovereignty
D) government
What are the three major purposes of a consitution?
1) it sets out ideals that people bound by the constitution beloved in and share
2) it establishes the basic structure of government and defines the governments powers and duties
3) it provides the supreme law for the country
What is the oldest written constitution still serving a nation today?
The United States constitution
Into what three major groups did Aristotle classify governments?
Autocracy
Oligarchy
Democracy
What three major decisions must all economic systems make?
1) what and how much should be produced
2) how goods and services should be produced
3) who gets the goods and services that are produced
_________ wrote ___________, a book in which he expounded upon the state, particularly a social contact.
Thomas Hobbes
Leviathan
___________ wrote ____________ in 1776, a book which supported free markets - that is capitalism.
Adam smith
The wealth of nations
_______________ first published his ideas promoting violent revolution in 1848 in a pamphlet called ______________________.
Karl Marx
The communist manifesto
When king john was forced to sign the Magna Carta
1215,
Signed by king john, this established the principle of limited government, in which the power of the monarch or government was limited not absolute
Magna Carta
Year if the glorious revolution, in which parliament removed James II from the throne and crowned William III and Mary II. Parliament also passed the English bill of rights this year
1688
Set clear limits on what a ruler could and could not do
English bill of rights
What two principals at the heart of the English system greatly influenced the development of the United States?
Limited government
Representative government
To approve
Ratify
Having a single legislative chamber
Unicameral
To yield
Cede
Law
Ordinance
A convention that was called to discus issues of commerce, but wherein only five sates convened.
Annapolis convention
7 weaknesses of the articles of confederation
A. Congress did not have the power to levy or collect taxes
B. Congress did not have the power to regulate trade
C. Congress could not force anyone to obey the laws it passed
D. Laws needed the approval of 9 of 13 states
E. Amending the articles required the consent of all states
F. The central government did not have an executive branch
G. The government had no national court system
Presided over the Philadelphia convention
George Washington
Wrote the final draft of the constitution
Gouverneur Morris
Often called the “father of the constitution” because he was the author of the basic plan of government that the convention eventually adopted. He was an advocate of a strong national government.
James Madison
Had served his country well as ambassador to France during the revolution and now at 81 he was an active participant in the debates
Benjamin Franklin
______________ drafted the ______________. The plan proposed a government based on three principals
1
2
3
James Madison
Virginia plan
1. A strong bicameral national legislature sigh two chambers, the lower chamber to be chosen by the people and the upper chamber to be chosen by the lower
2. A strong national executive chosen by the national legislature
3. A national judiciary to be appointed by the legislature
Written by William Patterson and designed merely to amend the articles of confederation, and in this plan the central government was to continue as a confederation of sovereign states
New Jersey plan
The New Jersey plan proposed a government with ______________________________.
A unicameral legislature with one vote for each state
The New Jersey plan ___________ and the delegates returned to considering the Virginia plan.
Was rejected
A plan called the _______________ because ______________ and the delegation from Connecticut played a key role in the committee that drafted it was adopted after long debate.
Connecticut compromise
Roger Sherman
The Connecticut compromise suggested the legislative branch have two parts:
A House of Representatives, with state representation based on population
A senate, with two members from each state
Reached between the northern states and the southern states. Agreed 3/5 of the enslaved people were to be counted
3/5 compromise
The constitution _____________________________ to become the law of the land.
Required the ratification of 9 of the 13 states
The constitution was ratified in _______, this making the constitution the law of the land.
1788
What are the three parts of the constitution?
Preamble
Articles
Amendments
What power did case of marbury v Madison establish for the federal courts, which is not explicitly stated in the constitution?
Judicial review
What is the only court established by the constitution?
The Supreme Court
What is the only way a Supreme Court decision can be overturned?
By the court itself
What are the 3 parts/purposes of the Declaration of Independence?
A statement of principles; a list of grievances against the king; a Declaration of Independence from British rule
What powers may be exercised by the states according to the 10th amendment?
