Liberty and Law Study Guide

Many states, divided between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, only agreed to ratify the Constitution if:

A Bill of Rights was added to the document.

How is the Constitution organized?

A Preamble, 7 articles, and 27 amendments

The Glorious Revolution and the English Bill of Rights established:

A constitutional balance of power in England

What did some people fear might happen if a Bill of Rights was not added to the Constitution?

A too-powerful government might abuse its citizens

How are amendments to the Constitution proposed?

A two-thirds vote of Congress

Due to their experience of the Imperial Crisis, the Founding Fathers established in the Articles of Confederation:

A weak form of centralized government

In society, a Social Contract is best described as

An agreement between the government and the governed

One truly revolutionary measure taken by the Founding Fathers was to create written constitutions. In what ways does this feature reflect the Founders concern with the potential abuse of power by a central government?

Answers will vary. By writing your down a constitution, the Founders expressed the powers of the government - hence limiting its powers [in principle and operational] to what is written on the page.

"A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference."- Thomas Jefferson In a well written paragraph, explain what Jefferson thinks the purpose of the Bill of Rights is and why it is important to citizens.

Answers will vary. Response should mainly highlight how Jefferson strongly believed that every American should have the right to prevent the government from infringing on the liberties of its citizens.

Match each quotation to the correct document "The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States was called the:

Articles of Confederation

The first constitution of the United States was called:

Articles of Confederation

The Bill of Rights is a list of

Basic freedoms and rights

Explain why each state--New Jersey and Virginia--favored a specific plan. Use evidence from the map to support your answer.

Because they were a large state, Virginia would have wanted proportional representation, but New Jersey would have wanted the opposite because they were smaller.

The Constitution created a ____________ legislature

Bicameral

Which of the following least influenced states to send delegates to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787?

Concern about the new nation's ability to pay its debt

The Articles of Confederation established a government that was structured as a:

Confederation

What was the sole branch of government created under the Articles of Confederation?

Confederation Congress

Which was a compromise between the northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention?

Congress could tax imports but not exports

A set of rules based on agreed upon principles that frame a government

Constitution

Match each quotation to the correct document "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this [document]."

Constitution of the United States

The structure and organization of powers of the United States government, as outlined in the Articles of Confederation, are best described as:

Decentralized: states retain power over the national government

Match each quotation to the correct document "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them. . . ."

Declaration of Independence

A type of government, or characteristic within government that gives citizens the most choice and voice in how they are governed

Democracy

A type of government that is extremely centralized and exercises near complete authority

Dictatorship

According to the graph above, what statement best generalizes the spending priorities of the federal government?

Entitlement programs designed to support citizens are most important to the federal government.

Which phrase in the Preamble of the Constitution means that laws should be reasonable, fair, and impartial?

Establish justice

How did the Three-Fifths Compromise effect representation in Congress?

Every five slaves were counted as three free men toward the state's population.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Using the quote above, what does the author mean by "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"?

Every person is born with natural rights

How often do reapportionment and redistricting of seats occur in the House of Representatives?

Every ten years

How often are House members elected?

Every two years, in even-numbered years.

Which of the following best describes the term "liberty"?

Freedom from oppressive government restrictions on way of life, behavior, and political views.

Which of the following characteristics does not describe the New Jersey Plan?

Gave an advantage to large states.

Which of the following characteristics does not describe the Virginia Plan?

Gave an advantage to small states.

Match the following characteristics of the Bill of Rights with the appropriate amendments: 6th amendment

Grants the right of a speedy trial by jury

The House of Representatives

Has representation based upon state populations.

In Common Sense, Thomas Paine argues that the following form of government is illegitimate:

Hereditary Monarchy

Which phrase in the Preamble of the Constitution means the government should provide peace and order in society?

Insure domestic tranquility

A citizen....

Is a person who is a legal resident of a place and has certain rights, privileges, and obligations that non-citizens do not have.

A government...

Is made up of the processes, officials, and bodies that manage a society.

Which of the following was not a major weakness of the Articles of Confederation?

It featured a strong national government.

Who is the "Father of the Constitution"?

James Madison

Which philosopher of the Enlightenment had the biggest influence on the Founding Fathers?

John Locke

All of the following are steps that a bill must pass through in order to become a law EXCEPT

Judicial Review

The Founders believed the ___________ power to be the most essential government power under the Articles of Confederation.

Legislative

Which constitutional principle means that government is bound by the rule of law?

Limited government

The Magna Carta of 1215 was a significant development in the history of government because it:

Limited the power of the king

A type of government that has hereditary rule by king or queen

Monarchy

Which of the following qualifications is not required to become a member of the Senate?

Must have served as a member of the House for at least one term.

Locate three provisions within the Articles of Confederation that indicate the concerns of the Founders with the powers of a central government.

My answer. Answers will vary 1. In article five, there's a mention on how every state has sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right. this could mean that they're planning for states have freedom to elect the state positions, rather than them being appointed. 2. Article five mentions has a very complex process for when delegates get appointed. They are concerned, so they want to have a more long and complex process. 3. The founders aren't giving congress the power to tax the states, in order to balancer the power between the states and congress.

Study the map of the American colonies during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Match each plan for representation in the Constitution to the state--New Jersey or Virginia--that would support the plan.

New Jersey: Equality Virginia: Population

Which of the following forms of government features rule by few, powerful elites?

Oligarchy

Anti-Federalists

Opposed ratification of the Constitution.

Which basic principle of the Constitution means that government can govern only with the consent of the governed?

Popular sovereignty

What is the introduction to the Constitution called?

