Unit 2 Flashcards
What are the 6 important constitutional ideals?
1) Popular Sovereignty
2) Limited Government
3) Separation of Powers
4) Checks and Balances
5) Judicial Review
6) Federalism
People establish governments and are the source of all governmental powers. People tell the government what to do instead of governments controlling the lives of the people
Popular Sovereignty
Governments must have restricted and highly controlled power so that they do not exercise “tyranny” or unrestrained power over the people. Individual rights must be “firewalled” and protected from government abuse
Limited Government
Government power is divided among branches. In the U.S. Government there are three branches: the Legislative (lawmaking), Executive (Implement and Execute laws), and Judicial (Interpret and enforce laws)
Separation of Powers
In order to ensure that no one branch of government wields too much power over the others, each branch is given authority to check or restrain some of the powers of the other branches
Checks & Balances
The judiciary (Supreme Court and lower courts) has the power to strike down laws and other government actions as unconstitutional
Judicial Review
The powers and rights of the states are protected and balanced with powers and rights given to the national government through a process of division and power sharing as outlined in the Constitution
Federalism
How many main parts in the U.S. Constitution and what are they?
Three; A preamble, Articles, and Amendments
How many articles are there?
Seven
How many amendments are there in the Constitution?
27
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first ten ammendments
