The U.S. Constitution 5

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)

1. What are the citizens of each state “entitled to” according to the Constitution?

2. According to the Constitution, can a person avoid justice by fleeing to another state other than the one where they committed the crime?

3. When it comes to forming of “New States” in the Union, what did the Constitution prohibit “without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress?”

4. What guarantee and protections did the Constitution affirm “The United States” will give “to every State in this Union?”

5. What requirements must be met in order to amend the U. S. Constitution?

6. What exceptions were stated as to what cannot be amended?

7. What became of any debt or contractual agreements made “under the Confederation” once the Constitution was formally ratified?

8. What did the Constitution state would never “be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States?”

9. What remained necessary for the constitution to come into effect after the Constitutional Convention was concluded?

10. What was suggested should be the immediate, first and foremost, course of action as soon as the Constitution was officially in effect?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why might the concept of “Full Faith and Credit” be a very important one for a successful union to exist between the various states? Contrariwise, what kinds of problems might arise between states without this?

2. What seems to be the main thrust of Article IV, Section 2 and how is it similar and different from Section 1 of the same Article?

3. What are some categories of persons who would have been deemed by Article IV, Section II, Clause 3 as “held to service or Labour?” Note: there was, in fact, more than one situation which this applied to.

4. The Constitution states “no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.” Why might the Consent of both the legislatures of the states and Congress be required to form a new State in the given ways?

5. What are some implications for state level governance given what is stated in Article IV, Section 4?

6. The three-fourths 3/4 majority which is required for the states to ratify a constitutional amendment, under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, is the highest numerical threshold required in the Constitution for any official action. In other words, passing an amendment to the Constitution is more difficult than proposing an amendment (requires a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate or a convention called by 2/3 of the states), gaining a conviction in an impeachment trial (requires a 2/3 vote of the senators present), overriding a presidential veto (requires a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress), expelling a member of Congress (requires a 2/3 vote of that chamber), or ratifying any treaties (requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate). Why might the requirements for amending the constitution be so stringent?

7. Why might the first clause of Article VI have been important to include in the Constitution?

8. What is meant by saying that “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof… shall be the supreme Law of the Land?”

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Under Article VI, Clause 3, the Constitution forbids any “religious test” being “required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” Do you believe that it was wise or unwise to include this language in the Constitution? What might be the potential pros and cons of having some sort or religious test for holding office in the United States of America? Explain and defend your perspective.

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Deuteronomy 28:1-2 and Psalm 33:10-12. How should these passages, and many other similar ones, affect our thinking about our nation, its leadership, our people, and what we should desire for all of the above?

2. Read 1 Timothy 2:1-2. What does this teach us concerning how we should direct our prayers in regard to our nation and its leaders?