History 202 Constitution Test

How did the Constitution intend "to form a more perfect Union?"

The framers intended to create a better form of government than the articles

Name the three branches of the federal government created by the Constitution.

Legislative, Executive, and Judicial

Which two federal institutions are granted legislative powers by the Constitution? What is the name given to both institutions?

The House of Representatives &
The Senate

What is the term of office of a member of the House of Representatives?

2 Year terms

At what age is an American citizen allowed to become a member of the House of Representatives?

25 years

How many years of citizenship are required before a person is eligible for a seat in the House?

7 years

How often must the Congress conduct a census of the U.S. population?

Every 10 years

Define the verb impeach as it applies to federal officials.

To charge a public official with crime or misconduct.

Which federal institution has the power to impeach federal officials?

The House of Representatives
The senate can try

How many U.S. senators does each state have?

2 senators

What is the term of each U.S. senator?

6 years

Does each state's senators vote as a group or do they vote individually?

Each senator has one vote.

Until 1913, what institutions chose U.S. senators?

By their States legislatures

At what age is an American citizen permitted to become a member of the U.S. Senate?

30 years

How many years of citizenship are required before a person is eligible for a seat in the Senate?

9 years

Who presides over the U.S. Senate?

The Vice President

When is the only time this person is allowed to cast a vote in the Senate?

To break a tie.

Let's say the President is impeached. Which institution tries his or her case?

The senate tries the case

What kind of vote is needed to remove a high-ranking federal official, such as the president, from office?

2/3

Who presides over the impeachment trial of the U.S. president?

The chief of Justice

After a high-ranking federal official, such as the President, is removed from office, what things can happen to him or her?

Disqualified from holding future office.
Fines, potential jail time for crimes committed.

Connect the federal and state governments to titles of nobility.Connect federal officials to titles of nobility. Connect private citizens to titles of nobility.

Federal and state officeholders can neither grant titles of nobility to themselves nor us. But your statement about stripping an American of citizenship is incorrect. There was a proposed amendment that would strip an American of citizenship if he or she accepted a title of nobility from another country, such as England, but that proposed amendment was never ratified.

What must each House of Congress "keep" and "provide?"

Journal of its proceedings

Where must all revenue bills (such as those that raise your taxes) originate

The house of representatives

What must happen before the President signs a bill and it becomes law?

Must be presented with the law.

If the President vetoes a bill, what kind of vote is needed in each house of Congress to override the veto?

2/3

Which national institution has the power to collect taxes, borrow money, and regulate commerce among the states?

Congress

Which national institution has the power to establish naturalization laws, coin money, and create post offices?

Congress

Which national institution has the power to create courts, declare war, raise and maintain an army and navy, and make laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the provisions of the Constitution?

Congress

The term habeas corpus is Latin for "to produce the body." In legal terms, it means that a person cannot languish in jail without being formally charged with a crime. According to the Constitution, when may habeas corpus be suspended?

It shall not be suspended unless in cases, rebellion or public safety may require it.

Does the Constitution specify who has the right to suspend habeas corpus?

No it does not.

What can't the states "coin" and "lay?"

Cannot form alliances with foreign governments.
declare war
coin money
impose duties on imports and exports
The States can tax trade, but they cannot tax imports.

Who is the chief executive officer of the United States?

Joe Biden

How often do we elect a president and a vice president

4 years

What is the two-word name given to the system that elect the president and the vice president (this term is not in the constitution, but you need to know it.)

electoral college

How is each state's electoral vote determined?

Two votes for its senators in the U.S. senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its congressional districts.

According to the Constitution, who/what has the authority to choose the members of the Electoral College? In addition, how is each state's electoral vote determined? Whom does the Constitution bar from serving as members of the Electoral College?

The State chooses

What three requirements must a person meet before he or she can seek the presidency?

A natural born citizen.
At least 35 years old.
Has permanently lived in the U.S. for 14 years.

Who becomes the nation's chief executive upon the death or resignation of the president?

The Vice President

Can a sitting President's pay increase or decrease during his presidency?

No it cannot increase nor decrease

The President-elect or incumbent President closes the presidential oath with the phrase "so help me God." Is this phrase part of the constitutional oath?

No

Who is commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces?

The President

What fraction of senators is necessary to approve a treaty negotiated by the executive branch?

2/3

Who appoints ambassadors and federal judges?

The President

Whose consent is necessary before ambassadors and judges assume these positions?

