The U.S. Constitution 2
Study Questions over the Preamble and Article 1, Sections 7-10
These study questions are part of the study over The Founding Documents of The United States of America. For a general introduction to this study you can go HERE. If you’d like to learn more about Study The Great Books, or to find another text to study, you can go HERE.
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find these in the Text and Note them in the Margins)
Justice
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
In which house must “Bills for raising Revenue” originate?
What must be done with every Bill that passes both the House of Representatives and the Senate?
What definitely happens to any Bill which the President of the United States returns with objections to the house from which it originated?
What may happen to any Bill which the President of the United States returns with objections to the house from which it originated?
What becomes of any Bill which is sent to the President of the United States and is neither approved nor rejected within ten days (Sundays excepted)?
What process governs “Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary?”
For what purposes are the “Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises” collected by Congress to be used?
List at least six things which Congress “shall have Power” to accomplish according to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.
List at least four prohibitions stated in Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution.
In Article 1, Section 10, which governing authority is being limited by the authority of the Constitution?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why might the Constitution have granted power to the President of the United States to reject a Bill (the power to Veto) once it has already passed the House and the Senate?
Why might the Constitution have made it possible to overcome a presidential Veto if both houses of Congress approve it with a two-thirds majority?
Why might the Constitution have required the “Yeas and Nay, and the names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill” to be entered into “the Journal of each house respectively,” but only after the original attempt to pass the bill was vetoed?
Why might the Constitution have included the law which states that any Bill that reaches the President’s desk and which is neither approved or returned within ten days (Sundays excepted) will automatically be admitted into law as if the President had signed it?
Given what the Constitution explicitly states as the purpose of all collected “Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,” give a couple of examples of things for which they ought not to be used.
Why might a “uniform Rule of Naturalization” be important for Congress to control as opposed to leaving this as an issue for each State to decide?
Why might the promotion of “the Progress of Science and useful Arts” be something which concerns Congress?
The Constitution says that Congress may “raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years.” Why might they have stipulated this time limit?
What seems to be the difference between “armies” and “militia” according to the Constitution?
Some have expressed severe criticism about the final clause of Article 1, Section 8. Why might that be?
What are some things we might infer about the state of the union at the time the Constitution was written in light of the first clause of Section 9?
Why might “the Writ of Habeas Corpus” be an important part of ensuring justice in the United States?
Why are the prohibitions against Bills of Attainder and “ex post facto Law” an important part of ensuring justice in the United States?
Why are the prohibitions in clauses 5 and 6 of Section 9 important to free and fair trade?
Why might Titles of Nobility be something which the United States does not personally grant nor allow persons “holding any office” to accept from another nation?
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
Consider the three clauses limiting the power of the states in Article 1, Section 10. Do you think these limitations of state power are good and just or do you think states should be able to retain all or some of the powers denied to them in this Section? In general, what are the pros and cons of the Federal government having more power versus individual states having more power? What do you think is more desirable, a stronger Federal government or stronger state governments? Explain why you think as you do.
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read the following passages and explain how they provide a foundation for some of the principles of justice we see outlined in the Constitution: Deuteronomy 16:18-20; 19:15-21; Proverbs 18:17.
Read 1 Samuel 8. What comparisons or contrasts might we make between ancient Israel’s changing political economy in this passage and our present reading in the U.S. Constitution?