Test Your Knowledge
How well do you know the U.S. Constitution?
___________________________
A
correct understanding of the U.S. Constitution is essential to ensure
the proper role of government in America and to reverse our slide into
world socialism.
Congress is the key.
Congress has simply to study and apply the Constitution to
restore sound government.
That most congressmen and women fail to do so is the fault
of the people who elect them and send them to Washington.
The
sole body of powers possessed by the federal
government are enumerated in the Constitution. All
of the non-enumerated powers now exercised by congress fall into the
category of usurpation's that can be ended as soon as the proper
understanding is created.
As congress hears from a growing number of informed
constituents more congressmen and women will be forced to find the time
to learn about the document they have sworn to uphold and defend. Sadly, a majority of Americans lack even a basic
understanding of the proper roles of the three branches of our
government, and their respective responsibilities as American
citizens. Most
can neither explain nor identify the type of government our states
created under the Constitution. Can you?
True or False?
The 2nd Amendment of
the Bill of Rights gives Americans the right to "keep and bear arms."
False.
The right to keep and bear arms falls under the declaration of our Founding
Fathers that all people "are endowed by our Creator with
certain unalienable rights" and that governments are
instituted "to secure these rights" already given
to us by God.
(Read the Declaration of Independence.) If the 2nd
Amendment were removed from the Constitution "We the People" would
still retain the right to keep and bear arms.
Americans possess other rights given to them
by the Bill of Rights.
False.
The Bill of Rights does not grant any rights. They
were added to the Constitution to "protect" our God-given rights as
human beings.
The Bill of Rights is simply a list of prohibitions on the
actions of Congress.
We enjoy the freedom of religion, for example, because
Congress is forbidden to act in this area.
The U.S.
Constitution delineates three
co-equal branches of government.
False.
Congress,
and specifically the House of Representatives (the only branch
originally to be elected by the people), has the most power.
The
House alone has the power to legislate and make rules for the
government and was given very specific and enumerated powers.
It
cannot legislate, however, in areas where it has no authority to do so
(education, welfare, foreign aid, etc.). See
Article I, Sec. 8.
Upon taking
his oath of office and assuming
his duties as chief executive, the President automatically becomes the
Commander in Chief of America's armed forces.
False.
The
President "shall be" commander in chief "when"
our armed forces are "called into the actual service of the
United States" by Congress, traditionally through a
declaration of war.
See Article II, Sec. 2.
The President
has the power to declare war.
False.
The
sole power to declare war is reserved only to Congress.
Article
I, Sec. 8. If
Congress has the power, the President does not. Moreover,
Congress has no authority to delegate their responsibility to another
branch of government.
This is clearly a breech in their oath of office. If a
congressman hasn't the courage of his office, he should resign.
The President
has some legislative powers.
False.
Legislative
power is reserved only to Congress. See
Article I, Sec. 1.
The president
can impeach members of
Congress.
False.
The
power of impeachment is reserved to the House of
Representatives. See
Article I, Sec. 2 (notice the very last clause).
The President
has the sole power to appoint
Supreme Court Justices.
False.
The
President has the sole power to "nominate" but needs the approval of
the Senate to appoint a Supreme Court Justice. See
Article II, Sec. 2.
Impeachment
of the President occurs upon his
removal from office.
False.
Impeachment
refers to the process by which the people, through their
representatives in the House, can indict and put on trial members of
the other branches of government.
The House indicts and the Senate tries the case acting as
the jury.
The House of
Representatives cannot impeach
the President by itself.
False.
The
House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment.
Review
Article I, Sec. 2.
Unless they
retire, Supreme Court Justices
hold their office for life.
False.
Supreme
Court Justices hold their office "during good behavior."
See
Article III, Sec. 1.
Their tenure "should not be limited or permanent"
(Federalist Essay #81).
They can be impeached for bad behavior and removed from
office if found guilty.
An example of bad behavior would be "usurping
the authority of the legislature" by attempting to legislate
through their decisions; the legislature has "the means of punishing
their presumption by degrading them from their stations" (Hamilton,
Federalist #81).
Supreme Court
decisions become the "supreme
law of the land."
False.
The
Constitution, constitutional laws and constitutional treaties together
are the supreme law of the land.
See Article VI.
The Supreme Court has no authority to legislate and, by
design, is the weakest of the three branches of government (Federalist
Essay #78).
The Supreme
Court decision, Roe v. Wade,
allowing abortions is the "law of the land."
False.
It is
the "law of the case" binding only on the parties to that
case. Roe
v. Wade is not legislation; only Congress can legislate.
Review
Article I, Sec. 1.
The
Constitution means whatever the Supreme
Court says it means.
False.
The
Supreme Court is supposed to ensure that laws do not conflict with the
Constitution according to the original intent of our
Founders. The
Constitution is to be "the standard of construction for laws"
(Federalist #81).
The Supreme
Court has sole authority to
decide what cases it will or will not hear.
False.
Article
III, Sec. 2 stipulates that Congress shall regulate what the Supreme
Court hears on appeal.
Congress could have prevented the Supreme Court from
hearing cases concerning abortion, flag burning, prayer in schools,
etc., by removing them from its jurisdiction. Moreover,
these were properly states rights issues in the first place.
The Supreme
Court has some legislative
powers.
False.
The
Supreme Court has NO legislative power. Review
Article I, Sec. 1.
The House of
Representatives has no control
over what cases the Supreme Court decides to hear.
False.
See
#15.
U.S. Supreme
Court Justices cannot be
impeached.
False.
See
#11.
The
"separation of church and state" clause
is found in the 1st Amendment of the Bill of
Rights.
False.
There
is no such clause anywhere in the Constitution, Bill of Rights or
Declaration of Independence.
Prayer in
public schools is a violation of
the 1st Amendment.
False.
The 1st
Amendment stipulates that Congress (the law-making branch) "shall
make NO law" respecting religious matters (emphasis
added). Again,
a misguided public has accepted a Supreme Court decision (banning
school prayer) as the "law of the land."
The 1st
Amendment
guarantees all Americans the "freedom of expression."
False.
The 1st
Amendment protects the freedom of "speech."
It is
true that, within the proper context, "expression" may be used as a
synonym for speech, but lewd and obscene "behavior" can not.
Flag
burning, for example, is not a protected right under the 1st
Amendment.
The 6th
Amendment to
the Constitution states that Americans accused of a crime "enjoy the
right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of their peers."
False.
English
Common Law referred to a jury of "peers." The
English didn't want Commoners sitting in judgment of Lords, and Lords
sitting in judgment of Commoners.
Our Founding Fathers were very specific. In
America, peers could be misconstrued to produce juries comprised of
only men, only women, only blacks or whites, only union members, etc.
Treaties
supersede the U.S. Constitution.
False.
Review
Article VI. All
treaties have to be made under the authority of the laws of the United
States (Article III, Sec. 2).
Once a constitutional treaty is ratified it becomes the
law of the land with the Constitution and laws of the United States,
but IT DOES NOT supersede the Constitution.
The United
Nations Charter is a treaty and
supersedes the U.S. Constitution.
False.
See
#23.
The U.S. form
of government is a democracy.
False.
It is
a Republic. You
need to learn the difference.
One will keep America free and independent; the other will
destroy America.
Read Federalist Essays #10, #14, #39, #49 and #50.
Every state
in the Union is guaranteed a
"republican" form of government.
True. See
Article IV, Sec. 4 of the U.S. Constitution.