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10/15/2018

Study Guide for Civics

MATCDowntownLearningCenter On-Line GED/HSED

Study Guide 2 for Civics

U.S. Constitutional Government

The Legislative Branch

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States:

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States:

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states,and with the Indian tribes:

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States:

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures:

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States:

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads:

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries:

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court:

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations:

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water:

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years:

13. To provide and maintain a navy:

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces:

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions:

16. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress:

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings: And,

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any departmentor officer thereof.

The Judicial Branch

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states, between a state and Citizens of another state, between Citizens of different states, between Citizens of the same state, claiming lands under grants of different states, and between a state, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign states, Citizens or subjects. (This section modified by Amendment XI) The Supreme Court is the highest federal court is the court of last resort for any case of federal law and any question arising under the Constitution.

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before-mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. U.S. Constitution (1)

4. Under the Supreme Court “there are 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals. The smallest court is the First Circuit with six judgeships, and the largest court is the Ninth Circuit, with 28 judgeships. A list of the states that compose each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 41. The number of judgeships in each circuit is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 44.”

5. Within the circuits and under the Court of Appeals “there are 89 districts in the 50 states, which are listed with their divisions in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Sections 81-144. District courts also exist in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. In total there are 94 U.S. district courts. Some states, such as Alaska, are composed of a single judicial district. Others, such as California, are composed of multiple judicial districts. The number of judgeships allotted to each district is set forth in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133.”(8)

6. There are also special federal courts such as military courts and tax court.

The Executive Branch

“The power of the executive branch is vested in the President, who also serves as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The President appoints the Cabinet and oversees the various agencies and departments of the federal government.” (11)The President carries out the laws enacted by Congress and appoints the judges for the federal courts with confirmation by the Senate.

Popular Sovereignty

Popular sovereignty is one of the basic ideas in U.S. government. The term means that the government powers come from the people. A second and related idea for the U.S. government is that the government is representative. This means that the people elect representatives who lead the government branches and make legislative decisions.

Limited Government

The United States is based on the Constitution which limits the powers and areas of concern for the federal government.

“The reasons why the authors of the Constitution saw fit to limit the powers of government are set forth candidly and clearly in that extraordinary document, the Declaration of Independence, in which they explained why they were severing their political connections with the English crown. The Declaration sets forth three basic assumptions, or premises, so commonly accepted among the educated people of the eighteenth century that they were referred to as "self-evident."

“What are these self-evident premises? First, that all men are created equal; second, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; and, third, that it is precisely in order to secure these rights that governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” (6)

The body of the constitution delineates the areas the government should act and states that outside these areas, the federal government is not authorized. The Bill of Rights describeslimits to the government in terms of intruding on individual rightsand it explains how the government should act fairly in judging a person’s rights in the courts.

Separation of Powers

“The Constitution is deliberately inefficient.

“The Separation of Powers devised by the framers of the Constitution was designed to do one primary thing: to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist. Based on their experience, the framers shied away from giving any branch of the new government too much power. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power known as Checks and Balances.

“Three branches are created in the Constitution. The Legislative, composed of the House and Senate, is set up in Article 1. The Executive, composed of the President, Vice-President, and the Departments, is set up in Article 2. The Judicial, composed of the federal courts and the Supreme Court, is set up in Article 3.

“Each of these branches has certain powers, and each of these powers is limited, or checked, by another branch.” (7)

The system of Checks and Balances

“The U.S. Constitution divides the powers of the government among three branches, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. In the Congress, power is also divided between the House and the Senate. This system of "checks and balances"prevents any one part from becoming too powerful.

“The President, for example, nominates federal officials [and judges], but their appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. Congress can pass a bill, but the President may veto it.[The Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 vote.] The Supreme Court may declare acts of Congress unconstitutional, but the Congress can pass new laws that reverse Court decisions. [The appointment of federal judges is for life, but they can be impeached.]

“The Constitution also states that neither the House of Representatives nor the U.S. Senate may adjourn for more than three days without consent from the other.” (3)

The Electoral College in Brief

“The Electoral College was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The electors are a popularly elected body chosen by the States and the District of Columbia on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (November 2, 2004). The Electoral College consists of 538 electors (one for each of 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 Senators; and 3 for the District of Columbia by virtue of the 23rd Amendment). Each State's allotment of electors is equal to the number of House members to which it is entitled plus two Senators.

“The slates of electors are generally chosen by the political parties. State laws vary on the appointment of electors. The States prepare a list of the slate of electors for the candidate who receives the most popular votes on a Certificate of Ascertainment. The Governor of each State prepares seven original Certificates of Ascertainment…

“The electors meet in each State on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December (December 13, 2004). A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President and Vice President. No Constitutional provision or Federal law requires electors to vote in accordance with the popular vote in their State.

“The electors prepare six original Certificates of Vote and annex a Certificate of Ascertainment to each one. Each Certificate of Vote lists all persons voted for as President and the number of electors voting for each person and separately lists all persons voted for as Vice President and the number of electors voting for each person.

“If no presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the 12th Amendment to the Constitution provides for the presidential election to be decided by the House of Representatives. The House would select the President by majority vote, choosing from the three candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes. The vote would be taken by State, with each State delegation having one vote. If no Vice Presidential candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, the Senate would select the Vice President by majority vote, with each Senator choosing from the two candidates who received the greatest number of electoral votes.” (5)

Sources

The Avalon Project at YaleUniversity. U.S. constitution.. Constitutional Qualifications for Senator. Retrieved April 25, 2004 from
The Library of Congress. Forms of Congressional Action. Retrieved April 25, 2004 from

Senator Jeff Bingaman’s Students’ Page.Retrieved April 25, 2004 from

Socialstudieshelp.com.How does our system of checks and balances help protect our rights? Retrieved April 25, 2004 from

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. Electoral College. Retrieved April 25, 2004 from

The Future of Freedom Foundation. The Roots of Limited Government. Retrieved May 23, 2004 from

US Constitution.net. Constitutional topic: Separation of Powers. Retrieved May 23, 2004 from

U.S. Courts. Court Information. Retrieved June 20, 2006 from

The White House. Executive Branch. Retrieved June 20, 2006 from