Chapter 3 Government: Constitution

what is the role of custom in the government?

written rules that change the way.

how can amendments be added to the constitution?

1) Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions 2) Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures 3) Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions 4) Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures

what are five ways that the constitution can be informally amended?

1) basic legislation 2) executive action 3) court decisions 4) party practices 5) custom

list two presidential powers that developed from informal amendment.

1) executive action 2) executive agreement

what are the six basic principles of the constitution?

1) popular sovereignty- the doctrine that the people are sovereign and a government is subject to the will of the people 2) limited government- A limited government is defined as a government that is set up to have limited power over its citizens. 3) separation of powers- an act of vesting the legislative, executive, and judicial powers of government in separate bodies. 4) checks and balances- 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. 5) judicial review- 6) federalism- the federal principle or system of government:

how many amendments have been formally added to the constitution?

17

how does the formal amendment process show the importance of federalism?

The action represents the expression of the people's sovereign will.

how can the judicial branch check the legislative branch?

checks to see the laws of the constitution

what is the purpose of checks and balances?

it prevented an " unjust" combination of the majority

how is the text of the constitution organized?

its simple and straight forward

which amendment required the longest amount of time to ratify? how long did it take?

the 27th amendment, 200 years of ratification.

how are popular sovereignty and limited government related?

the citizen share or give power to the government

what event led to the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments?

the civil war led to these amendments

how can the executive branch check the legislative branch?

the president can veto any law

how can congress informally amend the constitution?

they can do this by basic legislation, to make the constitution more understandable

why were these principles important to the framers of the constitution?

they didn't want to give the government all the power