The
·
Number each card in the upper
right corner.
·
Write the information from side
A on the front of your index card in RED.
·
Write the information from side
B on the back of your index card in PENCIL.
·
Place your initials in the
lower left corner.
#1 A: Our first constitution was called the ____
B: Articles of Confederation
#2 A: The Articles of Confederation has to be
improved or fixed because ____.
B: It was too
weak; it gave the states too much power
#3 A: The
B:
1787
#4 A: The Constitution was written at a convention
held in the city of ______.
B:
#5 A: The opening of the Constitutional Convention
was delayed because _____
B: the roads
were poor and delegates could not get there; there were not enough delegates to
have a “quorum”
#6 A: What is meant by the term “Founding Fathers?”
B: They were
the delegates to the convention; 55 men from all states except
#7 A: What was the name of agreement that was
reached between the large states and the small states that established a
2-house legislature?
B:
the Great Compromise
#8 A: James Madison kept a diary and did much of
the research before and during the convention.
For this he was called ____.
B.
The Father of the Constitution
#9. A:
The person chosen to lead the Constitutional Convention was _____
B:
George Washington
#10 A: The introduction or opening paragraph to the
Constitution is called ____.
B:
the Preamble
#11
A: What role did Thomas Jefferson, author of the
Declaration of Independence, play in the writing of the Constitution?
B: no official role; he was out of the country at
the time as the U.S. Ambassador to
#12 A: ______ was the oldest delegate present?
B: Benjamin
Franklin of
B: 3
branches; each with separate powers
#14 A: The number of articles to the
Constitution is
B: 7
#15 A: The number of amendments to the
Constitution is presently _____
B: 27
#16 A: To
become the plan of government for the United States, the Constitution has to be
ratified (approved) by _____
B:
9 states
#17 A: ____ was the only
President to be elected to 4 terms
B:
FDR (
#18 A: ______ and ______ were
the only two Presidents of the
B: #16 Andrew
Johnson and #42 William J. Clinton
#19 A: The number of
Presidents who have been impeached and removed from office by a trial
is/are
B:
None
#20 A: Each branch of
government has certain powers that only it can use
B: Separation
of Powers
#21 A: These are ways for each branch to block or
check the actions of the other branches
B: Checks and
Balances
#22 A: A proposed law before Congress is called a
____
B:
bill
#23 A: The President’s refusal to sign a bill into
law is called a VETO. A veto is one of
the ______ and _____.
B: checks and balances
#24 A: A citizen of the
B:
is natural born or is naturalized
#25 A: A census is ___
B: a count of
the population taken every 10 years
#26 A: A quorum is___
B: one more than half; the number needed to do
business or take a vote
#27 A: If a President is
“impeached,” that means ___
B: he has
been accused by the House of Representatives of doing something wrong or
illegal
#28 A: The commander-in-chief of the military is__
B: the President of the
#29 A: An “override” is___
B: a 2/3 vote by both the House and the Senate to
pass a bill into law over the President’s veto
#30 A: Habeas corpus (also
known as the writ of habeas corpus) ___
B: protects people from being held in prison or jail
without formal charges of a crime
#31 A: The President’s yearly
speech before a joint session of Congress is called the ___
B:
State of the Union Address
#32 A: The day that registered voters go to the polls to cast their
votes for the President and other elected officials is called ___
B: Election Day
#33 A: the group that
officially elects the President of the
B: Electoral College
#34 A: The jury that decides whether there is enough evidence for a
case to go to trial is called the ___
B: grand jury
#35 A: The jury that decides whether a person is guilty of not guilty
is called the
B: petit jury
#36 A: The job of the
legislative branch is to ___
B: make the laws
#37 A: The job of the executive
branch is to ___
B: enforce the laws
#38 A: The job of the judicial
branch is to ___
B:
interpret the laws
#39 A: Article I states that the country’s laws will be made by___
B: the Congress (presently
the 109th Congress)
#40 A: Congress is the House of Representatives and the Senate. It makes up the ___ branch.
B:
legislative
#41 A: The total number of
members in Congress is __
B: 535 members
#42 A: The number of members in the
B: 435 members
#43 A: Your representative in the
B: John
Shimkus of the 19th district
#44 A: The number of members in the
B: 100 members
#45 A: The two
B:
Richard Durbin (Democrat)
and Barack
Obama (Democrat)
#46 A: To be a
B: 30 years of age and a citizen for 9 or more years
#47 A: A United States Senator is elected for a term
of ___ years.
B:
six
#48 A: In the House of
Representatives, the number of members from each state is ___
B: based on
the population of the state
#49 A: A
B: two
#50 A: To be a representative in the House of Representatives, a
person must live in the state and be at least ___
B: 25 years old and a citizen for 7 or more
years
#51 A: The leader
of the House of Representatives is the ___
B: Speaker of the House (currently the Speaker
is J. Dennis Hastert)
#52 A: The leader or president of the Senate is ___.
