Topic 2: The Beginning of American Government

What specific constitutional principle was Alexander Hamilton referring to in this quotation?

"It therefore belongs to [the courts] to ascertain . . . the meaning of any particular act proceeding from the legislative body." —Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78, 1788

• the power to veto acts of Congress

• the authority to interpret laws

• the right to form a federal court system

• the system of checks and balances

Which of the following is NOT a check available to the legislative branch?

• creating a new federal district court

• declaring an executive act to be unconstitutional

• rejecting a treaty

• passing a bill that has been rejected by the President

The principle of popular sovereignty is based on the belief that

• the government must be run by officials who are appointed to office by their predecessors.

• the government gets its power from the people and can exist only with their consent.

• the people have the authority to declare any federal or State law unconstitutional by voting on it.

• the people do not have to obey any laws with which they disagree.

Which of the following is an example of checks and balances at work?

• The people choose not to re-elect a President whose policies they dislike.

• The Federal Government passes a law that overrides similar laws in several States

• A bill passed by the House is vetoed by the Senate.

• Congress removes from the bench a federal judge who has accepted a bribe.

Which of the following statements BEST describes the cause and effect of the 15th Amendment?

• It was passed as a result of the Union's victory in the Civil War, and extended the right to vote to male African Americans.

• It took away citizenship from those who had fought for the Confederacy, and was passed as a result of the Union's victory in the Civil War.

• It gave citizenship to African Americans and was passed as a result of a campaign led by President Roosevelt.

• It limited the number of terms a President could serve and was passed as a result of a speech made by President Abraham Lincoln.

Under which of the following scenarios would your 5th Amendment rights be violated?

• Local authorities refused to let you write a letter to the mayor complaining about his or her policies.

• The police entered your house and began to look for evidence without a warrant because they suspected you of a crime.

• You were found innocent of a crime but later charged again with that crime and forced to give evidence that made you seem guilty.

• You were told that you were ineligible to run for school president because of your religious beliefs.

Read this text excerpt about senatorial courtesy. Which explanation describes the underlying justification that validates this practice?

"The Senate will approve only those presidential appointees, such as a federal judge or a United States marshal, who are acceptable to the senator or senators of the President's party from the State involved."

• It is written into the U.S. Constitution in Article I, which describes the powers of the legislative branch.

• It is an example of an unwritten rule, or custom, that is closely followed in the Senate.

• It an example of a rule added to the Constitution by an amendment, in this case the 17th Amendment.

• It is one of many powers that Congress has granted to itself using the implied powers clause.

Once an amendment is formally proposed, how long do the States have to ratify it?

• There is no time limit on the ratification process and States have as long as they wish to consider amendments.

• States must ratify an amendment within seven years of Congress voting to propose that amendment.

• Congress has the power to set a varying time limit for ratifying each amendment as long as it is reasonable.

• If an amendment is not ratified within one year, it goes back to Congress, which must vote to approve it again.

Use the quote from the text about reserved powers to determine which of the following examples is a reserved power possessed only by State governments.

"The reserved powers are those powers that the Constitution does not grant to the National Government and does not, at the same time, deny to the States."

• the right to grant patents and copyrights to inventors and authors

• the authority to seize public property

• the ability to forbid people under 18 to marry without parental consent

• the power to tax other State governments

Tariffs are taxes on foreign imports. In our federal system, the power to levy tariffs is a power

• granted exclusively to the Federal Government by the Constitution.

• assumed by the Federal Government.

• shared by both the State and Federal Government concurrently.

• denied to the Federal Government and reserved to the States.