CONSTITUTION ASSESSMENT
THE LIVING CONSTITUTION
ASSESSMENT
MAIN IDEAS
MAIN IDEAS
Article 1. The Legislature
1. Why does the legislative branch of the government
represent the people most directly? What is the
principal job of this branch?
2. Why are there more members of the House of
Representatives than of the Senate?
3. Name four powers Congress has.
4. What powers are denied to Congress? to the states?
1. House members are elected from congressional districts and Senate members
from each state. The legislature makes laws.
2. The number of representatives is based
on population, while each state has two senators only.
3. To tax, borrow money, regulate commerce, coin money, establish post offices,
create federal courts, declare war, raise
armed forces, make laws
4. Congress may not: suspend habeas corpus, illegally punish people, levy direct taxes,
levy export taxes on goods from any state,
show preference among states, take money
illegally from the treasury, or confer titles of
nobility. States may not: use any powers
listed in Article 1, Section 10, for example,
enter treaties on their own, coin money, illegally imprison people, levy import/
export taxes, or engage in war on their own.
5. To carry out the laws made by Congress
6. The electoral college, by vote of the
states’ electors
7. If convicted of a crime before election
time
8. The president nominates them; the
Senate approves them.
9. Those appealed from lower courts; not to
hear a case means that the lower court ruling
stands with no further appeal.
10. It exemplifies cooperation among the
states.
11. Three-fourths of the states, or 38 states.
Answers about why may vary but should
reflect the gravity of the amendment process.
12. It makes the Constitution the supreme
law of the land. All laws at every level of government are bound to uphold the
Constitution.
13. No, there are limits. For example, you
may not yell, “Fire!” in a crowded theater,
causing a riot.
14. The Twenty-seventh Amendment. It prevents members of Congress from using taxpayer’s money for their own gain.
Article 2. The Executive
5. What is the main function of the executive branch?
6. Who officially elects the president of the United
States? Explain.
7. How can the president lose his or her job before
election time?
Article 3. The Judiciary
8. How are Supreme Court justices appointed?
9. What kinds of cases go before the Supreme Court?
Why is the Court’s decision whether to hear a case
important?
Article 4. Relations Among States
10. To extradite is to send a fugitive back to the state in
which he or she is accused of committing a crime.
How is this an example of relations among states?
Article 5. Amending the Constitution
11. How many states must ratify an amendment for it to
become part of the Constitution? Why do you think it
takes that many?
Article 6. Supremacy of the National
Government
12. How does Article 6 establish the supremacy of the
Constitution?
VISUAL SUMMARY
The Amendments
13. Does the First Amendment allow complete freedom
of speech—the right to say anything you want at any
time, anywhere? Explain your answer.
14. What is the newest amendment? What protection
does that amendment give to the American people?
THINKING CRITICALLY
1. TAKING NOTES The powers of the federal government
are separated among the three branches. Create a
chart like the one below that shows how the
Constitution’s framers used checks and balances to
ensure that no one branch of the government could
become too much stronger than the others.
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
2. MAKING INFERENCES How does the Constitution
reflect the fear of too strong a central government?
3. EVALUATING The Bill of Rights guarantees a defen-
dant a speedy, public trial. Do you think it is being
observed today? Explain.
4. ANALYZING MOTIVES Why did the framers make it so
difficult to amend the Constitution? Do you agree or
disagree with their philosophy? Explain.
5. DEVELOPING HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The
Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-sixth amendments
give voting rights to specific groups. Why was it necessary for Congress to spell out these groups’ rights in
amendments?
THE LIVING CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 2
THE EXECUTIVE
ARTICLE 4
RELATIONS
AMONG STATES
ARTICLE 1
THE LEGISLATURE
ARTICLE 5
AMENDING THE
CONSTITUTION
THE
AMENDMENTS
ARTICLE 3
THE JUDICIARY
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THE LIVING CONSTITUTION
CRITICAL THINKING
106
THE LIVING CONSTITUTION
1. Executive: Checks legislative with
vetoes; checks judicial with
appointments and reprieves or
pardons. Legislative: checks executive with controls on spending,
veto override, impeachment;
checks judicial with lower courts
and impeachment. Judicial:
checks executive and legislative
by declaring their acts
unconstitutional.
