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Constitutional Trivia – 10 Very Tough Questions

Introduction

Do you consider yourself knowledgeable on the U.S. constitution? In other words, do you think you know your stuff when it comes to our most cherished legal document – the constitution? Well, if so, we’ve put together 10 of some of the most challenging questions dealing with the constitution. These questions are not meant to trick or deceive you. Rather, they are meant to show the depth and intricacies of the constitution created by our founding fathers well over 200 years ago.

Again, these questions are tough – hence the name of the article! This article is like 10 final Jeopardy questions on the constitution. Regardless of how you do, at the very least, these questions will likely intrigue, surprise, and bring you a little closer in understanding the depth of our nation’s foundational document.

In this article, we’ll take a look at 10 Very Tough U.S. constitutional law questions.

Next, we’ll tackle questions 1 – 3.

Questions 1 – 3

Question 1 – What two men had the greatest influence on the philosophy found in the Constitution?

While there may be some debate over this answer, most agree the two men with the greatest impact on the philosophy found in the constitution were John Locke and Montesquieu [his full name was: Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Bréde et de Montesquieu – if you knew that, even Alex Trebeck would likely give you a hi-five].

John Locke is considered to be one of the most influential political philosophers of all time. He was an Englishman that lived in the mid-to-late 17th Century and developed and wrote about many political theories, including separation of powers within a government, theory of the mind, social contract theory, labor theory, supply and demand theory, among many others. His most well known written work was Two Treaties of Government.

Montesquieu employed and perfected many of Locke’s theories. He lived during the late 17th Century to mid 18th Century in France. Montesquieu is regarded as one of the greatest French philosophers and his book, Spirit of the Laws, had a lasting impact on the founding fathers that attended the constitutional conventions and drafted the U.S. Constitution.

Question 2 – Which position has the longest term of office in the federal government, aside from federal judges?

The Comptroller General of the United States and the Assistant Comptroller General have the longest tenure at 15 years each. (See: Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 18; Art. I. sec. 9, cl. 7; and Art. II, sec. 2, cl. 2).

Question 3 – Are U.S. Supreme Court justices, U.S. Senators, and U.S. Representatives considered "civil officials" of the United States?

Justices are "civil officials" of the U.S. However, Senators and Representatives are likely not civil officials. This is because the constitution makes clear distinctions between legislators and officials in multiple sections of the constitution. For example, members of Congress are not subject to impeachment like a "civil official" generally would be. But members of Congress are subject to expulsion by the vote of the House or Senate of which they are members (See: Art. I, sec. 5, cl. 2).

How are you doing so far? We told you these weren’t your regular run-of-the-mill questions…but we’re sure you’re eager for more.

Next, we’ll explore questions 4 – 6.

Questions 4 – 6

Question 4 – How does an impeachment proceeding work for a Cabinet officer?

A Cabinet officer may be impeached in a number of ways, including:

by charges made on the floor of the House of Representatives by a representative;
by charges referred to a committee for debate and exam;
by charges made by a State legislature or grade jury; or
by charges made by an investigative House committee.

First, the House votes on the impeachment. Then, the Senate hears the case and acts as a judge on the merits of the case. The same process occurs if the President is impeached. However, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the Senate in the event of a presidential impeachment. (See: Art. I, sec. 2, cl. 5; sec. 3, cl. 6, 7; Art. II, sec. 4).

Question 5 – If, after a bill passes both houses of Congress and goes to the President for signature, can Congress recall the bill? And if so, how?

Yes. Congress can recall a bill that it has signed and sent to the President. However, this process is very rare and 3 main requirements must be met.

First, a bill which has reached the President can only be recalled by a concurrent resolution (i.e. a resolution that passes both the House and Senate). Second, after Congress passes the concurrent resolution it must send the resolution to the President. If the President has already signed the bill, then the bill is law and Congress is too late. If Congress would like to repeal the bill, it would have to go through the normal repeal process of a law. Third, assuming the President has not signed the bill, the bill must be sent by the President back to Congress.

So, if Congress really wants to recall a bill that it has sent to the President for signature, Congress needs to act quickly and hope that the President has not signed the bill into law yet. (See: Art. I, sec. 7, cl. 2).

Question 6 – What does it mean when someone says senators are paired?

A pair occurs when two senators – generally belonging to opposite parties – agree that they will not vote when the other senator is absent. There are 2 types of pairs including (i) general and (ii) specific. A general pair occurs when two senators agree that they will not vote on any bills or measures when the other senator is absent. A specific pair occurs when two senators agree that they will not vote on a specific bill or measure if the other senator is absent. General pairs are very rare while specific pairs are less rare. (See: Art. I, sec. 5, cl. 2).

So, why would two senators ever agree to a pairing? Well, the theory is that both senators’ votes will cancel each other out because they will be voting against each other. There a number of reasons why a pairing might occur including political maneuvering to secure a bill’s passage, alliances with certain senators to build report in the hopes of getting future bills passed, as a means to ensure fairness to both sides, etc.

Next, we’ll go over questions 7 – 9.

Questions 7 – 9

Question 7 – Who administers the oath of office to the Speaker of the House of Representatives?

The member with the greatest length of service – i.e. most seniority - usually administers the oath to the Speaker (See: Art. I, sec. 5, cl. 2).

Ok. So that question was a little easier than some of the others. How did you fare?

Question 8 – Must all revenue and appropriation bills originate in the House of Representatives?

The U.S. Constitution provides that all bills raising revenue must originate in the House of Representatives. However, while appropriation bills customarily originate in the House of Representatives, the U.S. Constitution does not mandate it. (See: Art. I, sec. 7, cl. 1).

Question 9 – Why is a member of the House of Representatives referred to on the floor as, for example, "the gentleman from Ohio," instead of by name?

The purpose of this custom is to avoid the use of personal names in debate so as to avoid a possible breach of decorum and to separate the political from the personal character of each representative. (See: Art. I, sec. 6, cl. 1).

Next, we’ll take a look at question 10.

Question 10

Question 10 – What is the difference between a joint and a concurrent resolution of Congress?

A joint resolution is the equivalent of a law and must be signed by the president (or passed over his veto). A concurrent resolution is not a law. Rather, a concurrent resolution is a measure in which the House and Senate unite for a particular purpose, including such reasons as: organization and procedure, expressions of facts, joint opinions, and any "matters peculiarly within the province of Congress alone" not embracing "legislative provisions proper." (See: Art. 1, sec. 7, cl. 3). For example, the recall of a bill sent to the president for signature would occur through a concurrent resolution » See Question 5.

Finally, we’ll conclude with some main points to keep in mind.

Conclusion

In this article, we went over some tough U.S. Constitutional law trivia questions. In particular, we tested you on such areas as philosophy, term limits, impeachment procedures, bill recall measures, how certain bills originate, proper decorum in Congress, and the difference between a joint and concurrent resolution of Congress. These were not your run-of-the-mill questions that you see every day. However, the answers to these questions show the depth and intricacy within the constitution, as created by the founding fathers well over 200 years ago.

So, how did you fair? How did you fair against others? In the end, how well you did may not be as important as how much you learned from the one document that holds the United States together – our U.S. Constitution.