Chapter 3-Civics

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US Constitution

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A document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the United States is governed. It was drafted by the Constitutional Convention and later supplemented by the Bill of Rights and other amendments.

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Article 1

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establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. The Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate.establishes the legislative branch of the federal government, the United States Congress. The Congress is a bicameral legislature

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Article 2

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establishes the executive branch of the federal government, which carries out and enforces federal laws.

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Article 3

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establishes the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts as created by Congress.

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Article 4

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he Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

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Article 5

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describes the process whereby the Constitution, the nation's frame of government, may be altered. Altering the Constitution consists of proposing an amendment or amendments and subsequent ratification.

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Article 6

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establishes the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids a religious test as a requirement for holding a governmental position and holds the United States under the Constitution responsible for debts incurred ...

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Article 7

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very last article of the United States Constitution. Article 7 explains how many state ratifications are needed in order for the proposed Constitution to take place in the United States and how a state could go about ratifying the Constitution.

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Amendment 1

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An amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing the rights of free expression and action that are fundamental to democratic government. These rights include freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.

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Amendment 2

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removing the definition of militia, and striking the conscientious objector clause: A well regulated militia, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

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Amendment 3

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the section of the Bill of Rights that prohibits soldiers from temporarily residing in private homes during peace time without getting the permission and consent of the owner.

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Amendment 4

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The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things ...

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Amendment 5

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"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor ...

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Amendment 6

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the section of the Bill of Rights that guarantees a citizen a speedy trial, a fair jury, an attorney if the accused person wants one, and the chance to confront the witnesses who is accusing the defendant of a crime, meaning he or she can see who ...

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Amendment 7

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In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

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Amendment 8

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'Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.' Theamendment is meant to safeguard Americans against excessive punishments.

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Amendment 9

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the section of the Bill of Rights that states that there are other rights that may exist aside from the ones explicitly mentioned, and even though they are not listed, it does not mean they can be violated.

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Amendment 10

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the section of the Bill of Rights that basically says that any power that is not given to the federal government is given to the people or the states.

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Amendment 13

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abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States,

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Amendment 14

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an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, defining national citizenship and forbidding the states to restrict the basic rights of citizens or other persons.

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Amendment 15

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prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

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Amendment 18

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effectively established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States by declaring the production, transport, and sale of alcohol (though not the consumption or private possession) illegal.

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Amendment 19

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prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

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Seperation of Powers

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an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies.

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Checks and Balances

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counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

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Three Fifths Compromise

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The population of slaves would be counted asthree-fifths in total when apportioning Representatives, as well as Presidential electors and taxes. The Three-Fifths Compromise was proposed by James Wilson and Roger Sherman, who were both delegates for the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

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Due Process Clause

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acts as a safeguard from arbitrary denial of life, liberty, or property by the Government outside the sanction of law.

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Commerce Clause

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gives Congress the power “to regulate commercewith foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.”

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Elastic Clause

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a statement in the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 8) granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.

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Impeachment

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A formal accusation of wrong doing against a public official

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House of Representatives

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one of Congress's two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government's legislative branch.

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Senate

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any of various legislative or governing bodies, in particular.

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Limited Government

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a political system where the legalized force is restricted through delegated and enumerated powers.

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Republicanism

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adherence to or sympathy for a republican form of government

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Popular Sovereignty

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the principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power.

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Federalism/Federalist

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Spread out power

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Anti-Federalist

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Those who disagree with the views of the federalists.

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Amend

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make minor changes in (a text) in order to make it fairer, more accurate, or more up-to-date

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Enumerated Powers

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a list of items found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that set forth the authority of Congress. In summary, Congress may exercise the powers that the Constitution grants it, subject to the individual rights listed in the Bill of Rights.

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Marbury vs Madison

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was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution

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McCulloch vs Maryland

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the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank.

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President Pro Tempore

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a high-ranking senator of the majority party who presides over the US Senate in the absence of the vice president.

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Speaker of the House

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The presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives

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Ex post facto laws

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A law that makes illegal an act that was legal when committed, increases the penalties for an infraction after it has been committed, or changes the rules of evidence to make conviction easier. The Constitution prohibits the making of them

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Writ of habeus corpus

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is a court order to a person or agency holding someone in custody (such as a warden) to deliver the imprisoned individual to the court issuing the order and to show a valid reason for that person's detention.

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Judicial Review

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eview by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.