Christopher Pittman

September 27, 2006

Period 7

American Government

Chapter 3 – Section 1

1.) a. popular sovereignty- Basic principle of American system of government; that the
people are the only source of any and all governmental power, that government must be
conducted with the consent of the governed.
b. limited government- Basic principle of the American system of government; that
government is limited in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that the
government cannot take away.
c. rule of law- government and its officers are always subject to and never above the law.
d. separation of powers- Basic principle of the American system of government, that the
executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and
coequal branches of government.
e. checks and balances- system of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive,
and judicial branches, to permit each branch to check the actions of the others.
f. judicial review- Power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the actions of
the legislative and executive branches of government.
g. unconstitutional- Contrary to constitutional provisions and so invalid.
h. federalism- the division of power among a central government and several regional
governments.
2.) They needed to build a new, stronger, more effective national government and also
preserve the states and the concept of self-government.
3.) The six basic principles on which the Constitution was built are Popular Sovereignty,
limited government, separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and
federalism.
4.) Government must be conducted according to constitutional principles.
5.) The Legislative branch checks and balances the executive branch because it makes the
laws and if the president vetoes a bill, the legislative can over-power that veto if they get
enough votes, and they also can impeach the president.
6.) The judicial branch checks and balances the legislative branch by declaring an act of
congress unconstitutional.

Chapter 3 – Section 2

1.) a. amendment- A change in, or addition to, a constitutional law.

b. formal amendment- A modification in the Constitution brought about through one of
four methods set forth in the Constitution.
c. Bill of Rights- First ten amendments to the Constitution.
2.) The framers allowed for amendment to the Constitution to satisfy the southern states
that didn’t like the fact that the Constitution had no Bill of Rights.
3.) a. A two thirds vote in each house of Congress could lead to the proposal of an
amendment and an amendment could be proposed at a convention with representatives
from each state present.
b. 38 states must agree to the amendment in order for it to be ratified.

Chapter 3 – Section 3

1.) a. informal amendment- the process by which many amendments have been made to
the constitution that have led to changes in the documents written words.
b. executive agreement- a pact made by the president directly with the head of a foreign
state.
2.) The informal amendment process takes place in five different ways; through the
passage of basic legislation by congress, actions taken by the president, decisions of the
supreme court, the activities of political parties, and custom.
3.) It is important to know the constitution because there are things in the constitution that
everyone might not be able to understand and informal amendment allows for everyone
to understand the language of the constitution.
4.) The five ways the constitution has been changed are he following; Basic legislation,
Supreme court decisions, party practices, custom, and executive action.