AP Gov - Constitution Study Guide

Article I

Design of the legislative branch.

Important ideas include: separation of powers, checks and balances, election of members into Congress, how laws are made, and the powers of Congress

Article II

Places power in the hands of a president.

Describes how he is elected, how many years he serves, requirements to become the president, and lists his powers

Article III

Establishes a Supreme Court.

States that the laws of the US are defined in the Constitution, and the Supreme Court has the power to settle disputes between individuals, states, and lower courts.

Article IV

Describes the rights of the individual states.

Citizens in every state share the same rights, all states function under a republican form of government, and describes the process for admitting new states into the Union.

Article V

Grants Congress the power to amend the Constitution, if necessary, if 1/3 of Congress agrees OR

2/3 of the states can call a convention for proposing amendments.

Article VI

The Constitution is the law of the land.

All treaties, laws, and rulings will be the supreme law, which no state law or otherwise can contradict. Senators and Representatives must take an oath to uphold the Constitution.

Article VII

In order for the Constitution to be ratified and put into effect, 9 states much approve.

Powers denied to Congress

Cannot suspend the privilege of the Writ of Habeus Corpus

Cannot pass a bill of attainder or exacto law

Powers denied to the states

Cannot make treaties

Cannot raise their own armies/engage in war without Congress's consent

Eligibility requirements for the House

25 years of age

7 years a US citizen

Must be an inhabitant of the state he/she chooses to represent

Eligibility requirements for the Senate

30 years of age

9 years a US citizen

Must be an inhabitant of the state he/she chooses to represent

Eligibility requirements for the President

35 years of age

Natural born citizen

14 years a US resident

Expressed powers of the President

Commander and Chief

Supreme Court Appointments

Expressed powers of the Vice President

President of the Senate

Expressed powers of Congress

Collects taxes

Declares War

Executive branch over Legislative branch

The president can review every bill passed in Congress and can choose to approve or veto it (Article I Section 7)

Executive branch over Judicial branch

The president appoints the Supreme Court Justices (Article II Section 2)

Legislative branch over Executive branch

Even if the president vetoes a bill, if 2/3 of the House and the Senate still vote for it, it becomes a law (Article I Section 7)

Legislative branch over Judicial branch

Congress gets to approve the judiciary appointments (Article II Section 7)

Judicial branch over Executive branch

Justices serve for life (cannot be fired) (Article III Section 1)

Judicial branch over Legislative branch

Supreme Court declares laws unconstitutional (Article III Section 2)

Commerce Clause

Article 1 Section 8: Clause 3

Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with Indian tribes

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article 1 Section 8: Clause 18

Congress has the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out all other powers granted by the Constitution

Supremacy Clause

Article VI

Federal Constitution and federal law take precedence over state laws and state constitutions

Habeus Corupus Clause

Article I Section 9

Federal courts use this Writ to bring a person before the court (hence produce the body) to determine if imprisonment is lawful

Bill of Attainder

Article I Section 9

Acts of legislation declaring a person or a group of people guilty of a crime and punishing them without a trial.

Ex Post Facto Laws

Article I Section 9

Laws that retroactively change the legal status or consequences of actions that were committed, or laws that change the rules of evidence to make conviction easier.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Article IV Section 1

Addresses the duties that states have to respect the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state

Due Process Clauses

5th and 14th Amendments

Implies fair treatment through the judicial system

Equal Protection Clause

14th Amendment

Implies that no state shall deny a person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws; the law applies the same way to everyone.

1st Amendment

Freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

Right to not have to quarter soldiers (only really applied during the F&I War and the Revolution)

4th Amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, probable cause, cannot be arrested without a warrant

5th Amendment

Right to a trial by jury (Habeus Corpus) , cannot be prosecuted twice for the same offense (double jeopardy), freedom from self-incrimination, due process

6th Amendment

Right to be informed of charges, right to call defense witnesses, right to have a lawyer

7th Amendment

Right to a jury trial in civil cases

8th Amendment

Freedom from excessive bail and cruel/unusual punishment

9th Amendment

Guaranteed rights even if they are not listed in the Constituion

10th Amendment

Any power not given to the federal government is given to the people and the states

11th Amendment

Sovereign immunity; the federal government is immune from any criminal prosecution, civil suit, and cannot commit any legal wrongdoing

12th Amendment

Election procedures

13th Amendment

Abolition of slavery

14th Amenment

Citizenship for slaves

15th Amendment

Voting rights for slaves

16th Amendment

Congress can levy an income tax

17th Amendment

Direct election of Senators

18th Amendment

Prohibition

19th Amendment

Women's suffrage

20th Amendment

Sets the dates at which federal government elected offices end and defines who succeeds the president if he dies in office

21st Amendment

Repeal of prohibition

22nd Amendment

Limitation of a presidential term of office

23rd Amendment

Voters in Washington DC are given the right to vote for presidential electors

24th Amendment

Abolition of poll taxes

25th Amendment

Succession of offices of the president

26th Amendment

Voting age: 18

27th Amendment

Limits the power of Congress to increase its own salaries