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US Politics > Constitutional framework > Flashcards

Constitutional framework Flashcards

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1
Q

Origins

A

Based on Article of Confederation
Agreed upon by original 13 states
Rebellions led to Constitutional Convention 1787
Founding Fathers

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2
Q

Key Features

A
  • representative gov not democracy
  • product of time and culture
  • not focused on individual rights (those first appeared in 1791 Bill of Rights)
  • order was significant
  • limited government
  • codified
  • vague
  • soveriegn
    not easily changed
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3
Q

implied and enumerated

A

powers outlined vaguely

key powers (eg. congress power of the purse and president commander-in-chief)

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4
Q

Vagueness

A

Benefits:
- allows to evolve (eg. Immigration Act banned entry of Asian people into the USA)
Weaknesses:
- no mention against slavery
- didnt originally enfranchise minorities (took ammendments eg, 19th)
- vague in terms of gun rights
- lack of clarity in terms of whether the president or congress is responsible for initiating military action

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5
Q

Judicial review

A
  • grants the Court power to interpret the Constitution
  • not mentioned in Constitution but precedent set by 1803 case of Marbury v Madison
  • led to inevitable politicisation
  • Plessy v Ferguson reversed by Brown v Board
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6
Q

Gridlock

A
  • all laws must be approved by both congressional chambers
  • there is frequently competition and deadlock between different branches
  • a limited government shutdown has occurred due to disagreements over the budget (eg. 35 day December 2018 gridlock because Trump wanted more money for his wall)
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7
Q

Elections

A
  • Constitution places organisation of elections in the hands of states
  • many rules not uniform across US (eg. use of postal ballots, early voting , primaries and caucuses)
  • Utah mails ballots wheras some use electronic voting machines)
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8
Q

Separation of powers

A
  • separate articles of the Constitution designed to define three branches
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9
Q

Is SoP significant?

A

Yes:
- each branch clearly checked and limited
- no one can serve in two simultaneously (eg. Hilary Clinton resigned as senator when appointed secretary of state)
- prevents notion of elective dictatorship as president cannot get policy through without congress

No:
- ‘separation’ is misleading, should be referred to as ‘shared’ powers
- the vice president is also the senate president and has casting vote in the event of a tie (Mike Pence used this to confirm Betty DeVos as education secretary)
- a president with a supportive supreme court and controls congress wields alot of power

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10
Q

presidential checks on congress

A
  • can veto legislation passed by congress ~(Trump vetoed resolution to his emergency border)
  • can issue executive orders to bypass need for formal legislation (Trumps travel ban)
  • commander-in-cheif role used to deploy US troops avoiding congressional approval (Bush and Iraq invasion)
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11
Q

presidential checks on the courts

A
  • nominates all federal judges (Obama and Sonia Sotomayor)
  • issue pardons (Ford pardoned Nixon)
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12
Q

congress checks on president

A
  • veto can be overturned by supermajority in both houses (Bush had 4/12 vetoes overridden)
  • senate must confirm presidential appointments to admin (last cabinet nominee to be rejected was John Tower 1989)
  • congress has the ‘power of the purse’ (Trump and border wall funding)
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13
Q

congress checks on court

A
  • congress can impeach federal justices (2010 Thomas Porteous impeached for corruption)
  • constitutional amendments can be initiated to overturn supreme court verdicts (1896 income tax ruled unconstitutional reversed by ratification of the 13th ammendment)
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14
Q

judicial checks on president

A
  • can rule presidential actions as unconstitutional (2020 2 cases against Trump court ruled that presidents arent above law even when in office)
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15
Q

judicial checks on congress

A
  • can declare acts by congress as unconstitutional (defense of marriage act ruled unconstitutional which allowed for same-sake marriage)
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16
Q

significance of checks and balances

A
  • encourages political players to deploy other tactics to avoid constraints (Obama Iran nuclear deal negotiated executive agreements instead of full treaty)
  • president is subject to the most checks
  • affects timing of presidential initiatives (it doesnt make sense for presidents to push big chunks of legislation out in their first 2 terms eg. Obamacare in 2010)
  • ensures its much easier to stop something than get something positive to happen (eg. during COVID it took intense negotiations to get CARES Act passed)
17
Q

passing an amendment - route 1

A
  • 2/3 majority in both senate and house
  • ratified by 3/4 of state legislatures
18
Q

passing an amendment - route 2

A
  • constitutional convention called by 2/3 of states
  • 3/4 of state legislatures ratify at special conventions
19
Q

amendment facts

A
  • 27 successful amendments
  • deals with many issues but mainly individual rights
  • only 25 ‘live’ amendments as one overturned another
  • many in response to a situation (eg. amendment restricting president to 2 terms after Roosevelt served 13 years and died in office)
20
Q

key amendments

A

1st - freedom of religion and speech
2nd - right to bear arms
13th - abolished slavery

21
Q

is the constitution too hard to amend formally?

A

Yes:
- 27 over 200 years due to high thresholds of achievement
- contains many outdated provisions such as the electoral college
- prevented from being updated especially in area of rights
- too much informal amendment by those unelected and unaccountable

No:
- high thresholds allows amendment to only be made when there is wide consensus
- obsolete clauses can be repealed (eg. prohibition) or reformed instead of outright abolished
- some rights are more controversial leading to overflow of debate
- SC often takes note of public direction and informally amends (eg. LGBTQ+ rights)

22
Q

informal amendments

A
  • the explicit right to private gun ownership
  • the right to remain silent
  • the right of interest groups to the 1st amendment
  • the rights of LGBTQ+
23
Q

federalism

A

a system of government in which bodies such as states or provinces share power with national government

24
Q

reserved powers

A

all powers not expressly delegated to federal governments (eg. trade and defense) reserved to the states or the people

disagreement between Franklin/Hamilton and Jefferson/Henry over whether or not they needed a more central government

25
Q

landmarks in the debate over the distribution of power

A
  • the civil war 1861 (fought over states rights in terms of slavery)
  • post civil war = south saw racial segregation which was allowed under notion of states rights
  • Obamacare lead to rise in government funding and several measures to stimulate economy after crisis

shows federalism has been weakened from 1930s onwards as the world has become more global and complex

26
Q

aspects where 50 states still retain important roles

A
  • ability to legislate in areas such as local taxes and abortions
  • issues of death penalty
  • presidential election (each state elects its electoral college voters)
    -decide whether to hold primaries or caucuses
27
Q

state examples

A

in times of emergency (eg. Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, COVID19) often states and their governors at forefront of the response. However they inevitable require national involvement for things such as financial help and federal agencies

Ohio quick to lock down while Florida was much slower

28
Q

problematic clauses in the constitution

A
  • small states increasingly over represented (California 68 times larger than Wyoming yet same seats in House)
  • electoral college fails at making sure smaller states are not overlooked by accurately reflecting the popular vote through mass comms
  • constitution ambiguous about war-making powers with congress having power to declare war and the president to make war (USA has not been officially involved in war since 1945)
29
Q

key explicitly enshrined rights

A
  • free speech
  • bear arms
  • against unreasonable searches
  • right to remain silent
  • right to public trial
    -right against discrimination
30
Q

rights not mentioned

A
  • rights for those with disabilities, children, LGBTQ+
  • rights to education
  • right to healthcare
  • right to housing
31
Q

paradox of free speech

A

mixture of protection and regulation as it doesn’t equate the ability to say anything anywhere

US Politics (8 decks)

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