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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 7 of 9

The Arizona Constitution

Rights, direct democracy and how it compares with the US Constitution

What your child practices

Arizona's constitution compared with the US Constitution: the 1910 convention and statehood, the Declaration of Rights and its privacy clause, the initiative, referendum and recall, how each constitution is amended, and how a state can add to federal rights.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: HS.C2.5; HS.C2.3; HS.C1.4 · comparing the rights in the Arizona and US constitutions, and how rights and democratic principles have changed over time

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Arizona’s constitution, written in 1910 before statehood, sets up three branches. It is much longer than the US one and amended far more.
  2. It gives voters the initiative, referendum and recall, and plainly protects privacy in one’s private affairs and home.
  3. A state can add rights beyond the US Constitution but cannot take federal rights away.

Example: Can a state constitution give people more rights than the US Constitution? Federal rights are the floor. States may add more, but not take any away. Answer: yes, as long as it doesn’t take away federal rights

The Arizona Constitution in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 7 of 9 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Landmark Supreme Court Cases and before Governing Arizona.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Arizona voters can remove an elected official before the end of the term. This is the…

    • recall
    • audit
    • census

  2. Question 2

    When did Arizona become a state?

    • July 4, 1776
    • February 14, 1912
    • February 14, 1863

  3. Question 3

    Why did President Taft first veto Arizona's statehood in 1911?

    • Arizona wanted to join Mexico
    • Arizona had no capital
    • the constitution let voters recall judges

  4. Question 4

    The Arizona Constitution sets up how many branches of state government?

    • three
    • two
    • five

  5. Question 5

    Arizona's Corporation Commission, set up by the constitution, regulates…

    • the US military
    • electric, water and gas utilities
    • sports leagues

  6. Question 6

    Why might a right be protected in Arizona's constitution even though federal law already covers it?

    • so Arizona courts can protect it under state law too
    • federal rights don't count in Arizona
    • to repeal the US Constitution

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