1. The U.s. constitution crash course

2. The Preamble: Purpose of Establishing the Constitution
Unite the states
Create a system of fair laws and courts
Maintain peace and order
Provide citizens with protection from outside attacks
Help people live happy, healthy, and prosperous lives
Make sure future generations have the same rights and freedoms we currently have

3. Article1: The Legislative Branch

4. Article 1, Section 1
Deals with the powers given to the House of Representatives and the Senate
Makes the United States a bicameral legislature

5. Article 1, Section 2: the House of Representatives
Term length: 2 years
Qualifications:
Must be at least 25 years old
Must be a citizen for the U.S. for at least 7 years
Must be a resident of the state they represent
Must have a minimum of one member in the House of Representatives, per state
The number of Representatives are based on population
Every 10 years a census occurs to change the number of Representatives in the house

6. Article 1, Section 2
Speaker of the House: the leader of the majority party
Second in line to replace the president
The House has the sole power of impeachment
Speaker of the House: Paul Ryan

7. Article 1, Section 3: the Senate
Term length: 6 years
Qualifications:
Must be at least 30 years old
Must be a citizen for 9 years
Must live in the state they represent
Every two years 1/3 of the Senators are reelected
17th Amendment: took the power of electing senators from state legislatures and gave it to the voters of the state

8. Article 1, Section 3
President of the Senate: Vice President of the U.S.
President pro tempore: in charge of the Senate when the Vice President is absent
The Senate has the sole power to try impeachment hearings and convict officials
Need a 2/3 majority for a conviction
Vice President Mike Pence

9. Article 1, Section 4 : Elections and Meetings
A regular session or the opening day of Congress is January 3

10. Article 1, Section 5: Organizations and Rules of Procedure
1. Each house determines if its members are constitutionally qualified and have been properly elected
In judging the qualifications of its members, each house can only look at their age, citizenship and residence requirements
Quorum: the minimum numbers of members in Congress that must be present in order to make the meeting valid
2. Each house makes its own rules
House of Representatives
Senate
Puts strict time limits on debate
Senator may speak as long as he or she wishes unless the Senate votes for cloture (a motion to end debate)

11. Article 1, Section 6: Privileges and Restrictions
Immunity: freedom from arrest
Members of Congress, like anyone else, may be arrested for breaking the law
Speech and debate clause: congressmen can say whatever they want without fear of being sued
Libel
Slander
An untrue written statement that damages a person’s reputation
A spoken statement that damages a person’s reputation

12. Article 1, Section 7: Passing Laws
All revenue bills (tax bills) will start in the House
A bill becomes a law when it is passed by both Houses and is signed by the President
President can veto bills and Congress has the power to override Presidential vetoes with a 2/3 majority vote
Veto: when a president disapproves of a bill

13. Article 1, Section 8: Powers Granted to Congress (Enumerated Powers)
To lay and collect taxes
To borrow money
Commerce Clause: Regulate commerce with foreign nations, between states, and Native Americans
Establish citizenship and create uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the country
Charter national banks and establish a Federal Reserve System
11. To declare war
12. Raise and support armies
13. Provide and maintain a Navy
14. Male rules for the government and regulate naval forces
Elastic clause: powers that are granted to Congress that are implied in the Constitution

14. Article 1, Section 9: Powers Denied to Congress
Writ of Habeas Corpus: a court order that commands officials who have a person in custody to bring that person to court
A Bill of Attainder: an act passed by a legislature to punish a person with out a trial
Ex Post Facto: after an act is committed the legislature cannot punish a person for a crime they committed if it was not illegal then.
Titles of Nobility: Congress cannot give anyone a title of nobility

15. Article 1, Section 10: Powers Denied to the States
No state can enter into a treaty, alliance, or confederation
Cannot coin money
Cannot make treaties or negotiate with foreign countries

16. Article 1, Sections 9 & 10 Shared Powers between States and Congress:
Taxation
Court systems
Borrowing money
Enforcing laws
Banking
Protecting the general welfare

17. Article 2: the Executive Branch

18. Article 2, Section 1 Deals with the President and the Vice President
Term length: 4 years
Qualifications:
Must be at least 35 years old
Must be a natural born citizen in the U.S.
Must be a U.S. resident for 14 years
25th Amendment: provides that the Vice President succeeds to the presidency

