Chapter 2: The Constitution Flashcards
What is a constitution?
Our nation’s basic law
What is John Locke most known for?
Writing the Second Treatise of Government
What does the Second Treatise of Government talk about
- natural rights
- natural law
- consent of the governed
- limited government
What are natural rights?
Things that exist without laws attached to them
What is the natural law?
Life, liberty, and property (Thomas Jefferson changed property to pursuit of happiness)
What is consent of the governed?
Majority rule
What does Locke mean by having a limited government?
The people have rights, such as the freedom of religion and the right to vote
What were some problems with the articles of confederation?
- no taxation (no central currency, small military that wasn’t supplied, trained, or paid)
- no elastic clause, there must be unanimous consent to change anything
- only 13 delegates
- no set currency
- crime and punishment was unequal
- states had all the power
What was the constitutional convention?
This was where they tried to fix all of the problems with the Articles of Confederation and create the Constitution
How did the Constitutional Convention deal with representation?
Virginia Plan: representation based on population
New Jersey Plan: equal representation
Connecticut Compromise: do both (bicameral legislature)
How did the Constitutional Convention deal with equality and slaves?
They came up with the 3/5 compromise
How did the Constitutional Convention deal with political equality?
They left this up to the states to decide who could vote
What is the Madissonian Model?
This outlined the separation of powers (3 branches of government) and checks and balances, as well as set the standard for a republic.
What are the responsibilities of a republic?
- allow for representation (majority rule)
- the majority cannot become a tyranny
- the majority must preserve the rights of the minority
What do articles 1, 2, and 3 talk about in the Madissonian Model?
1-legislative branch
2-executive branch
3-judicial branch
What were the rules of the republic that were set up in the Madissonian Model?
- only house of representatives can be voted on by the public
- senators are picked by state legislators (now picked by the people)
- president is picked by the electoral college
- all federal judges have to be appointed by the president, but ratified by the senate
What do federalists believe in?
They support a strong federal government
What do anti federalists believe in?
More power to states and individuals
How did the federalists appease the anti federalists?
- writ of habeus corpus
- bill of attainder
- jury in all criminal cases
- rules for treason
- ex post facto
- no gov’t jobs could be denied based on religion
What is the writ of habeus corpus?
You have to be told what you are being accused of
What is the Bill of Attainder?
You cannot be declared guilty without a trial
What is Ex Post Facto?
If something was once legal, but is now illegal, no one can go back and charge you for that crime
What is the Bill of Rights?
The first ten amendments
What do amendments 11-27 do?
They modify the original text
How can you amend the Constitution formally?
- Go through Congress: get a 2/3 majority vote, and then either have 3/4 of states vote or 3/4 of state legislators vote
- National Convention: get 2/3 of states to agree and then 3/4 of states convention have to agree
How can you amend the Constitution informally?
- Judicial interpretation
- Change in political practices
- Technology
- Increased demand for new policies
What is Judicial interpretation?
This is how the judicial branch interprets the constitution (the elastic clause). This happens because of Marbury vs. Madison
What does it mean to change political practices?
Some examples are:
- the way you receive political knowledge
- campaigning
- marriage, equality, property
How does technology informally amend the constitution?
- New Deal Agencies (TVA——>new technology to build dam to get more power)
- There are new ways in which we vote
How does increased demand for new policies informally amend the constitution?
An example of this is the Patriot Act after 9/11. We’ve had to change how we view our safety. Other examples are foreign affairs and NASA.
