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Constitution Review
Directions: Please complete this packet in its entirety in preparation for the United States
Constitution test. In order to complete Part I of the packet, you will need to carefully read
the information from the link provided entitled “Brief Historical Background of The
United States Constitution”. For parts II-X, you will need to refer to the Articles and
Sections in the U.S. Constitution itself that have been indicated at the beginning of each
part. Please note that there are also questions within parts II-X which will require you to
look up terms used in that section. The purpose of this is to help you to better understand
the meaning of the document.
Part I: Historical Background
1. Define republic.
2. Explain the purpose of the Articles of Confederation.
3. Identify TWO major weaknesses of the government under the Articles of Confederation.
4. For what purpose was a convention (the Constitutional Convention) called in 1787, and
where did the delegates meet?
5. Which one of the delegates proposed the basic plan of government which became the United
States Constitution?
6. What did the Great Compromise decree regarding states’ representation in the legislative
branch?
7. How did the Three-Fifths Compromise resolve the issues of taxation, and representation in
Congress?
8. Identify the authors of the “Federalist Papers”, and explain their purpose in writing them.
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9. What compromise did the Federalists make in order to win ratification in states withholding
their support for the Constitution?
10. At what point did the Constitution go into effect?
Part II: The Structure and Purpose of the United States Constitution
1. Explain how power is divided in a federal system of government.
2. Define “separation of powers”.
3. Define “checks and balances”.
4. What is the purpose of the preamble?
Part III: Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
1. What function does the Legislative Branch serve?
2. Define “bicameral”.
The House – Article I, Section 2
1. The House of Representatives is the ______________ House of Congress.
2. How long do members of the House serve and what is their title?
3. List the qualifications to become a member of the House.
4. What is the total number of members in the House, and does this number ever change?
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5. How is a state’s representation in the House determined?
6. What is the purpose of the census and how often is it taken?
7. What is the name for the leader of the House?
8. Answer the questions below regarding impeachment.
a. Define impeachment.
b. What body has the sole power to impeach?
c. What is the vote needed to impeach an official?
The Senate – Article I, Section 3
1. The Senate is referred to as the ________________ House of Congress.
2. What is the term length for senators?
3. List the qualifications to become a senator.
4. What is the total number of senators in the Senate, and does this number ever change?
*How many senators represent each state?
5. Under the original document, how were Senators chosen?
6. Who is the presiding officer of the Senate?
a. Who presides over the Senate in the case of his/her absence?
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7. Answer the following questions regarding impeachment.
a. What role does the Senate play in impeachment cases?
b. What vote is needed to convict a public official in an impeachment case?
c. If convicted, what punishments would the official face?
Elections and Meetings – Article I, Section 4
1. When are federal elections held?
2. When does Congress meet, and how often is it required to meet according to the
Constitution?
Rules of Each House – Article I, Section 5 and Rights of Members – Article I, Section 6
1. Define the following:
a. Congressional Record
b. Quorum
c. Congressional Immunity
Lawmaking – Article I, Section 7
1. What is a bill?
2. Where can bills, with the exception of revenue bills, be started? Where must all revenue bills
be started?
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3. Answer the questions below regarding approval of a bill.
a. What must both houses of Congress do with a bill in order for it to advance to the next
step in the approval process?
b. If the president signs the bill, what happens to it?
c. Define veto, and explain what happens next in the case that the President issues one.
d. What vote is needed to override a President’s veto?
Powers Granted to Congress – Article I, Section 8
1. What is an enumerated power, and how many of them does Congress have?
a. What is the “necessary and proper” or “elastic clause”?
Powers Denied to Congress – Article I, Section 9
1. Define the following terms.
a. Habeas Corpus
b. Bill of Attainder
c. Ex Post Facto law
Part IV: Article II – The Executive Branch
The President and Vice President – Article II, Section 1
1. What function does the executive branch serve?
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2. What is the length of the president’s and vice president’s terms? Was their a limit on the
number of terms they could serve under the original document?
3. List the qualifications to become President or Vice President.
4. What is the purpose of the Electoral College?
a. How is the number of electors allocated to each state?
5. If no one candidate in achieves an electoral majority, how is the President chosen?
6. If both the President and Vice President both die or resign, list the four officials who would
be next in the order of succession.
Article II, Section 2 – Powers of the President
1. Describe the role/powers of the President as defined by the Constitution with regard to the
following:
a. the Armed forces:
b. pardons and reprieves:
c. foreign relations:
d. appointing officials:
e. calling Congress into session:
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2. What body must approve presidential appointments, and by what vote?
