The Articles of the Constitution Review Sheet

Article 1

The United States government is divided up into three groups or “branches”. Article 1 of the
Constitution created Legislative Branch of the United States government. This branch of
the US government is called Congress. Congress is made up of two groups of people; the
Senate and the House of Representatives. Article 1 gives Congress the power to make the
laws for the entire country. Additionally, Congress has the power of impeachment; this gives
them the power to put the president on trial if he/she is accused of committing a serious
crime.

Article 1

A bill, or new law, can start in either the Senate or House of Representatives. Amendments, or changes to the Constitution, can also start in either the Senate or House of Representatives. However, Bills about taxes MUST start in the House of Representatives.

In order for a Bill to become a law, it must be approved by a majority of the representatives in both the Senate or House of Representatives. However, a bill does not officially become a law until the president signs it.

Article 2

Article 2 created the Executive branch of the government. This branch of the government is in charge of making sure that people follow the laws of the United States. Additionally, they get to spend money as allowed by Congress, and the president gets to pick people to work as judges in the different federal courts.

Article 2

The president and vice president are in charge of running the Executive Branch and
the 15 different departments of the government that are part of the Executive Branch.
In addition to this, the president is the “Commander In Chief” of all of the United States
military; this means he is in charge (or command) and can give orders to the leaders
of the military. Even though the president is the leader of the armed forces, they
cannot start a war with another country. This power is given to Congress in Article 1.

Article 3

Article 3 created the Judicial Branch of the United States government. The judicial branch is made up
of the federal courts system, or the national courts. This branch of the government is in charge of
deciding the constitutionality of federal laws and resolves other disputes about federal laws.

Article 3 of the Constitution created the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the most important court
in the United States because decisions made by the Supreme Court cannot be changed by any other
courts. This is the only court that article 3 created. In fact, Article 3 gave Congress the power to create
all of the courts below the Supreme Court.

Article 3

Article 3 gives the Supreme Court the responsibility of interpreting, or explaining, what
different parts of the Constitution mean when legal debates arise over them. Additionally,
this section of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power of “judicial review”; this
means they get to decide if laws created by Congress are Constitutional (or legal). If they
decide that a law made by Congress is unconstitutional, or illegal, then that law is
immediately no longer a law.