POLI 201 1st EditionExam # 2 Study Guide The Constitution- The state constitutions came first, then the U.S. Constitution- The reason we have a written Constitution is because Great Britain did not have one and look at the problems that it causedPreamble (First part of the constitution)o Begins with “We the People”o Guidelines for the Constitutiono Answers the questions, “What the U.S. was doing, and why they were doing it-The English language has evolved since the Constitution was first written- Words now have different meanings- “Charity” means “Love” in the Constitution- “Welfare” means “How are you doing” in the ConstitutionPurposes of Constitution: 1. To Form a More Perfect Union2. Establish Justice3. To Insure Domestic Tranquility4. To Provide for the Common Defense5. To Promote the General Welfare6. To Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and Our Posterity, do Ordain andEstablish this Constitution for the U.S. of AmericaOrder of Constitution:1. Articles2. Sections3. Paragraphs4. SentencesThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.5. Phrases (Clauses)-The 1st Article talks about the legislative branch, because that was the government that the people were most familiar withOrder of Articles:I. LegislativeII. Executive (President is in charge)III. JudicialArticle I Section I- All power to create legislative laws shall be given to the Congress, which consists of the Senate and House of RepresentativesArticle I Section IIHouse of Representatives- The term for a member of the House of Representative is 2 years, who is elected by the people of that state (direct democracy)- The voters in each state should have the qualifications to vote for state House of Representative, if they are eligible to vote for the U.S. House of Representative- Qualifications for House of Representative:o Must be at least 25 years of age, on the day you take oath of officeo Have to be a citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 years- Could be born in another countryo Have to live in the state you represent - Three-fifths rule was createdo 13th amendment did away with the 3/5 rule- The more people a state has, the more representatives a state gets- Free people were counted as a whole person- Indians were not included in the census- Conduct a census every 10 years- For 30,000 people you have in your state, you get one representative- Every state has at least one representative- Speaker of the House decides the issue that will be discussed - When a vacancy occurs, the governor of that state, shall announce a special election to fill that position (Vacancy)- The House of Representatives has a number of offices and the most important office is “the Speaker of the House”, who is elected by the members of the house (indirect democracy)- Grand jury ONLY job is to determine if enough evidence exists to send a case to trial, not to determine guilty or innocent- Indict (true bill) if believe there is enough evidence to go to trial- Any government employee can be impeached- The House of Representatives can act as a grand jury, sends trial to Senate to be tried- If trial is sent to Senate it is an automatic impeachmentArticle I Section IIIThe Senate- Every state has 2 senators, chosen by the legislative (of their own state) each senator will have one vote, term of office for U.S. Senator was 6 years- Divide senators as equally as possible into three groups- Random grouping (had to draw)- If a vacancy happens the government appoints a temporary person until election, but when legislative comes back they need to approve the temporary person- Qualifications for the Senate:o Must be at least 30 years of age, on the day you take oath of officeo Have to be a citizen of the U.S. for at least 9 yearso Have to live in the state you represent- The “President of the Senate” is the “Vice President” and has no vote, unless votes are equal- The Senate chooses all other offices, but not “President of the Senate”- Pro Tempore- Temporary “President of Senate”, because the Vice President cannot be there all the time- Senate elects the “Pro Tempore”- The Senate has ONLY the power to try impeachments, make an oath to be honest/ unbiased, when an impeachment is of a president, the vice president cannot be involved because the president is his boss, Chief Justice takes over, no person is convicted without the agreement of 2/3 of members present- If found guilty of impeachment you are automatically fired, and disqualified from holding any government job again, subject to punishment according to lawArticle I Section IV- The times, paces and manner of holding elections for Senators and House of Representatives shall be decided in each state by the legislative, but Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except Congress cannot change where Senators are elected- Congress has to meet at least once a year, meetings shall be the 1st Monday in DecemberArticle I Section V- Each chamber shall be the judge, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to dobusiness, but a smaller number any adjourn from day to day, force absent members, in such manner, to attend- Each member of the House must behave, follow all rules, with the agreement of 2/3 of all members to kick out a member (expel)- Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish it, except secrecy from enemies, no such thing as a secretvote- Neither House shall without the consent of the other adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that ino Only conduct business in capital buildingArticle I Section VI- Both Houses get paid to be public servants, they are paid by the federal government from the treasuryo Congress determines how much they get paid- Neither House can be arrested for their political views, unless what they say is treason-A republic cannot exist if its people are not entitled to freedom of speech- No Senator or Representative shall have two government jobs simultaneouslyArticle I Section VII- All bills for raising revenue shall begin in the House of Representative, but the Senate may propose with amendments as on other bills- The House of Representative is the government that is closest to the peopleo The Senate can defeat it, pass it, debate it or