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.