Lesson 3.6 - Powers of Congress

Constitutional Principles Review

Complete the Starter Activity. Be prepared to check your work!

Match

Match the following

• Articles I-VII of the Constitution

• Expressed and Implied

• Bill of Rights and Denied Powers

• Popular Sovereignty and Representative Government

Government Structure

Government Power

Limits on Government

Government & the People

• Government Structure

• Government Power

• Limits on Government

• Government & the People

Multiple Choice

Where can you find the purpose of the Constitution?

• In the Preamble of the Constitution.
• In the Bill of Rights.
• In the Articles of Confederation.
• In the Declaration of Independence.

Constitutional Principles Review

Complete the Guided Reading as you Read pages 1-3. Be prepared to check your work!

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At the time it was written, the U.S. Constitution represented a major change from the kind of government many people were used to. It was the age of​

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—autocratic, all-powerful systems where citizens had little or no power. Every nation’s government should have sovereignty—absolute power within its own borders. Many world governments were based on a system of​

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in which power was based on wealth and social class. This absolute power was passed down through families. America’s Framers wanted to change that. They believed in popular sovereignty, the idea that a government’s power comes from the​

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. Popular sovereignty may be the most fundamental idea behind the U.S.​

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. You see it in the very first line, “We the People.” Article 4 outlines rules for the​

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. It guarantees that voters in each state will have the right to elect their own state governments, so the ultimate power of state governments is... the people!

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The British monarchy did incorporate some “people power” after the​

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in 1215. But it was still limited. This is what got America’s Founders so steamed that they started a war in order to create their own government. Consent of the governed goes hand in hand with popular ​

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. It means that government power comes from the people’s consent (approval) for its actions. Under the Constitution, the “governed” (the people) give their “consent” by​

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. When the Constitution was written, large groups of “governed” people did not have the power of ​

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. For example, women, Black people, and people who owned no land were all denied the right to vote. Governments led by monarchs gained power by birth and could essentially do anything they felt like doing. By contrast, the Constitution’s starting point is limited government. Under this principle, a government only has the ​

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that’s been given to it.

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To understand how the Constitution limits government, you need to understand who was actually creating it: the​

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. For the Framers, limited government was about more than just defining which powers the government would have. In the British system of nobility, the law simply wasn’t applied to​

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in the same way it applied to everyone else. And there was little to hold the government itself accountable to the law. This kind of government was missing the rule of law—the principle that​

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is governed by laws, and that even the government must follow the law.​

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establishes the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land” for the United States. Between these safeguards and all the other principles, the​

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hoped their Constitution would protect Americans’ liberty for future generations.

Constitutional Principles Review

Complete Part A. Be prepared to check your work!

Match

Match the following

• The government's power comes from the consent the people

• The government must honor the "will of the people"

• The government is not all powerful

Consent of the Governed

Popular Sovereignty

Limited Government

• Consent of the Governed

• Popular Sovereignty

• Limited Government

Match

Match the following

• The power of one branch to overrule another branch

• The specific powers of each branch of government

• The way the national and state governments split and share power

• Even the government must follow the law

Checks and Balances

Separation of Power

Federalism

Rule of Law

• Checks and Balances

• Separation of Power

• Federalism

• Rule of Law

Constitutional Principles Review

Complete Part B. Be prepared to check your work!

Multiple Choice

1A CHOOSE 1: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”

• Popular Sovereignty

• Checks and Balances

• Limited Government

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Multiple Choice

2 CHOOSE 1: “The House of Representatives, like that of one branch at least of all the State legislatures, is elected immediately by the great body of the people. The Senate, like the present Congress, and the Senate of Maryland, derives its appointment indirectly from the people. The President is indirectly derived from the choice of the people, according to the example in most of the States. Even the judges, with all other officers of the Union, will, as in the several States, be the choice, though a remote choice, of the people themselves.”