Article II, Section 3 – Duties of the President
1. What is the purpose of the “State of the Union” address?
2. How can the President be removed from office?
Part V: Article III – The Judicial Branch
Article III, Section 1 - The Federal Courts and Judges
1. What is the purpose of the Judicial Branch?
2. How many justices currently serve on the Supreme Court?
3. Describe the process by which justices are selected.
4. What is the term-length for Supreme Court justices?
5. Define judicial review.
Article III, Section 2 – Authority of the Courts
1. Define original jurisdiction.
a. List the types of cases in which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction.
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2. List the three levels of federal court from highest to lowest and briefly describe the role of
each.
Article III, Section 3 - Treason
1. Define treason.
Part VI: Articles IV – Relations Among States
Article IV, Section 2 – Rights of Citizens
1. If an individual commits a crime in any state, and is then found in another state, what is the
state to which the individual fled required to do?
Article IV, Section 3 – New States
1. What does Congress have the power to do regarding new states?
Article IV, Section 4 – Guarantees to States
1. What form of government is every state in the Union guaranteed?
Part VII: Article V - Amending the Constitution
1. The amendment process begins with a _____ vote of both houses of Congress, or a
Convention requested by ____ of state legislatures. The proposed Amendment then must be
approved by ____ of state legislatures (or Conventions convened for this purpose).
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Part VIII: Article VI - Supremacy of National Government
1. List, in descending order, the ranking of the nation’s laws.
2. What type of test may not be required as a qualification to hold public office?
Part IX: Article VII – Ratification
1. In order for the Constitution to go into effect, ___ states had to approve it.
Part X – The Amendments
1. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ______ amendments to the Constitution.
2. The First Amendment protects peoples’ rights to: _____________, ______________,
__________________, _________________________, ______________________.
3. The Second Amendment protects the right to _________________________________.
4. The Third Amendment states that “No ____________ shall, in time of peace be __________
in any house, without consent of the Owner…”.
5. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable ______________________
and ___________________...”.
6. The Fifth Amendment protects certain personal liberties. To better understand the
significance of the following, use the space provided to define the underlined term(s)
in each statement below.
a. Individuals may not be held for a crime without the indictment of a Grand Jury (except
under certain circumstances).
b. Individuals are protected from double jeopardy.
c. Freedom from self-incrimination.
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e. Right of eminent domain
7. The Sixth Amendment deals with an individual’s rights in criminal trials. These rights
include (fill in the blanks):
a. The right to a ________________ and __________________ trial.
b. (The right) to a trial by an__________________.
c. (The right) to be _________________ of the charges (nature and cause of the accusation)
against him/her.
d. (The right) to ___________________________________________________ against
him/her.
e. (The right) to have compulsory process for obtaining ___________________, and to have
the Assistance of ________________________________________.
8. According to the Seventh Amendment, individuals are guaranteed a jury trial in
suits at _________________________. . . “.
9. According to the Eighth Amendment, excessive ____ may not be required, nor excessive ___
imposed, nor _______________ and ________________ punishments inflicted.
10. According the Ninth Amendment, people may not be denied ______________ simply
because they are not listed in the Constitution.
11. The Tenth Amendment states that all powers not delegated to the federal government by the
Constitution (nor specifically prohibited to the States) belong to the ______________.
12. The Eleventh Amendment limits the power of federal courts to hear lawsuits
against state governments brought by the citizens of another state or the ________________
_____________________________________.
13. The Twelfth Amendment changed the election procedure for the _______________ and
_________ ______________________.
14. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished ___________________.
15. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from making laws that detract from “the
privileges or immunities of _________________________;....”
16. The Fifteenth Amendment forbid states from denying individuals the right to vote based
on “__________, ___________, or ___________________________________________”.
17. The Sixteenth Amendment granted Congress the power to collect ___________________.
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18. The Seventeenth Amendment provided for the direct election of _____________ by
________________________________.
19. The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of
_______________ ______________”...
20. The Nineteenth Amendment resulted in ______________ gaining the right to ________.
21. The Twentieth Amendment shortened the period between when the President and Vice
President are elected and when they take office by decreeing that the President’s term
will begin on ___________ ____th.
22. The Twenty-First Amendment ______________ the _____ Amendment.
* Please define repeal in the space provided here.
23. The Twenty-Second Amendment limits the President to ____ terms in office.
24. The Twenty-Third Amendment gave the right to vote in presidential elections to residents of
______________________________.
25. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment states that the right of citizens to _______ in federal
elections “shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State” by reason
of ________________ to pay poll tax or other tax.”
* Please define poll tax in the space provided here.
26. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment established a procedure whereby if the President is
“unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the “_______ _____________
________ _____________ ____________ _____ _______________ ____
____________ of the office as ______________ ___________________”.
27. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment stated that United States citizens _____ years of age or
older are allowed to vote in elections.
28. The Twenty-Seventh Amendment states that members of Congressional pay raises
may not take effect _________________________________________