Congress: how it is built and what it can do

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D on the two houses (the excerpts are exact; card D is made up). Card A, "The House of Representatives". Who made it: the Constitutional Convention. When: September 17, 1787. For whom: the states and the people. Why: to set up Congress. Excerpt 1 (Article I, Section 2): "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature." Excerpt 2 (Article I, Section 2): "No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen." Card B, "The Senate". Same maker, date, readers and aim as card A. Excerpt 1 (Article I, Section 3): "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote." Excerpt 2 (Article I, Section 3): "No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen." Card C, "The Seventeenth Amendment (1913)". Who made it: Congress proposed it and the states ratified it. When: ratified April 8, 1913. For whom: the people of the United States. Why: to change how senators are chosen. Excerpt (Amendment XVII): "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote." Card D, "Lena Ortiz (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Lena Ortiz is 27 years old and has been a citizen of the United States for 12 years. She lives in the state where she wants to run.

2. 1.

   Milo reads cards A and B. Which difference between the two houses do they show?

   • House members must be 25 and senators 30, because the cards give a different minimum age for each house
   • The Senate is more powerful, because senators serve three times as long as Representatives and take office older
   • Both houses are chosen by the people, and the Senate differs in its six-year term and its age rule
   • House terms are two years and chosen by the people; Senate terms are six years and chosen by legislatures
3. 2.

   Card D says Lena Ortiz is 27 and has been a citizen for 12 years. Zee applies cards A and B. What do they show?

   • She meets the House rules, but she is too young for the Senate, which asks for thirty years
   • She meets neither house's rules, because both houses ask for more years as a citizen than she has
   • She meets the Senate rules but not the House rules, because the Senate asks for fewer years as a citizen
   • She meets the rules of both houses, because 12 years as a citizen is more than the nine the Senate asks for
4. 3.

   Kira lists questions about cards A to C. Which question can the cards not answer?

   • How old a person must be to serve as a Representative, and for how many years a citizen of the United States
   • How many Representatives the House has once the census is taken, and how its seats are divided
   • Who chooses a state's senators today, and for how many years each senator serves after the change on card C
   • Whether each state has the same number of senators or a number that depends on its population, as in the House

5. Use this

   Cards A to C on how a bill becomes a law (the excerpts are exact; card C is made up). Card A, "Bills that raise money". Who made it: the Constitutional Convention. When: September 17, 1787. For whom: the states and the people. Why: to set the steps for making laws. Excerpt (Article I, Section 7): "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills." Card B, "The President and a bill". Same maker, date, readers and aim as card A. Excerpt (Article I, Section 7): "Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law." Card C, "The Safe Crossings Bill (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The bill passed the House 250 to 185 and the Senate 61 to 39. The President returned it with objections. On the second vote all 435 House members voted, 280 for the bill and 155 against. In the Senate all 100 senators voted, 68 for and 32 against.

6. 4.

   The Senate passes a tax bill that began in the Senate. Noah checks card A. What does the card show?

   • The bill is out of order, because the President alone may begin a bill that raises money
   • The bill is out of order, because revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives
   • The bill is valid, because the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other bills
   • The bill is valid, because both houses must approve it and the House can still vote on it later
7. 5.

   The House votes 280 to 155 to override a veto, with all 435 members voting (card C). Ari reads card B. What happens?

   • The bill goes to the Senate anyway, because the House needs just the 218 votes that pass an ordinary bill
   • The override fails in the House, because two thirds of 435 is 290 and 280 is short of it
   • The bill becomes law without the override, because the House passed it by a majority the first time
   • The override passes in the House, because 280 is a clear majority of the 435 members who voted
8. 6.

   Luz lists questions about card B. Which question can the card not answer?

   • What becomes of the bill if the President neither signs it nor returns it with objections to the House
   • What share of each house must agree to pass a vetoed bill again over the President's objections
   • Which house of Congress reconsiders the bill first after a veto, and which reconsiders it second
   • Whether the President must send reasons along with a returned bill, or may return it without any

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on impeachment (the excerpts are exact; card C is a summary in our words). Card A, "The House and impeachment". Who made it: the Constitutional Convention. When: September 17, 1787. For whom: the states and the people. Why: to set up Congress. Excerpt (Article I, Section 2): "The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." Card B, "The Senate and impeachment". Same maker, date, readers and aim as card A. Excerpt (Article I, Section 3): "The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present." Card C, "The trial of Andrew Johnson (1868)". Who made it: written for this sheet from the Senate's historical pages. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In 1868 the House impeached President Andrew Johnson. On May 16, 1868, the Senate voted on one article of impeachment. All 54 senators then seated voted: 35 guilty and 19 not guilty. Johnson was not convicted.

10. 7.

    Tala reads cards A and B. What do the words "sole Power" show about the two houses?

    • The House can convict by itself, because its sole power of impeachment includes deciding guilt
    • Each house has its own step: the House brings the charges and the Senate holds the trial
    • The Chief Justice decides the outcome, because the Chief Justice presides when a President is tried
    • The Senate may start an impeachment on its own, because it has the sole power to try impeachments
11. 8.

    Card C reports 35 senators voting guilty and 19 not guilty, with 54 voting. Jun applies card B. What follows?

    • Johnson was not convicted, because two thirds of 54 is 36 and the guilty votes fell one short
    • Johnson was not convicted, because three fourths of the senators present had to vote guilty
    • Johnson was convicted, because 35 of the 54 senators voting guilty is a majority of the Senate
    • Johnson was convicted, because the Chief Justice presided and so a majority of the Senate decided
12. 9.

    Pia lists questions about cards A to C. Which question can the cards not answer?

    • What penalties may follow if the Senate convicts an official, and whether a court can add punishment
    • How many senators voted guilty in 1868 on the article the Senate decided, and how many voted not guilty
    • Who presides over the Senate when the President of the United States is the person being tried
    • Which house of Congress begins the impeachment of an official, and which house holds the trial
13. 10.

    Bo puts cards A to C together. Which claim do the three cards support?

    • The House impeached Andrew Johnson in 1868, which card C reports as the first step of the process
    • A charge by the Senate and a trial in the House, with two thirds needed to convict the person charged
    • The Senate will not convict a President, because the 1868 vote fell short of the two thirds required
    • A charge by the House and a trial in the Senate, with two thirds needed, which the 1868 vote did not reach