• Popular Sovereignty

• Checks and Balances

• Limited Government

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Multiple Select

3a CHOOSE 2: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

• Popular Sovereignty

• Checks and Balances

• Limited Government

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Multiple Select

4a CHOOSE 2: “That unnecessary officer the Vice-President, who for want of other employment is made president of the Senate, thereby dangerously blending the executive and legislative powers…”

• Popular Sovereignty

• Checks and Balances

• Limited Government

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Multiple Select

5a CHOOSE 2: “Unless [the three branches] be so far connected and blended as to give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of separation … essential to a free government, can never in practice be duly maintained.”

• Popular Sovereignty

• Checks and Balances

• Limited Government

• Rule of Law

• Separation of Powers

Match

But first... How well do you know the powers?

• Powers not state in the Constitution, but connected to powers that are

• Powers that are stated in the Constitution

• Powers that are reserved to the States

Implied Powers

Expressed Powers

Reserved Powers

• Implied Powers

• Expressed Powers

• Reserved Powers

Multiple Choice

What was the verdict of the Supreme Court's Gibbons v Ogden (1824) decision?

• The Supreme Court ruled against Gibbons, supporting state control over interstate commerce.
• The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, favoring states' rights.
• The Supreme Court issued a split decision, leaving the issue unresolved.
• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons, affirming federal authority over interstate commerce.

Multiple Choice

Implied Powers must be considered ______ in order to be legal

• necessary and proper

• orderly and ideal

• optional but encouraged

• unconstitutional but enforced anyways

Multiple Choice

Granting copyrights and patents are a federal (national), not a state, power

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

An impeachment is when the President is formally removed from office.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which house of Congress hold the power to confirm and/or ratify with a 2/3rds vote?

• House of Representatives

• Senate

Multiple Choice

Suspending the writ of habeas corpus, passing ex post facto laws, and passing bills of attainder are all examples of...

• denied powers of Congress

• judicial protections
• constitutional amendments
• enhancements of civil rights

Gerrymandering

Complete the Starter Activity. Be prepared to check your work!

Gerrymandering

Complete the Guided Reading as you Read pages 1-2. Be prepared to check your work!

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When congressional districts are drawn to favor a particular political party, it’s called​

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. In states with more than one representative, representatives are elected in single member districts. Each state is sectioned into​ districts with equal​

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. Capturing the same amount of people in every district makes sure that densely packed urban areas have the same amount of voting power as rural areas with lots of land and fewer people—this is what it means to have one-person, one vote. Everyone’s ​

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is supposed to count equally. In a state whose districts have been gerrymandered, state legislatures draw congressional districts in a way that gives one​

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an advantage over the other.

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In a gerrymandered district everyone’s vote isn’t really being counted as equally as others because that district has been​

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for the majority to outweigh the minority. Proving ​

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gerrymandering in court can be difficult. To date, the Supreme Court has not ruled the practice unconstitutional. In fact, the term gerrymander owes its name not just to the Massachusetts governor, Elbridge​

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, who signed the bill allowing the strategically drawn districts to go into effect, but also to the Boston Gazette. In 1812, the paper published a story with a drawing that made the​

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map look like a winged, mythical creature. The story was satire, which means it used humor and sarcasm to poke fun at what Governor Gerry had allowed.

Crash Course G&P Episode 8

Complete the Video Notes as you View the clip. Be prepared to check your work!

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So, the Congressional leadership are the Congresspersons with titles like Majority Leader and Minority​

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. The leader of the House of Representatives is the​

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of the House. The Minority Leader is the de facto​

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for the minority party in the House. The Vice President presides over the​

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sessions when he doesn't have anything better to do. The President pro tempore is a largely​

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role that is given to the most senior member of the majority party.

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The primary way that leaders in both the House and Senate exercise power is through​

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assignments. Congressional leaders can also wield power because they have greater access to the​

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. Congressional leaders exercise a lot of power through their ability to raise​

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. The party that's the majority in each house is also the​

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on all of that house's committees. Understanding who the Congressional leaders are, and knowing their ​

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, can give you a sense of why things do and don't get done by the government.

Gerrymandering

Closure Activity: Complete the News Watch Activity. Be prepared to share your work!