The President

What must the President give Congress "from time to time?"

information of the state of the union

What are the constitutional grounds for the impeachment of all civil officers of the United States?

conviction of treason

To which institutions does the Constitution grant judicial power?

in one supreme court

According to the Constitution, all federal judges "hold their Offices during" what?

Good Behavior

Does the Constitution specify the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court?

No

A person charged with treason against the United States can be found guilty only if one of two conditions are met. What are the two conditions?

two witnesses to the same overt confession in open court

Does the Constitution grant the U.S. Supreme Court the right to declare laws constitutional or unconstitutional?

No

Which Article and Section allow the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate to judge the qualifications of their own members?

article 1 section 5

What kind of vote is needed for the House or the Senate to expel its own members?

2/3

Which Article and Section prohibit the states from signing treaties and forming military alliances?

article 1, section 10

What Article and Section provide for the extradition of a person who has fled a state in which he or she has been charged with a crime?

article 4, section 2

Let's say the Upper Peninsula of Michigan wants to leave the state and become a separate state within the Union. What two requirements must be met for this to happen?

jurisdiction of any other state consent of the legislatures of the states concerning as well as the congress.

What Article and Section of the Constitution guarantees American citizenship to a person regardless of the state in which he or she lives?

article 4, section 2

According to Article IV, Section 4, what is guaranteed to every state in the Union?

protect each of them against invasion

Which Article and Section of the Constitution states that the Congress can pass laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the specified provisions of the Constitution?

article 1, section 8

Which Article prohibits a religious test as a requirement for holding public office in the United States?

article 6

Members of the U.S. Congress, state legislators, and all judges are "bound by" something? What is it?

The Constitution

What kind of vote is needed in each house of Congress to pass a proposed constitutional amendment?

2/3

What kind of vote is required from the states after the Congress approves the proposed amendment?

3/4 states article 5

Which Article declares the Constitution "the supreme Law of the Land?"

article 6

How many of the original thirteen states had to ratify the Constitution before it took effect?

9 out of 13

In which year did the Framers write the Constitution?

1787

Where is the only place in the Constitution that a Supreme Being is mentioned?

Article 3, Section 1

In what context is the Supreme Being mentioned?

Article 7, seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven of the date

Which amendment stipulates that if the vice president and a majority of the cabinet members declare in writing that the president is unable to carry out his duties, the vice president becomes the nation's chief executive?

25th

Which one of the Bill of Rights prohibits the federal government from stationing troops in your house during peacetime?

3rd

Which amendment changed the date of the president's inauguration from March 4 to January 20?

20th

Which Progressive-era amendment allowed Congress to establish a federal tax on incomes?

16th

Which amendment abolished slavery?

13th

Which amendment permitted American citizens residing in Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections?

23rd

Which one of the Bill of Rights prohibits cruel and unusual punishment?

8th

Which amendment granted the franchise to American women?

19th

Which one of the Bill of Rights permits Americans the right to bear arms? What phrase in the amendment explains why Americans have this right?

2nd & A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Which amendment states that if members of Congress vote themselves a pay raise, the increase takes effect only after the next set of congressional elections?

27th

Which one of the Bill of Rights states that a person acquitted of a crime cannot be retried for the same offense and that a defendant does not have to testify against himself or herself?

5th

Which amendment established separate electoral ballots for the president and vice president?

12th

What amendment made it illegal to make, transport, or sell alcoholic beverages in the United States?

18th

Which Reconstruction-era amendment prohibited the states from denying citizens, including ex-slaves, the right to vote on the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude?"

15th

Which one of the Bill of Rights prohibits a national religion and guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, and press?

1st

Which amendment made alcohol legal again?

21st

Which one of the Bill of Rights states that powers not granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved for the states?

10th

Which Progressive-era amendment allows citizens to directly elect their U.S. senators?

17th

Which amendment limits the president to two terms?

22nd

Which one of the Bill of Rights guarantees the accused a public and speedy trial?

6th

Which amendment lowered the voting age to eighteen?

26th

Which amendment outlawed the poll tax in all federal elections?

24th

Which one of the Bill of Rights protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures?

4th

Which amendment guaranteed citizenship to ex-slaves and prohibited states from denying citizens "life, liberty, or property" without "due process of law?"

14th

Explain what happens when there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President. Which amendment deals with this issue?

25th

Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition

1st

Right to keep and bear arms

2nd

No quartering of soldiers

3rd

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

4th

The Right to Remain Silent/Double Jeopardy, right to due process

5th

Right to a speedy trial

6th