2. The Constitution divides powers
among three branches and provides checks by each branch on
the others.
3. It is observed today in principle,
but the process of honoring a
defendant’s rights does slow down
legal procedures.
4. They did not want the opinion of
the times to prompt changes in
the law of the land without a
great deal of thought.
5. Original voters were white, male
property owners. Each of the
groups not franchised had to fight
for its rights.
THE LIVING CONSTITUTION
Standardized Test Practice
Standardized Test Practice
Use the cartoon and your knowledge of U.S. history to
answer question 1.
Use the quotation and your knowledge of U.S. history
to answer question 2.
“
[The president] shall have power, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, to make
treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and
consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all
other officers of the United States . . .”
—U.S. Constitution, Art. 2, Sec. 2, part 2
2. The passage describes checks on the power of—
“It’s awful the way they’re trying to influence
Congress. Why don’t they serve cocktails and
make campaign contributions like we do?”
F
G
H
J
the
the
the
the
president.
Senate.
judiciary.
states.
3. Which of the following must ratify Constitutional
amendments?
1. In the Constitutional Convention, the framers adopt-
A
B
C
D
ed certain principles to be embodied in the
Constitution. Which of the following Constitutional
principles does the cartoon support?
A The federal government’s power should be
Congress
the people
the states
the president
STITUTION
CON
divided into separate branches.
B The federal government should be stronger
than the state governments.
ADDITIONAL TEST PRACTICE, pages S1–S33.
C The federal legislature should be responsive
to the will of the people.
D The legislature and the president should check
TEST PRACTICE
each other’s power.
CLASSZONE.COM
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
1.
Imagine that it is 1787, and
you are a citizen of one of
the original thirteen states. Your vote is necessary
to ratify the new Constitution that has been
approved by the convention in Philadelphia. You
have studied the seven articles and listened to
spirited discussions about how you and your state
will be affected. Write a journal entry in which you
express your views about this document that is so
important for the new United States. Make sure
you include references to what you have read and
heard about the Constitution.
2.
IINTERNET ACTIVITY
1. The correct answer is letter C.
The people are asking Congress for help.
Letters A, B, and D are incorrect because
the cartoon has nothing to do with
the relationship between branches
of government.
2. The correct answer is letter F.
The Senate checks the power of the president to make appointments. The letters G,
H, and J are incorrect because the passage does not refer to a check on their
power.
3. The correct answer is C.
Amendments are ratified by state legislatures. The letters A, B, and D are incorrect
because neither Congress, the president,
nor the people are involved directly in the
ratification process.
CLASSZONE.COM
Visit the links for Chapter Assessment to learn
more about how bills become law. Because of the
process by which bills become laws, problems may
occur when the president and a majority of members of Congress are from different political parties. Using the Internet, research bills that were
proposed by the president but became stalled in
Congress because of party differences. Then divide
into groups and do the activity.
P R O J EC T
RESEARCHING A
CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION
Project Presentation Rubrics
The constitutional question research
should . . .
• clearly state the constitutional issue chosen
for study
• identify questions researched
• include citations from Supreme Court cases
about the issue
• present a bibliography of sources consulted
Cooperative Learning Activity Have each group
research a different bill. Try to follow the debate
and see how party differences affected the discussion. Did the bill pass and become law? Present
your findings to the class.
REVIEW UNIT 107
Formal Assessment
• Living Constitution, Test Forms A, B, and C,
pp. 47–55
ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
JOURNAL ENTRY
INTERNET ACTIVITY
Rubric
The journal entry should. . .
Rubric
The report should. . .
• reflect the student’s understanding of basic concepts
• include references to what the student has read and heard about the Constitution
• clearly state the student’s views on the Constitution
• reflect a basic understanding of how the lawmaking process worked regarding the
specific bill researched
• present information in a logical, interesting sequence
• discuss the fate of the bill
The Living Constitution
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