Dove- US Constitution

Question 1

Origins of Constitution/Early America

Answer 1

-1787 war of independence
- New revolutionary America is politically unstable

Question 2

Name of early constitution

Answer 2

• Article of Confederation (made in secrecy)
  -55 founding farthers ( mainly old white men)

Question 3

Legislature (what is established)

Answer 3

• All legislative powers shall be vested in a congress of the US which shall consist of a senate and a House of Representatives
  -Two senators from each state

Question 4

Executive (what is establishes)

Answer 4

• outlines what power the president has
  -Can be removed from office Via impeachment EG Trump 2021

Question 5

judiciary

Answer 5

• establishes the Supreme Court
  -has final say unless congress gets involved

Question 6

Does the constitution do a good job- YES

Answer 6

• Can be amended
• vagueness enables democratic decisions/can be changed slightly
  -comprise between state and fed. gov.
  -gridlock forces extreme scrutiny
  -codified constitution allows for easy access to public +clarity
  -entrenched nature (stops tyrannical leaders from abusing power)

Question 7

Does the constitution do a good job- NO

Answer 7

• codified= tough to amend = gridlock
  -vaugeness has led to civil war + the intended meaning of F.F can get lost
  -initially fails to mention slavery or rights
  -weak on representative democracy

Question 8

how many articles are there in the constitution and what are the first 3

Answer 8

-7
-congress, executive, judiciary

Question 9

why did the founding fathers decide of separation of powers

Answer 9

-to limit the ability of one branch to dominate each other
-deter the emergence of a monarch like figure
-protect federalism
-allows checks and balances

Question 10

what happened in 1807 regarding the supreme court

Answer 10

-gave itself the ability of judicial review to enable it to strike down primary legisation

Question 11

Marbury V Madison case 1803

Answer 11

-established the judicial review, the constitution didn’t allow the Supreme Court to have judicial review
-mabury didn’t get his job as promised by the presiden
-court sided with the president that he didn’t have to give him his job as it was un constitutional
- it shows the supreme court can decide if something is unconstitutional or not

Question 12

what are the interactions between the executive branch and the judicial branch + visa versa

Answer 12

-executive branch has the power to appoint judges and pardon power
-judicial branch can declare presidential acts unconstitutional

Question 13

what are the interactions between the judicial branch and legislative branch +visa versa

Answer 13

-judicial branch can declare laws unconstitutional
-legislative branch approves federal judges

Question 14

what are the interactions between the legislative branch and executive branch + visa versa

Answer 14

-legislative branch can impeach president and override vetoes with 2/3 vote
-executive can veto bills

Question 15

bill of rights 1791

Answer 15

-first 10 amendments
-EG right to fair trial, right to bear arms, quartering of soldiers, free speech

Question 16

issues with the constitution

Answer 16

-inconsistent: EG ( cali state laws allow canibis, federal law states its illegal// guns ok in Montana but not in other states)
-vagueness: constitution doesn’t make the extent of federal power clear
-entrenched ( cannot be amended easily in times of crisis)

Question 17

positives about the constituion

Answer 17

-constitution does tie the states together ( unifying document)
-constitution establishes security
-how constitution balances out state power ( house of rep= larger populated states have a larger voice than small states and 2 equal senators from each state)
-states act act a experimental lab where they can experiment with democratic ideas
-federal gov. built hoover dam ( big infrastructure projects done by federal gov)

Question 18

what is federalism

Answer 18

-idea of a umbrella gov, its the main ultimate source of power that overarches smaller state govs

Question 19

how did federalism originate

Answer 19

-founding fathers wanted to strengthen the union and make a national gov
-but wanted to keep the states happy by giving them some power

Question 20

how was federalism incorporated into the constitution

Answer 20

-10th amendment which gave all powers to “the states and people”
-in the Supreme Court which was to be the umpire between state and federal gov

Question 21

issues with federalism

Answer 21

-simultaneous existence of two governments can cause conflict and confusion
-states are forced to accept the federal rulings but don’t necessarily have to enforce them
-state law gives more rights to citizens than federal law

Question 22

amendment process of us constitution

Answer 22

-only 27 amendments have succeeded out of 11,000 since the constitution got drafted
- for an amendment to be proposed it has to receive a 2/3 vote of approval in both houses of congress or a request from 2/3 state legislature to call a national convention
-amendment must be ratified by 3/4 of all states

Question 23

similarities between uk and us constitution

Answer 23

-both seek to establish the functions of democratic politics and accountable political institutions
-both seek to defend rights and establish how rights are protected
-both evolve overtime to adapt to man democracy

Question 24

differences between uk and us constitution

Answer 24

-uncodifided vs codified
-uk is easy to adapt and flexible vs us is rigid