Chapter 3: The Constitution Flashcards
Constitution functions to:
1) Establish government authority
2) Establish governmental bodies and grants them powers and limits their power
3) Determine how member are to be chosen
4) Establish the rules by which decision are made
Congress was
A single house, with each state having 2 to 7 members but only 1 vote
Congress created
Appointed executives, judges, and military officers
Congress had
The power to make war and peace, conduct foreign affairs, and borrow and print money
But Congress could not.
Collect taxes and enforce laws directly. It relied on the states to provide money and enforce its laws
The U.S was a
Confederation of nations
The national government was thought of as an alliance of
Independent state, not as a government “Of the people”
Natural Rights to Liberty
The purpose of government is to protect individual liberty and property.
They believed in a natural law that endowed each person with certain inalienable rights-the rights to
Life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness
Social Contract Theory
The legitimacy of government must be based on the consent of the ground
Republicanism
Government by representatives of the people rather than directly by the people themselves
The people voted for the members of the House of Representatives, but the president, the Senate, and the Supreme Court would be selected by
In the judgement of the founders, more qualified to judge their ability
Limited government
They believed in a written constitution to limit the government’s power and limit its power thru separation of powers, checks and balances, and federalism
Nationalism
A strong and independent national (federal) government with the power to govern directly rather than through state governments
Virginia Plan
Two house legislature, the lower house being chosen by the people of the states, with representation according to population and an upper house to be chosen by the lower house
Virginia Plan proposed a parliamentary form of government in which
Congress chose the principal executive officers of the government and federal judges
The New Jersey Plan
A single-chamber Congress, in which each state, regardless of its population, would each have one vote
Separate executive and judicial branches of government gave
Congress the power to levy taxes, regulate commerce
Declared the Constitution and federal laws to be
Supreme over state constitutions and laws
The Great Compromise
Two chambers Congress: in the upper chamber, the Senate, each state would have two members; in the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, each state would be represented by population
Members of the House would be directly elected by
Each state’s citizens
Members of the Senate would be selected by
Their state’s legislature
Voter qualification
The founders approved a constitution w/o any expressed property qualifications for voting and holding office, except those that the states might themselves impose
At the time, every state had property qualifications for
Voting and women were not allowed to vote or hold office
Resolving the economic issues
Levying taxes, spending and regulating interstate commerce
The Constitution gave
Congress the power to tax, to spend, and to regulate interstate commerce
State prohibition
The constitution
Prohibited states from
1) Imposing tariffs on goods shipped across state lines
2) Issuing their own paper money
3) Making treaties with other countries
The Constitution gives Congress the power to
Declare war, raise and support military forces, to create a militia
Although the militia’s role is chiefly for
Domestic security, it can be called into national service, either abroad or in the U.S, by the president
The Constitution makes the president and the commander-in-chief of the military give
The power to make treaties and appoint ambassadors however both powers are limited because they require 2/3rd approval of the Senate to take effect
National Supremacy Clause of Article VI makes the
Constitution, all federal laws, and treaties are the supreme law of the land, and if there is a conflict between any of these and state law, the state will fail
All national legal authority
Supersedes state laws
Federalism
The constitution divides power between the national government and the state governments
States influence national politics due to
The apportionment of congressional seats among the states and in the allocation of electoral votes for president
A republic
The Constitution created a Republican government
The Constitution created four bodies of government yet allowed direct elections by the people of
Only one of these is the House of Representatives
The Constitution does not provide for
A referenda (Proposed laws or constitutional amendments submitted by the voters for their direct approval or rejection)
The constitutional division of powers among the three branches of the national government
Legislative, executive, and judicial
Separation of powers is created by
Articles I, II, and III of the Constitution
Separation of power was created to place
Internal controls on the national government’s power
Executive branch
Execute (implement) the laws
Legislative branch
Write and pass the law Article 1, Sect 7. USC “Every Bill shall pass House of Representative and the Senate before the law then present i to president
Judicial branch
Interpret the laws and actions of government official
Constitutional provisions
Giving each branch of the national government certain checks over the action of other branches
Checks and Balances ensure each branch must
Depend on another branch to achieve its goals
Ratification
Power of a legislature to approve or reject decisions made by other bodies
Ratification of the Constitution required approval from
Nine of the states through special ratifying convention in the states
The Bill of Rights
Written guarantees of basic individual liberties, the first ten amendments to the U.S constitution
The Bill of Rights resulted from a
Compromise between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalist
The Bill of Rights was originally intended to
Limit the national government’s power
The Fourteen Amendment extends the Bill of Rights to the
State government
The Constitution has changed through formal amendments and informally by
Judicial interpretation, presidential and congressional action, and general custom and practice
Proposing a Constitutional Amendment
1) By a 2/3 rds of vote of the House and the Senate (most common way)
2) By passage in a national convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 rd of the state legislature (never used)
Ratification by the passage of
3/4 ths of the state legislature (most common way)
Ratification by vote in
Convention called to ratify the amendment in 3/4 ths of the states (Used once to pass the 21st amendment which repealed the 18th Amendment which created Prohibition)
Through the power of judicial review
The power of the federal courts to declare laws of Congress and actions of the president unconstitutional
The federal courts, and especially the Supreme Court, change the
Constitution by their interpretation of its language
The power of judicial review is
Not expressly stated in the Constitution but was created by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison
Judicial interpretation gives specific meaning to
Constitutional phrases
It allows the federal courts to act as a
De facto legislative branch
Presidents have argued the phrase “executive power” in
Article II includes more than the specific powers mentioned
The Constitution changes over time as a result of
Generally accepted customs and practice
The Electoral College was originally designed to
Exercise its own independent judgment in electing a president
Through political practice, each elector now votes for
His party’s candidate if he won the popular vote in that elector’s state
