Government Chapter 3.1 & 3.2

The subject of the 1st three articles of the Constitution is

the Congress, the presidency, and the federal courts.

Limited Government

the idea that government may only do those things that the people have given it the power to do

Constitutional

the idea that government must be conducted according to constitutional principles

Constitution

the nation's fundamental law. It is "the supreme Law of the Land"

Popular Sovereignty

the political principle that people are the source of all governmental power and that government requires the consent of the governed

Judicial Review

the power of a court to determine whether a government action is constitutional or not

Separation of Powers

the principle that each of the basic powers of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—should be wielded by an independent branch of government

Federalism

the principle that political power should be divided between a central government and a number of regional governments

Checks and Balances

the system under which each branch of government can check, or limit, the actions of the other branches

One way a constitutional amendment may be proposed is by

2/3 vote of Congress and ratified by ¾ vote of the States.

The method most often used to add amendments to the Constitution is

proposal by 2/3 vote of each house of Congress and ratifications by ¾ of State legislatures.

If a State rejects a proposed amendment it may later

reconsider & ratify the proposal.

Article 5

Amending the Constitution

Article 2

Creates the Executive Branch

Article 3

Creates the Judicial Branch

Article 1

Creates the Legislative Branch

Article 6

National debts, supremacy of national law, and oaths of office.

The introduction to the Constitution is called the

Preamble

Article 7

Ratifying the Constitution

Article 4

Relations among the States

Preamble

States the purpose of the Constitution

The Constitution is organized by

a Preamble, 7 articles, and 27 amendments.

Judicial review is

a power that is not specifically stated in the Constitution but the Supreme Court claimed for itself in the case of Marbury V. Madison in 1803.

The Bill of Rights is a list of

basic freedoms and rights.

The formal amendment process is an example of ______ because amendments are proposed at the national level and ratified at the state level.

federalism

Unconstitutional

in violation of a provision of the Constitution, and therefore illegal and of no effect

The Framers left some sections of the Constitution without detail because they wanted

to keep the Constitution flexible, allowing for changing times.

Veto

to reject an act of Congress

The Bill of Rights were included because some of the Framers feared a

too-powerful government might abuse its citizens.

One way the executive Branch can check the power of the legislative branch is by

vetoing legislation.