The Basics
Below you will find short, simple articles that answer basic questions about the Constitution and our American form of government.
What are checks and balances and how do they work?
As we learned in the answer to a previous question, the Constitution of the United States creates a government with three branches. Those branches are the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch is the Congress. The executive branch is the President and those who work under him. The judicial branch is the […]
What is the Electoral College?
The drafters of the Constitution wanted to make sure that only the wisest and best of men would be selected as president. To accomplish this they created a special system for selecting the president. The system is called the Electoral College. The drafters of the Constitution wanted to select the president in a very careful […]
What powers are given to the federal government by the Constitution?
To prevent the federal government from becoming too powerful the Founders made sure its powers were limited and well defined. The powers given to the federal government are listed in the constitution. It has the powers listed there and nothing more. In general, the federal government’s powers are limited to areas that are of interest […]
What powers do the states have under the Constitution?
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The federal government has only those powers that are specifically granted to it by the Constitution. To learn what those […]
Where do our rights come from?
“Our Creator endowed each one of us with certain rights at birth, among which are the rights to life, liberty, speech, and conscience, to name a few. These are not just human rights; they are divine rights.” Those are the words of Ezra Taft Benson. Thomas Jefferson said “The God who gave us life, gave […]
What is freedom of religion?
What is freedom of religion? Freedom of religion is made up of two things. The first is separation of church and state. The second is the free exercise of religion. Separation of church and state simply means that the government cannot operate churches and churches cannot operate the government. The government cannot be involved in […]