B: the Vice President of the
#53 A: If the
president of the Senate cannot be there to preside, the officer who temporarily
takes over those duties is the ___
B: president pro
tempore (currently the “pro tem” is Robert Byrd
#54 A: All money bills (also
called revenue bills) must begin in the ___
B: House of Representatives
#55 A: Each state must have at
least _____ members in the Congress
B: 3 (two in the Senate and one in the House)
#56 A: In the first step of
the impeachment process, this group can impeach the President
B: the House of Representatives
#57 A: In the second step of the impeachment
process, this group holds the impeachment trial
B: the Senate
#58 A: The “elastic clause”
allows future generations to expand the meaning of the Constitution. It allows Congress to ___
B: take action on issues not spelled out in the
Constitution
#59 A: The group of people who
advise the President (such as the Attorney General, the Secretary of State and
Secretary of Defense) are called the ____
B: Cabinet (Attorney General: Alberto Gonzales;
Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice; Secretary of Defense: Donald
Rumsfeld)
#60 A: The
B: Congress
#61 A: According to the Constitution, the President
and Vice President must be at least____
B: 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and a
#62 A: The number of electors
in the Electoral College is now 538.
This is equal to___
B: members in Congress + 3 from
#63 A: Presently, the number
of electoral votes needed to win the office of President is ___
B: 270
#64 A: The President’s term of office is ___ years.
B: four
#65 A: The current President of
the
B: George Walker Bush
#66 A: The current Vice
President of the
B: Richard Cheney
#67 A: There are
several checks and balances that the legislative branch has over the
President. The President has the power
to make treaties, but treaties must be approved by ___.
B: the Senate
#68 A: Presidential
appointments such as Cabinet members and ambassadors must be approved by ___.
B: the Senate
#69 A: If the President vetoes
a bill, the bill ___.
B: may become a law if 2/3 of both houses
of Congress override his veto by approving it
#70 A: Registered voters go to
the polls to cast their vote for President on___
B: Election Day (which is the Tuesday after the
first Monday in November)
#71 A: The President and the
Vice President are officially sworn in on ____
B: Inauguration Day (which is
currently on January 20; the Oath of Office is given at
#72 A: If the President dies
while in office, the Vice President ___
B: becomes President
#73 A: In the Line of
Succession for President, the person who takes over as President of the
B: the
Speaker of the House
#74 A: The Supreme Court is part of the ____.
B: judicial branch
#75 A: Justices to the Supreme
Court are ___
B: nominated by the President with the advice
and consent of the Senate
#76 A: A Supreme Court justice
is appointed for a term of___
B: life
#77 A: The number of justices
on the Supreme Court is ___
B: 9
#78 A: Currently, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court is _____
B: John Roberts
AMENDMENTS
FLASH CARDS
#79 A: The Constitution can
only be changed by ___
B: an amendment
#80 A: To become an amendment,
it first must be suggested or proposed.
Then it must be RATIFIED by a vote of ___
B: ¾ of special state conventions or state
legislatures
#81 A: Only one branch of
government plays a role in the amendment process. Two branches have nothing to do with the
process of adding amendments to the Constitution. These two branches are ___
B: the executive branch and the judicial branch
#82 A: The Bill of Rights is
sometimes considered to be part of the original Constitution because ___
B: The Constitution was ratified
in 1788 by 9 states. The remaining
states (including the large states of
#83 A:
The Bill of Rights includes ___
B: the first 10 amendments
#84 A: No one can be forced to
say anything in a court that would help convict him or herself of a crime
according to ___
B: Amendment
#5
#85 A:
Amendment #1 guarantees ___
B: religious and political freedom
(freedom of speech, press,
religion, assembly and petition the Government for redress of grievances)
#86 A: In Amendment #1, “redress
of grievances” means that ____
B: citizens have the right to protest the
government
#87 A: Amendment
#4 protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. A search warrant must state ___
B: the place to be searched and the person or
things to be seized
#88 A:
Amendment 19 ___
B: gave women the right to vote (women’s
suffrage)
#89 A: Women were granted the
right to vote in the year ____ by the 19th Amendment
B: 1920
#90 A: Before searching a
person’s home the police must _____
B: show probable cause and obtain a search
warrant
#91 A:
The 13th Amendment ___
B: outlawed/abolished slavery
#92 A: The group who was
granted the vote most recently by the 26th Amendment was___
B:
18-year-olds
#93 A: The only amendment to have
been repealed (cancelled) is Amendment 18.
That amendment ____
B: made the sale and production of liquor
illegal
#94 A: Amendment 18 was
repealed or cancelled out by Amendment # ___
B: 21
#95 In the term “women’s suffrage” the word “suffrage” means ___
B: the right to vote
#96 A: A naturalized citizen
is a person who ___
B: is not a born citizen of the
#97 A: All persons born or naturalized in the
B: rights granted to all citizens
(life, liberty, property, equal protection under the law, the right to vote)
#98 A: A
“lame duck” is ___
B: an official defeated in a November election
who stays in office until the newly elected official takes office in
January.
#99 A: Amendment # 22 (added
in 1951) limited the number of terms that a President may serve to ___
B: two terms (This was added after Franklin D.
Roosevelt had been elected to four terms).
#100 A:
Prohibition means ___
B: it is illegal to manufacture, sell or
transport intoxicating liquors within the