US1H Constitution

Bicameral Legislature

Two house legislature (house & senate)

Connecticut/Great Compromise

Agreement by states @ Const. Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house w/ proportional rep & an upper house w/ equal rep

New Jersey Plan

William Patterson

Small state

Equal rep

Virginia Plan

Edmund Randolph

Large state

Proportional rep

Who created the Connecticut Compromise?

Roger Sherman

House of Rep QUALIFICATIONS

25 years old

Citizen for 7 years

Resident of state

Senate QUALIFICATIONS

30 years of age

9 year US citizen

Inhabitant of state represented

Current MA Senators

Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

Done by CONGRESS

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Done by STATES

Gerrymandering

Redistricting for political purposes

Vacancies in the House of Representatives

Governor calls a special election to replace rep

Leadership in the House

Speaker of the house

Majority leader (similar to above)

Minority leader

Whips

Speaker of the House

Leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives

Current Speaker of the House

Mike Johnson

Minority Leader of the House

Party leader elected by the minority party in the House

Current Minority Leader in the House

Hakeem Jeffries

Whips in the House

-House members who serve as go-betweens in the process involving general members and leaders

-Responsible for counting votes for proposed legislation

-Work w/ members of their party to get enough votes to pass or defeat a piece of legislation

"whips" party into shape

Current Majority (Rep) Whip

Tom Emmer

Current Minority (Dem) Whip

Katherine Clark

Role of House in Impeachment

Power to impeach/ACCUSE an officer by simple majority

(not part of the trial!)

Filibuster

A lengthy speech designed to delay or kill the vote on a bill

**ONLY in the Senate

Role of Senate in Impeachment

Holds the trial

(need 2/3 to vote in favor for impeachment)

Cloture

A procedure for terminating debate, especially filibusters, in the Senate

*Requires 60 senators to vote in favor

Quorum (House & Senate)

The minimum number of members who must be present for business to be conducted in Congress

Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause)

Article I, Section 8

Gives Congress the power to do whatever it deems necessary and constitutional to meet its enumerated obligations

Basically allows for IMPLIED POWERS

Habeas Corpus

Requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, particularly to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention

*Need a valid reason to detain someone

Enclave Clause

Article I, Section 8

Congress has the general police and regulatory powers over the District of Columbia (CREATES WASHINGTON DC), including taxation

Pocket Veto

President's power to KILL A BILL if they leave it unsigned for 10 days when Congress is not in session

Line Item Veto

Executive's ability to block a particular part in a bill passed by the legislature

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Conference Committee

Committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different forms

(one of the final steps in making a bill into a law)

Pro Tempore of the Senate

Replaces VP as presiding officer in Senate if out of office, busy, or on vacation

Literal translation: for the time being

Current VP

Kamala Harris

Current Pro Tempore

Patty Murray

Role of VP in Senate

tie breaker

Succession order to Presidency

VP, Speaker, Pro Temp, Cabinet Members (in order of position's creation)

Bill of Attainder

A law that declares a person, WITHOUT A TRIAL, to be GUILTY of a crime

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Ex Post Facto

a law that would allow a person to be punished for an action that was not against the law when it was committed

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Loose vs Strict Constructionist

Broad interpretation of the Constitution

vs

Word for word interpretation of the Constitution

Presidential QUALIFICATIONS

35 years old

Natural born citizen

Must live in the US for 14 years

22nd Amendment

Limits the president to two terms or 10 years

Electoral College

A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president

(when you vote, you're voting for electors, not the actual pres/vp)

Who is the electoral college made up of?

-VERY dedicated members of each party

-Chosen by party for/in each state

How many electors are there?

538

The day that electors vote must be the...

SAME across the US

Which states split their electoral votes across multiple parties/candidates?

Maine & Nebraska

How were the VP and Pres originally voted into office?

Together - whoever had the top two votes were pres & vp

12th Amendment

Separation of votes for President and Vice President

Came after Jefferson/Burr tie so that same party for both vp and pres would occur

How many electoral votes are needed to win?

270 out of 538

Large state advantage

Only 11 states are needed to win the presidency

Small state advantage

Small states have a disproportionate number of delegates, allowing for overall popular vote not needed to win

aka they have more electors than their population is worth

Minimum # of Electoral Votes from each state

3

25th Amendment

(1) Succession of VP if president dies or become incapable to do his job

(2) if there is no VP, president must appoint one, and congress must approve

Vice President Vacancy

President nominates person and both houses must approve

Transfer of power when president can't serve

VP takes over until president is seen fit; if pres comes back but still doesn't seem to be acting normally, congress can vote pres to be unfit for office until they get better

Who must approve of a treaty made by the president & foreign countries?

The Senate by 2/3 agreement

War Powers Act

-Limits president in the deployment of troops overseas to a 60-day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period

-Also provides for emergency control to president in war (aka when there's no time and you need to deploy a nuke or something)

Presidential Appointments

President may choose members of their cabinet, ambassadors to other nations, and other officials in his or her administration

(do have to be approved by Senate)

Pardon

A declaration of forgiveness and freedom from punishment