Bilyeu ch. 3 & 4 key terms and important dates

Article I

all about the legislative branch - House of Representatives and Senate - qualifications, terms, methods of selection, apportionment, powers of Congress, law making

Article II

all about the Executive Branch - President and Vice President - terms, qualifications, Electoral College, powers and duties, removal procedure

Article III

all about the federal courts - the Supreme Court - authority, terms, powers

Article IV

relationship of the states to one another and to the nat'l gov't - federalism - full faith and credit clause, process for admitting new states

Article V

amendment procedure

Article VI

supremacy clause, "the linchpin of the entire federal system", protection from religious tests for holding any office, strengthens the separation of church and state guarantee

Article VII

procedure for ratification

separation of powers

a way of dividing power among three branches of government

checks and balances

a governmental structure that gives each of the three branches of government some degree of oversight and control over the actions of the others (know examples)

federal system/federalism

plan of government created in the US Constitution in which power is divided between the national and the state governments

supremacy clause

portion of Article VI of the US Constitution mandating that national law is supreme to all other laws passed by the states or any other subdivision of government

enumerated powers

a list of items, found in Article I, Section 8, that set forth the authoritative capacity of Congress

elastic clause

clause in Article I, Section 8 that gives Congress the the right to "make all laws necessary & proper" to carry out powers expressed in the other clauses of Article I

jurisdiction

the limits or territory within which authority may be exercised

judicial review

the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional

delegated powers

powers the Constitution grants to the national government

expressed powers

powers directly stated in the Constitution

implied powers

powers that the government requires to carry out the expressed constitutional powers

reserved powers

powers that belong strictly to the states

concurrent powers

powers that both the national government and the states have

enabling act

an act that allows the people of a territory interested in becoming a state to prepare a constitution

extradite/extradition

to return a criminal or fugitive who flees across state lines back to the original state

civil law

relating to disputes among two or more individuals or between individuals and the government

income tax

tax levied on individual and corporate earnings

repeal

to revoke by legislative enactment

eminent domain

Power of a government to take private property for public use.

impeach

to formally accuse

1754-1763

French and Indian War

1760

King George III comes to the throne

1774

First Continental Congress

1775-1783

Revolutionary War

July 4, 1776

Declaration of Independance

1775

Second Continental Congress

1781-1788

Articles of Confederation

1787

Constitutional Convention

September 17, 1787

Constitution Day

1788

Constitution Ratified

1791

Bill of Rights Ratified

1992

27th Amendment Ratified