Constitutional Principles

The introductory statement in the Constitution begins with "We the People..."

What is this introduction called?

• Declaration of Independence

• Preamble

• Presidential Oath of Office

• Emancipation Proclamation

The Constitution is broken down into 7 sections, like chapter, which makes it easier to make reference. What are these called?

• Articles

• Clauses

• Sections

• Segments

How many houses does our bicameral legislature have?

• one

• two

• three

• four

Our government is divided into 3 branches, which are __

• legislative

• environmental

• judicial

• executive

In the Preamble, James Madison lays out the purpose of government, including to "provide for the common defense." What does this mean?

• set up a court system

• provide for everyone's needs

• keep things safe

• establish a military to protect against enemies

The Preamble sets up the purpose of government, including to "insure domestic tranquility," which means..

• make sure things are peaceful in our country

• provide for our needs

• control the people & keep them in line

• protect us from invasion by a foreign country

The Constitution is divided into articles (sections) so that it's easy to make reference to it. How many articles are there?

• 5

• 7

• 13

• 535

The concept of "Popular Sovereignty" means that..

• the gov't has the power and control

• the gov't must bow to the wishes of the people

• the people have the power to select the gov't

• the people can't be told what to do

The concept of "Limited Gov't" means that __

• Gov't will limit the freedoms of the people

• The people will place limits what the gov't can do

• The Gov't will last only for a limited time

• The Gov't can only do things which are allowed (in the Constitution)

The concept of "Separation of Powers" refers to..

• dividing the gov't into multiple branches so no one has total control

• separating power within Congress

• dividing the country up into separate states

• dividing the judicial branch into various court systems