1.1 The Nature of the US Constitution

Question 1

the nature of the US constitution

principles:

Answer 1

1. limited government
2. codification
3. entrenchment
4. federalism
5. checks and balances
6. separation of powers

Question 2

the nature of the US constitution

limited government

Answer 2

• founding fathers wanted to limit government through separation of powers and checks and balances
• the bil of rights specifically included to help ensure limited government
• they were concerned over individual freedoms of citizens being challenged by a powerful government (from the UK)

Question 3

the nature of the US constitution

codification

Answer 3

PHYSICAL source of power
- key powers given to branches by constitution
- has been interpreted differently, but the original document remains sovereign
- judicable (containes higher law) so laws can be ruled ‘unconstitutional’

Question 4

the nature of the US constitution

entrenchment

Answer 4

• protected by law
• difficult to amend
• article V containes the amendmnent process, but it requires a supermajority.

Question 5

the nature of the US constitution

federalism

Answer 5

• ensures states, cultures and beliefs are not ignored
• shared sovereignty.
• congress has authority over some aspects of political life, while states remain sovereign over others
• division of power between federal government and the states

Question 6

the nature of the US constitution

10th amendment

Answer 6

‘the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, not prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people’
- eg. abortion rights, marijuana, taxes, citizens rights (eg. alaska u can drive at 14) criminal punishment (eg. 27 states currently allow it) and electoral regulation

Question 7

the nature of the US constitution

dual federalism 1790s-1930s

Answer 7

states and government equal, but states undertook most of the governing.

Question 8

cooperative federalism 1930s-1960s

Answer 8

• government expanded after wall st crash
• federal government seen superior to the states
• more cooperation between states and federal government over policies states previously dictated

Question 9

new federalism
1970s-2000s

Answer 9

nixon looked to roll back federal government

Question 10

checks and balances: history and current

Answer 10

madison believed each branch should have the power to check the other branches
- ensured each branch had the power to oversee the other 2

Question 11

checks: the executive-legislative + vice versa

Answer 11

executive-legislative:
- the president can veto legislation and may propose legislation to congress

legislative-executive:
- congress must approve presidential appointments, it controls the budget, it can pass laws over the president’s veto
- it can impeach and remove the presidnet from office

Question 12

checks: executive-judicial + vice versa

Answer 12

executive-judicial:
- the president appoints judges

judicial-executive:
- the court can declare presidential acts unconstitutional
- chief justice presides over impeachment of the preisdent, and may prevent executive action through injunction

Question 13

checks: legislative-judicial + vice versa

Answer 13

legislative-judicial:
- congress can change laws, initiate a constitutional amendment; restrict jurisdiction of courts to hear certain types of cases; create whole new court systems or abolish existing ones, expand or contract times and places that the federal courts sit
- the senate must confirm the president’s judicial appointments
- congress cna impeach and remove judges from office
judicial-legislative:
-the court can declare laws unconstitutional

Question 14

separation of powers:

Answer 14

sharing of power ability
- inspired by Baron De montesquieu argued 3 entirely seperate branches would be the most effective
- each branch has a seperate article in the constitution assertaining its power. eg. the ‘ineligibility clause’ prevents an individual from gaining too much power
- eg. the president is seperate from congress, so can’t really propose legislation himself unlike the uk

Question 15

types of power

Answer 15

1. delegated powers
2. implied powers
3. inherent powers

Question 16

delegated powers

Answer 16

article 1, section 8 of the constitution
- explicitly stated: coinign money, regulating commerce, declaring war, armed forces
- 27 powers specifically for the federal government

Question 17

implied powers

Answer 17

• inferred from the ‘necessary and proper’ clause in article 1 section 8
• make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution in the foregoing powers, and other powers vested in the government of the united states: powers not explicit, the courts often left to decide what constitutes implied power

Question 18

inherent powers

Answer 18

• grow out of the very existence of the government
• eg. the power to acquire territory by exploitation and/or occupancy.
• primarily because most government in general claim that right.

Question 19

vaccine mandate september 2021

Answer 19

• Kim Reynolds Governor of Iowa - mandate to allow exemption from covid vaccine for religious/non medical reasons
• supreme court struck mandate down with a 6-3 decision
• example of judicial over state power.