Summary: Las 101

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• 1 LAS 101 Constitution

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• What does Article I of the Constitution establish?

  Article I outlines the Legislative Branch (Congress):
  

  1. Responsible for making laws.
  2. Features a bicameral Congress: House of Representatives (population-based) and Senate (equal state representation).
  3. Resulted from a compromise between large and small states.

• What is defined in Article II of the Constitution?

  Article II details the Executive Branch:
  

  1. Specifies powers and responsibilities of the President.
  2. Outlines election rules (Electoral College), eligibility (natural-born citizen, 35+ years, 4-year term).
  3. Modifications made by the 12th and 25th Amendments.

• What powers do states have according to Article IV?

  Article IV addresses States’ Powers & Relations:
  

  1. States can make and enforce their own laws.
  2. Must respect/enforce laws from other states.
  3. Congress can regulate how states recognize each other's laws and records.

• What does Article VI state about federal law?

  Article VI establishes the Supremacy Clause:
  1. Federal law holds precedence over state law in cases of conflict.

• What was required for the ratification of the Constitution as stated in Article VII?

  Article VII mandates that:
  

  1. Approval from 9 of 13 states via special conventions is necessary.
  2. Rhode Island was the last to ratify in 1790.

• What were the problems with the Articles of Confederation?

  Key issues included:
  

  1. A weak central government without enforcement power.
  2. Inability to regulate commerce or print money.
  3. Conflicts among states over territory, taxation, and trade.
  4. Leaders feared government collapse.

• What occurred at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in May 1787?

  Major outcomes from the Convention:
  

  1. Delegates secretly met to discuss revisions.
  2. Decided to create a new government.
  3. Major dispute was about representation in Congress: resulted in House of Representatives and Senate.
  4. Slave count as three-fifths, and allowed slave trade until 1808.

• Who drafted the Constitution and what was the process?

  The drafting process included:
  

  1. The Committee of Detail formulated provisions.
  2. The Committee of Style and Arrangement condensed 23 articles into 7.
  3. The document signed on September 17, 1787 by 39 delegates.
  4. Aimed to create a central government through compromise.

• Describe the ratification process for the Constitution.

  The ratification involved:
  

  1. Bypassing state legislatures for special state conventions.
  2. Needed approval from 9 of 13 states.
  3. Initially, only 6 states supported.
  4. Federalists favored a strong government while Anti-Federalists voiced concerns about tyranny and the lack of a Bill of Rights.

• What happened during the signing of the Constitution?

  Key points of the signing:
  

  1. 39 of 42 delegates present signed.
  2. George Washington signed first, followed by others from north to south.
  3. Three delegates, George Mason, Elbridge Gerry, and Edmund Randolph, refused due to the lack of a Bill of Rights.