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I. Constitutional Questions
Preamble:
1. In your own words, what are the six purposes of the U.S. Constitution?
Article I
2. What basic kind of power is given to the Congress?
3. What are the qualifications necessary to be a Representative? How
long do representatives
serve?
4. What power is vested only in the House?
5. How many Representatives in the House does each state get?
6. How were Senators chosen before the Constitution was amended?
7. How long is the term of office for a Senator?
8. What are the qualifications to be a Senator?
9. Who is the President of the Senate? Under what circumstances
can he vote? Who replaces him
during his absences?
10. What is the difference between the House of Representative’s power
to impeach (Art I, Sec 2)
and the Senate’s power to try impeachments? What vote is necessary
to impeach? Who can be
impeached?
11. If a person is impeached, what happens?
12. All tax bills must begin where?
13. What are the two ways the President may be able to block a bill
from becoming law?
14. What can the Legislature do if the president refuses to sign a
bill into law?
15. What some of the major powers of Congress? (this may take a while...)
16. What is Article I, Section 10 about?
Article II
17. If the electoral college fails to elect a President, what happens?
18. What are the qualifications for President of the United States?
19. What are the general responsibilities of the President of the United
States?
Article III
20. What are the qualifications to become a Supreme Court Justice?
21. What kinds of cases and legal issues does the Supreme Court handle
as original jurisdiction?
What issues fall under appellate jurisdiction?
Article IV
22. What is the result of Article IV, Section 1?
23. As the United States expanded, more land was added to the country
and new states were
created. What gave the United States the power to do this?
Article V
24. What are the two ways that an amendment to the Constitution can
be initiated according to
Article V? What must happen for an amendment to be adopted?
Article VI
25. What are the basic issues covered under Article VI?
II. Interpretive Questions on the U.S. Constitution
Instructions:
Answer two of the following questions. These
questions will require more thought and writing than the previous set and
some will require you to express your own opinion. Be careful to distinguish
between questions which ask for your opinion and those that do not. Also
remember to keep in mind what you have learned (in U.S. History) about
the historical background of the Constitutional Convention and ratification
of the Constitution; you may find clues to some of the answers in that
information. Feel free to consult any books necessary to complete
this assignment. Each answer should be roughly a page.
A. Why do you think all tax bills must originate with the House of Representatives [Art.1, Sec.7]?
B. What is the difference between an army and a militia? Why was this an issue during the ratification of the Constitution?
C. The last paragraph of Article I, Section 8 is often called "The Elastic Clause." Why do you think this is so? What kind of laws are made possible by this clause?
D. According to the original (unamended) Constitution, the President could be elected from one party while his Vice President could end up being someone he did not want or even a member of another party. How was this possible? What problems might this have created?
E. Article IV, Sec. 4 says that the Federal government must insure that the states have a "republican form of government." What does that mean? Does this mean that state governments must be structured like that of the federal government?
F. Federalism is defined as a political system where governmental power is divided between national and state levels; obviously then, the United States fits somewhat in this model of Federalism. What does Article VII suggest about the relationship between Federal and state power in the United States?
G. What do you think "cruel and unusual punishments" means in Amendment VIII? Why do you think they were forbidden? Do you think the United States still employs "cruel and unusual” punishments?