The Constitution Articles I-VII Study Guide

For Mr. Huntington's class, exam on Thursday

Bill

baby law, an idea for a law created by the Senate or House of Representatives.

Quorum

The minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of that meeting valid.

congressional record

A record of the proceedings of Congress

Enumerated powers

powers granted to the Federal government, specifically Congress.

Implied powers

political powers granted to the government not specifically stated in the constitution

elastic clause

A statement in the US Constitution (article 1 section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

census

An official court or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals

bankruptcy

Helps people or companies that can no longer pay their debts get a fresh start by liquidating assets to pay their debts or creating a repayment plan

Copyright

Exclusive legal right given to an originator to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

patent

Government authority or a license conferring a right to a title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.

piracy

unauthorized use or reproduction of someone else's work.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

A law where someone can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court orders the custodian of the person bring the person to court to decide whether the imprisonment is lawful.

naturalization

The legal process where a non-citizen of the USA can become a citizen.

bill of attainder

An act of legislature declaring a person or group of people guilty of a crime and punishing them, often without a trial.

Ex post facto law

A law that prevents people from being punished for breaking a law or doing something currently unlawful before it became a law.

impeachment

When a federal official commits a crime or does something bad, the House of Representatives or occasionally Senate can remove that official from office.

pardon

the act of the president of the United States completely setting aside and freeing someone of their criminal charges, can be controversial.

Veto

The act of the president of the united states refusing to pass a law and sending a bill back to the congress.

Pocket veto

an indirect veto where the president ignores the bill and doesn't sign it until it is too late to be dealt with during the legislative session.

override

When more than half of the congress votes to override a veto'd law and it becomes a law anyway

electoral college

The house of representatives, senate, and washington d.c. together, the ones that actually vote and decide who the president will be during each presidential election.

election day

the day everyone votes on the president, usually in november. in 2024 it will be november 5th.

Appellate court

A court case that is first tried with a smaller court, then appealed and brought all the way up to the supreme court in some cases.

treason

the act of betraying your own country. Can be giving information or aid to enemy countries and attempting to start your own union or country, like the confederacy.

jurisdiction

the official power to make legal decisions and judgments

extradition

When someone who broke a law and committed a crime/treason escapes to another state, the person will be sent back to the original state where they committed the crime.

supremacy clause

The constitution and federal laws take priority over any conflicting rules of state laws.

Duties of the legislative branch

Create and vote on bills, present bills to president, declares war, regulates interstate/foreign commerce, controls taxing and spending policies.

Duties of the executive branch

approve and veto bills, pardon people, carries out and enforces laws, appointing supreme court judges

qualifications for a member of the house of representatives

must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for at least 7 years, live in the state he or she represents.

qualifications for a member of the senate

must be at least 30 years old, a US citizen for at least 9 years, living in the state that he or she represents at the time of running for or being senator.

qualifications for the president of the united states

must be a natural born citizen, must live in the US for at least 14 years, must be at least 35 years old

term limits of each

President can be the president for 10 years at most, two terms for house of representatives, senate terms are six years

How does a bill become a law?

the bill is introduced from the senate or house of representatives. The bill is voted on by the area it came from first, then the other group (house or senate), then goes on to the president to approve or veto

how does the electoral process work

a total of 538 electors in the electoral college. each elector casts one vote. The candidate who gets at least 270 votes wins.

Officers of the house

elected at the start of each congress, includes the Chaplain, the Chief Administrative officer, the clerk of the house, the sergeant at arms.

Officers of the senate

vice president of the united states, president pro tempore, secretary of the state, sergeant at arms, party secretaries, senate chaplain

Explain how the senate is a continuing body with a staggered election and why?

The senate is a continuous body because the senators are in rotation, and every 2 years during the elections, two-thirds of the senators are carried over from congress to congress. The staggered elections are to bring stability to the senate and other gov branches.

first five jobs in order of presidential succession

vice president, speaker of the house, president pro tempore of the senate, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury.

Special duties of the chief justice

responsible for the administrative leadership of the entire federal judicial system

What is the importance of the president's role involving the supreme court and why is his legacy tied to it?

The president appoints new supreme court justices when one of them must resign or dies, and that leaves a lasting impact and represents his legacy because the supreme court justice will often be there long after the president leaves office.

process of proposing an amendment

amendments can be proposed by the congress through a joint resolution passed by a two-thirds vote or by a convention called by congress in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.

Process of ratifying an amendment

The amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislature or three-fourths of the conventions called in each state for ratification.

purpose of article seven

Article 7 of the constitution declares that the constitution shall become official law of the ratifying states when nine states ratified the document

preamble of the united states

we the people of the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice insure domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america.