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Politics Paper 3 > Constitution > Flashcards

Constitution Flashcards

1
Q

What are the primary purposes of the US Constitution?

A
  • democracy
  • functionality
  • practicality
  • defence against tyranny
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2
Q

Explain the primary purposes of the US Constitution

A
  1. democracy - every citizen (except women/slaves/black people) is equal, everybody should have a say
  2. functionality - does it serve its purpose and does it function properly
  3. practicality - is it workable
  4. defence agains tyranny - no power institution should dominate, hence the separation of powers
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3
Q

What is the nature of the US constitution?

A
  • codified
  • authoritative
  • entrenched
  • judicable
  • vagueness
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4
Q

What does codified mean?

A

it is written in one single document

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5
Q

What does authoritative mean?

A

it is higher than any ordinary law and all political institutions must follow it

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6
Q

What does entrenched mean?

A

it is hard to amend or abolish

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7
Q

How many amendments has the US Constitution had since its inception?

A

27

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8
Q

Why did the Founding Fathers deliberately entrench the US Constitution?

A

to prevent it being changed too easily by a single institution or political party in their self interest e.g. by centralising excessive power in the hands of the government of the day

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9
Q

What does judiciable mean?

A

it is the highest form of law
other laws can be judged against it

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10
Q

What does the vagueness of the constitution mean?

A

it is often unclear and unspecified

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11
Q

Why was the US constitution deliberately made vague?

A
  • to allow room for the constitution to evolve
  • it was a compromise between the founding fathers who often disagreed
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12
Q

What effect does the vagueness of the constitution have on powers of the branches?

A

it creates enumerated and implied powers

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13
Q

What are enumerated powers?

A

powers explicitly laid out by constitution

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14
Q

What are implied powers?

A

powers that are suggested by the wording of the constitution

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15
Q

If a power is not mentioned in the constitution what is it assumed to be?

A

a state power

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16
Q

Enumerated powers of Congress

A
  • collection of taxes and duties
  • regulation of commerce
  • declaration of war
  • establishing courts subordinate to SC
  • establishing post offices
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17
Q

Implied powers of Congress

A
  • necessary and proper clause
  • interstate commerce clause
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18
Q

What does concurrent power mean?

A

a power possessed by both the federal and state governments

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19
Q

Give an example of a concurrent power.

A

amendment of the constitution - shared between congress and the states

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20
Q

Enumerated powers of the President

A
  • nominates cabinet members, ambassadors, judiciary
  • vetoes legislation
  • grants pardons
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21
Q

Implied powers of the President

A
  • commander in chief of the armed forces
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22
Q

Enumerated powers of the Courts

A

to rule on cases arising under constitution, laws of US, treaties

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23
Q

Implied powers of the Courts

A

power of judicial review

24
Q

What is the ‘necessary and proper’ clause?

A

it allows congress to stretch its powers

25
Q

How is the elastic clause controversial?

A

as it is being used to justify major expansion of federal government power
there are no real limits as suggested by ‘elastic’

26
Q

What is the advantage of the elastic clause?

A
  • it is arguable what has allowed the constitution to survive for so long
  • it allows its meaning to be adapted without the need for formal amendments
27
Q

What would a more detailed US constitution perhaps mean?

A

that it would be harder to apply the needs of modern society

28
Q

McCulloch v Maryland

A

Congress has the power to set up a national bank even though the right to create a bank is not explicitly stated in the constitution

29
Q

What clause is often described as elastic?

A

interstate commerce clause - used to justify the expansion of federal power

30
Q

How are the rights of US citizens protected?

A

under the Bill of Rights

31
Q

What is the primary purpose of the Bill of Rights?

A

to establish the USA as the first modern democracy where every citizen was guaranteed their ‘God given and natural rights by LAW’

32
Q

1st Amendment

A

freedom of expression and religion

33
Q

2nd Amendment

A

right to bear arms

34
Q

3rd Amendment

A

no unreasonable searches or seizures of people or property

35
Q

8th Amendment

A

right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment

36
Q

10th Amendment

A

right to the states to have reserved powers

37
Q

What is the 13th Amendment?

A

slavery prohibited

38
Q

What is the 22nd Amendment?

A

two term limit for President

39
Q

What is the 26th Amendment?

A

voting age lowered to 18?

40
Q

Why is the US Constitution so rarely amended?

A
  • FF deliberately created a difficult process
  • due to vagueness, it has evolved without the need for formal amendment
  • SC has the power of judicial review
  • Americans have become cautious about tampering with the constitution
41
Q

What do the first four articles deal with?

A

how the branches of government would work and what powers they would have - congress / presidency / SC / states

42
Q

What does Article I deal with?

A

Congress as the national legislature, defined its membership and method of election and powers

43
Q

What does Article II deal with?

A

President as the chief executive, defined method of election and powers

44
Q

What does Article III deal with?

A

SC setting out its membership, method of appointment and powers

45
Q

What does Article 5 deal with?

A

amendment process

46
Q

What does Article 6 deal with?

A

supremacy clause

47
Q

What does Article 7 deal with?

A

ratification process

48
Q

What are the concerns over the vagueness of the constitution?

A
  • constitution could fail to regulate political practise
  • SC could become too powerful
  • could lead to significant conflict
49
Q

How does vagueness mean that the constitution could fail to regulate political practise?

A
  • its vagueness could undermine its authority
  • it is meant to regulate politicians and set rules of the political game
  • people reject newly established rulings/political practises
50
Q

What did some politicians and members of the SC claim following Obergell v Hodges?

A

claimed that the SC was no longer following the constitution but rather making up new rules as it went along

51
Q

How does the vagueness of the constitution mean that the SC could become too powerful?

A

vagueness allows individual judges to apply their own ideologies when ruling a case
e.g. liberal justices typically interpret the constitution to achieve liberal outcomes

52
Q

How do SC judges rule with clear bias? What changes to the constitution would allow for this bias to be eliminated?

A

each are associated to a particular ideology
a more detailed constitution would give less room for this bias

53
Q

How has the vagueness of the 8th amendment caused differing interpretations by SC judges?

A

‘cruel and unusual’ phrase has been used by some justices to allow the death penalty whilst others say it is unconstitutional

54
Q

How could the vagueness of the constitution lead to significant conflict?

A
  • lack of clarity leads to strong disputes between each side
  • causes further divisions between conservatives and liberals
  • each side claims that their particular view of the constitution is more legitimate
55
Q

Give some examples of how the vagueness of the constitution leads to significant conflict

A
  • conservatives and liberals continue to argue about how far the constitution allows the federal government to control the states
  • increasing divides over issues such as gay rights, race and policies such as the affordable care act

Politics Paper 3 (13 decks)

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