There are three areas of prohibition
- those not delegated to the national government
- those not reserved to the people
- those not denied to them by the constitution
Each term of congress is divided into ____________.
Two sessions
The House of Representatives has ____ members; however the constitution _____________________________________.
Does not fix the number of representatives in the house. It does required that the number of house seats be apportioned among the states on the basis of population. Each state is entitled to at least one seat.
The constitution sets the following qualifications for election to the House of Representatives:
25 years old
Be a citizen of us for 7 years
Be legal residents of the state that elects them
Members of the house are elected for ___________.
2 year terms
In order to assign representation according to population, the _______________ takes a national _________ every 10 years.
Census bureau
Census
The population of each state determines the new number of representatives to which each state is entitled - a process called ______________________.
Reapportionment
The __________________ limits the house to 435 representatives. Each census determines how those seats will be divided among the states.
Reapportionment act of 1929
In most states the state legislature draws the boundary lines for each congressional election district. This process of drawing new district lines after reapportionment has been completed is called ___________________.
Redistricting
__________________ is the drawing of district boundaries to gain a political advantage for the party in controlling the state government.
Gerrymandering
Today’s senate includes _____ members ___ from each state
100
2
The constitution sets the following qualifications for election to the senate:
30 years old
Be a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years
Be legal residents of the state they represent
All voters of each state elect senators _________________
At large
Before the ______________________ was passed in 1913, senators were elected by the state legislatures.
17th amendment
Elections for the senate are held in ________________________.
November of the even-numbered years
Constitution provided for the continuity in the senate by giving senators ________________ and by providing _____________________________.
6 year terms
That only 1/3 of the senators would run for reelection every 2 years
___________ is a vote of formal disapproval of a members actions.
Censure
Congress has ________ members
535
Elected official that us already in office
Incumbents
The ____________________ is the presiding officer of the house and it’s most powerful leader.
Speaker of the house
A _________, or closed meaning, of the majority party chooses the house speaker at the start if each session of congress! and the entire house membership approves the choice of speaker.
Caucus
Elected by the majority party, he is not actually a house official, but he is a party official. He helps plan the party’s legislative program, steer important bills through the house, and make sure the chairpersons of the many committees finish work in bills important to the party.
Majority leader
Serve as assistant floor leaders in the house
Whips
All laws start as ______.
Bills
To introduce a bill, a representative drops it into the ________ , a mahogany box situated for the purpose near the front of the chamber.
Hopper
The _____________________ serves as the traffic officer in the house, helping to direct the flow of major legislation.
Rules committee
Person a member of congress has been elected to represent
Constituent
The minimum number of members who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action
Quorum
Raises revenue, creates tax bills
House ways and means committee
A committee that handles appropriations bills. Both the senate and the house have appropriations committees.
Appropriations committee
Powers directly stated in the constitution
Expressed powers
Powers that the government requires to carry out the expressed constitutional powers
Implied powers
Article 1, section 8, of the constitution, which gives congress the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its duties
Elastic clause or necessary and proper clause
The power to pass laws
Legislative power
A court order to release a person accused of a crime to court to determine whether he has been legally detained
Writ of habeas corpus
Laws that establish guilt and punish peopl without allowing them a trial
Bills of attainer
Laws that make crimes of acts that were legal when hey were committed
Ex post facto laws
A law proposed to raise money
Revenue bill
A proposed law to authorize spending money
Appropriations bill
Approval of government spending
Appropriation
The money a government collects from taxes or other sources
Revenue
The legal proceeding to administer the assets of a person or business that cannot pay its debts
Bankruptcy
Trade among the states
Interstate commerce
The algal process by which a person is granted citizenship
Naturalization
The exclusive right to publish and sell a literally, musical, or artistic work for a specified period of time
Copyright
The exclusive right of an inventor to manufacture, use, and sell his or her invention for a specific period of time
Patent
A formal accusation of misconduct in office against a public official
Impeachment
A legal order that a person appear or produce requested documents
Subpoena
Lying under oath
Perjury
Willful obstruction of a hearing or trial
Contempt
The continuing review by congress of how effectively the executive branch carries out the laws congress passes
Legislative oversight
An agreement made between the president and head if state
Executive agreement
Ignoring a bill in committee and letting it die
Pigeonholing
Sessions at which a committee listens to the testimony from people interested in the bill
Hearings
Members of a conference committee
Conferees
Compromise bill presented by the conference committee after the changes are made
Conference report
A temporary joint committee set up when the house and the senate have passed different versions of the bill
Conference committee
When a president kills a bill passed during the last ten days congress is in session by simply refusing to act
Pocket veto
Ejection of a bill
Veto
Salary
Compensation
The order in which officials fill the office of the president in case of a vacancy
Presidential succession
The official vote for president and Vice President by electors in each state
Electoral vote
Protection from having to testify against oneself.