19. Article 1, Section 1 Continued
Elections:
The President and Vice President are elected through the electoral college
Electoral College: a group of people voted on by the people of the specific state who in turn elect the President and Vice President
During inauguration, the Chief Justice administers the oath to the President

20. Article 1, Section 2: Powers of the President
Commander in Chief of the U.S. military
Responsible for making treaties
Allowed to make appointments
Advice and consent: the Senate has the power to do this

21. Article 1, Section 3: Duties of the President
State of the Union: the President must deliver an annual message to Congress

22. Article 2, Section 4: Impeachment
Impeachment: gathering evidence and holding a trial to determine guilt of a government official
Grounds that a President and Vice President can be impeached:
Conviction of treason
Bribery
Other high crimes and misdeamnors

23. Article 3: the Judicial Branch

24. Article 3, Section 1
Establishes the Supreme Court
Term length: life

25. Article 3, Section 2: General Authority
Main purpose is to interpret the Constitution, but this concept was not established until Marbury v. Madison 1803
Type of cases heard by the Supreme Court:
Cases affecting foreign governments, cases to which a state government is one of the parties means, cases from lower courts that get received to the Supreme Court
Original jurisdiction: cases affecting foreign governments and their representatives and cases to which a state government is one of the parties go directly to the Supreme Court.
Appellate jurisdiction: cases that are tried first in lower court may come up to the Supreme Court for review if Congress has authorized an appeal

26. Article 4: Relations Among the States

27. Article 4, Section 1
Requires the states to honor one another’s laws, records, ad court rulings
Full faith and credit: requires state courts to enforce the civil judgments of the courts of other states and accept public records as valid.

28. Article 4, Section 2
Interstate privileges and immunities: individual states must give citizens of all other states the privileges and immunities they grant to their own citizens.
If a person commits a crime in one state and flees to another, the governor of the state in which the crime was committed can demand that the fugitive be handed over

29. Article 4, Section 3
New states cannot be formed by dividing or joining existing states without the consent of the state legislatures and Congress

30. Article 4, Section 4
Requires that every state has a “republican form of government”
Republican government: one in which people elect representatives to govern

31. Article 5: Amending the Constitution

32. Article 5 Proposing an Amendment Ratifying an Amendment
Two-thirds vote of each house of Congress
Must be ratified by three-fourths of the states
National convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the states
Or by conventions in three-fourths of the states
Ratification: approve
More popular to do the votes instead of the conventions

33. Article 6: National Debts

34. Article 6
All debts and obligations made by the U.S. before the adoption of the Constitution will be honored
Supremacy clause: if state laws conflict with national laws, the national laws are superior
both federal and state officials give supreme allegiance to the Constitution of the U.S. rather than to the constitution of any state

35. Article 7: Ratifying the Constitution

36. Amendments to the Constitution: Bill of Rights
Freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceful assembly
Right to keep and bear arms
No quartering of troops in citizen’s homes
No illegal search and seizure of property
Cant be tried for the same crime twice
Right to a speedy, fair, public trial
Trial by a jury of peers
No cruel or unusual punishment
Reserved power to the people
reserved power to the states

37. Amendments to the Constitution
11. Makes it impossible for a citizen of one state to sue another state in federal court 12. Members of the electoral college vote for one person as president and another person for V.P. 13. Frees slaves 14. Makes former slaves free in the U.S. and the states they live in also clarifies the citizenship - due process clause: acts as a safeguard from denial of life, liberty, or property by the government outside the sanction of law -equal protection clause 15. Prohibits states from denying citizens the right to vote because of race 16. Authorized Congress to levy an income tax 17. Took the power of electing senators from the state legislatures and gave it to the voters of the state

38. Amendments to the Constitution
18. Prohibition of liquor 19. Women were given the right to vote 20. Moves the date that the newly elected President and members of Congress take office closer to election time 21. Repeal of prohibition 22. Limits presidents to two terms 23. Allows citizens of D.C. to vote in presidential elections 24. Forbids a state from making voters pay a poll or head tax before they can vote in a national election 25. Provides for filling a vacancy in a vice presidency 26. Voting rights to 18 year old's 27. Ensures that if Senators or members of the House of Reps. Vote to raise their pay, only members of the subsequent Congress will benefit from the raise

39. Extra Vocab
Delegated powers: powers of the federal government that are specifically described and assigned in the U.S. Constitution