Preamble

All of the following are provisions of the Preamble except

Preserving the Articles of Confederation

When creating the Congress, the founders of the United States gave the legislative branch an oversight function to check the power of the ___________

President

The Declaration of Independence best demonstrates which ideal of the Enlightenment

Protection of minority rights

Match the following characteristics of the Bill of Rights with the appropriate amendments: 4th amendment

Protects from unreasonable search and seizure

Match the following characteristics of the Bill of Rights with the appropriate amendments: 5th amendment

Protects the accused from self-incrimination

Match the following characteristics of the Bill of Rights with the appropriate amendments: 1st amendment

Protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press, the right to petition, and the right to peaceably assembly

The reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives based on changes in a state's population since the last census is known as

Reapportionment

A type of government where citizens elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf is

Republic

Match the following characteristics of the Bill of Rights with the appropriate amendments: 10th amendment

Reserves rights to the states or the people

"No freeman [person] shall be taken or imprisoned,... or in any way harmed... save by the lawful judgement of his peers, or by the law of the land... To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or justice." —Magna Carta, 1215 Which of these rights is described in the excerpt?

Rights of the accused

The Mayflower Compact established which important governing principle in the British North American colonies?

Rule by the consent of the governed

Which of the following least contributed in influencing the American Revolution and creation of the United States?

Salutary neglect

"...it is evident that each department should have a will of its own; and consequently should be so constituted, that the members of each should have as little agency as possible in the appointment of the members of the others. Were this principle rigorously adhered to, it would require that all the appointments for the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary magistracies, should be drawn from the same fountain of authority, the people, through channels, having no communication whatever with one another."~James Madison, Federalist 51 Using the excerpt above, address the following question—which of the basic principles of the US Constitution is being described in this excerpt by James Madison?

Separation of powers

Which constitutional amendment shifted the power to elect senators from state legislators to popular elections?

Seventeenth

John F. Kennedy's inaugural address included the following passage- "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." The central idea that Kennedy expresses is that Americans

Should consider their personal contributions to the nation.

By placing the power to tax in the hands of the House of Representatives, the framers

Sought to avoid unpopular and unfair taxes.

Which of the following is true about their government created under the Articles of Confederation?

State government were more powerful than the national government.

One reason Congress under the Articles of Confederation struggled to get anything done was:

Super-majorities were required on all orders of business.

Federalists

Supported ratification of the Constitution.

Delegates met in Philadelphia in 1787 to address the problems of the Articles of Confederation. What did this come to be known as?

The Constitutional Convention

With respect to the Imperial Crisis [events that culminated in the American Revolution], which of the following events does not belong with the others?

The First Great Awakening

What famous compromise settled the debate over the Virginia and New Jersey Plans?

The Great (Connecticut) Compromise

What does federalism mean?

The power is divided among a national government and the states

The Federalist Papers were a collection of essays that promoted:

The ratification of the Constitution

What is outlined by the first three articles of the Constitution?

The structure of the federal government

Which of the following is true about the government created under the Articles of Confederation?

There was only one branch of government

Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

Thomas Jefferson

How can the courts influence the meaning of Constitution?

Through judicial review

How did the courts get the power of judicial review?

Through the Marbury v. Madison decision

What was the purpose of the Philadelphia Convention of 1787?

To revise the Articles of Confederation.

A bicameral legislature has which feature:

Two separate houses in the legislative branch

In what ways can the executive branch check the power of the legislative branch?

Veto legislation

Which of the following list best characterizes civic duties in the United States of America?

Voting, paying taxes, serving on a jury.

Using the graphic below, please answer the prompt in a well-written paragraph. Why do you believe that voter turnout is lower in the United States than in other countries? What effects could a lack of voter participation have?

We have multiple systems of voting according to state, voting days are on the weekdays, registration laws can be confusing, and polls show Americans are apathetic about politics. Democratic ideals could suffer, representation and legislation may not be indicative of the needs and desires of the populace, and idea of the "voice of the people" could lose credibility.

Shays's Rebellion demonstrated that the government under the Articles of Confederation was:

Weak and ineffective in a time of crisis.

Define the term bicameral Congress. Why does the United States have a bicameral Congress? What are the differences and similarities between the two houses? Make sure to include the qualifications for each member, the number of representatives in each house, and the differences in terms (number of years).

Bicameral means 2 house. Congress is comprised of 2 chambers - the House of Representatives and the US Senate. The bicameral Congress reflects the Constitution's attempt to balance the interests of the population of the United States with the interests of the individual states. Similarities: Representatives and senators establish their own salaries and enjoy a variety of privileges. Differences: Members of the House of Representatives are selected based on proportional representation. This means that each state sends representatives to Congress in proportion to its overall population. States with the highest population have the most influence. In contrast, the Senate gives states equal representation, with two senators each. House members serve two-year terms, and the entire chamber faces election each congressional election year. Senators serve six-year terms, and the Senate is a continuous body. The Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution provided for direct election of senators.

Which is a method by which an amendment to the Constitution can be ratified?

By three-fourths of the state legislatures

"The magistrate in whom the whole executive power resides cannot of himself make a law, though he can put a negative on every law; nor administer justice in person, though he has the appointment of those who do administer it. The judges can exercise no executive prerogative, though they are shoots from the executive stock; nor any legislative function, though they may be advised with by the legislative councils. The entire legislature can perform no judiciary act, though by the joint act of two of its branches the judges may be removed from their offices, and though one of its branches is possessed of the judicial power in the last resort."~James Madison, Federalist 47 Using the excerpt above, address the following question--which of the basic principles of the US Constitution is being described in this excerpt by James Madison?

Checks and balances

Each branch of the federal government can limit the power of the other two branches. What is this system called?

Checks and balances