AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
O Red Flag Questions
Pages 68-76
CHAPTER 3: THE CONSTITUTION
SECTION 1: A Blueprint for Government
GOALS OF THE CONSTITUTION
· What are the six goals of the Constitution?
Governing after a Revolution
· What intellectual qualities of the framers helped shape their plan for the new national government?
· Why were the Framers so careful in making their decisions?
Addressing the Problem of Governing
· What is the dilemma of democratic government?
· What is meant by the statement in Federalist Paper No. 51, that one difficulty in framing a government is to “enable government to control the governed; and in the next instance oblige it to control itself”?
· Why are laws important to maintain freedom in an society?
PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT IN THE CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is the Blueprint
· How long is the U.S. Constitution?
· What is the meaning of the statement “…the Framers offered a blueprint for governing”?
· What are the three parts of the Constitution, and what are the functions of each part?
Basic Principles of Governing
· What did the Framers believe must take place in order for the goals of the Constitution to be accomplished?
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
· popular sovereignty
· According to Madison, what is a faction?
· How did Madison argue that a republic form of democracy would limit their effect?
· What is one way in which people in the United States exercise their sovereignty?
LIMITED GOVERNMENT
· limited government
· rule of law
· Why is the rule of law necessary?
· Article I, Section 8
· Article I, Section 9
· What is a civil society and how does it constrain government power?
SEPARATION OF POWERS
· Separation of powers
· What does Article I of the Constitution create and what is its job?
· What does Article II establish and what is its job?
· What does Article III establish and what is its job?
CHECKS AND BALANCES
· What is the “common good”?
· checks and balances
· How can Congress check the executive branch?
· veto
· How does the president’s veto power affect legislation?
· How can Congress override a veto?
· How can the judicial branch check the other two branches? What is this called?
· What was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “court-packing” plan and how did it end?
JUDICIAL REVIEW
· judicial review
· unconstitutional
· What kinds of actions would be considered unconstitutional?
· How did the Supreme Court get the power of judicial review?
· What landmark case established the principle of judicial review?
FEDERALISM
· federalism
· Why did the Framers adopt the principle of federalism?
· Article I, Section 8
· Article VI’s supremacy clause
· What does the 10th Amendment state
· When do most Americans accept strong federal authority?