Protection from loss of life, liberty, or property without due process
5th amendment
Abolished slavery
13th amendment
The fact that the constitution spells out a number of civil rights does not mean that there are not other, unwritten, rights held by the people
9th amendment
The right to bear arms
2
Protection from cruel and unusual punishment
8
Provided for the election of us senators by direct popular vote instead of state legislatures
17
Protection against arbitrary search and seizures without proper warrant or probable cause
4
Freedom of religion, speech, or press
1
The right to trial by jury in any civil case where the amount of money involved is $20 or more
7
Banned states from denying any person equal protection under the law
Banned states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without due process of law
Grated citizenship to all person born or naturalized in the us
14
Extended voting rights to African Americans by outlawing denial of the right to vote on the basis of race color or previous servitude
15
The right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury
The right to an attorney
6
Protection from having to quarter soldiers in time of peace without the owners consent, nor in the time of war except as provided by law
3
The powers not delegated to the federal government may be exercised by the states, as long as they are not prohibited by the constitution
10
Amendments 13-15
Civil war amendments
Beyond the authority of the law; not regulated by the law
Extralegal
A state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority
Anarchy
Having two branches or chambers
Bicameral
Establishes the constitution as the supreme law of the land
Supremacy clause
Principle that the authority of the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people
Popular sovereignty
A system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central or national government and several regional governments
Federalism
basic principle of American system of government that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government
Separation of powers
System if overlapping the powers of the legislative,judicial, and executive to permit each other from getting too much power
Checks and balances
The power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action
Judicial review
Those delegated powers of the national government that are spelled out, expressly in the constitution
Expressed or enumerated powers
Court decision that delt with judicial review.
Marbury vs. Madison
By reasonable deduction from the expressed powers
Implied powers
By creating national government for the us
Inherent powers
Those powers, expressed, implied, or inherent, granted to the national government by the constitution
Delegated powers
Those powers that have both the national government and the states posses and exercise
Concurrent
Those powers that the constitution does not grant to the national government and does not deny to the states
Reserved powers
A congressional act directing the people of a United States territory to frame a proposed state constitution as a step towards admission to the union
Enabling act
Hand over
Extradite
The portion of god law relating to human conduct, to disputes between private parties, and to disputes between private parties and government not covered by criminal law
Civil law
Formal agreement entered into with the consent of congress, between or among states, or between a state and a foreign state
Interstate compact
Position advocating strict interpretation of the constitution worth regard to the limitation of
States rights position
Fighting for national independence
Nationalist position
List the 7 articles of the constitution by topic
1- congress, structure, powers
2- presidential elections and power thereof
3- judiciary structure and authority
4- rules concerning states
5- constitutional amendment
6- the supremacy clause
7- the ratification of the original constitution
List the six major principles of government that the constitution rest on
1- popular sovereignty 2- limited government 3- separation of powers 4- checks and balances 5- judicial review 6- federalism
