Essay plans

Question 1

Show an example of vagueness within the constitution

Answer 1

14th Amendment
It declared anyone born in the country an American citizen, and went on to bar the states from denying them the “privileges or immunities” of citizenship, or depriving any person (including aliens) of life, liberty, or property without due process or law, or of the equal protection of the laws.

Question 2

What has the 14th Amendment achieved

Answer 2

Fixed up Segregation, birthright and marriage

Question 3

Loving v Virginia (1967)

Answer 3

interracial marriages violated the 14th Amendment

Question 4

Brown V Board 1954

Answer 4

public school segregation illegal under 14th Amendment

Question 5

Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

Answer 5

Challenged Ohios ban on same sex marriage, unconstitutional udner 14th Amendment

Question 6

How does Vagueness of constitution benefit partisanship within America

Answer 6

Vagueness means both sides of the political aisle can impact it; e.g.
DC v Heller 2008 ruled that 2nd Amendment protects individual right to possess a firearm
Warren Court 1953-69 known for dramatically expanding civil rights

Question 7

How is vagueness of constitutionl expanding federal gov’t

Answer 7

Necessary and Proper clause allows Congress to justify major expansion of the power of the federal gov’t

Question 8

Example of Congress rinsing elastic clause

Answer 8

McCulloch v Maryland 1819, Supreme Court gave Congress power to create a national bank. Also evident in major expansion of role of federal government following FDR’s ‘New Deal’.

Question 9

What happened in McCulloch v Maryland 1819

Answer 9

Supreme Court gave Congress power to create a national bank. Also evident in major expansion of role of federal government following FDR’s ‘New Deal’.

Question 10

How does Vagueness of constitution enable presidential abuse of power

Answer 10

Article 2 section 2 of constitution declares president comander of chief
, Congress never actually declared war against Vietnam, and hasn’t declared war since 1942 through a neat loophole allowing the Presidents to use military force by instead labelling the intervention as a ‘conflict’.

Question 11

How does vagueness of constitution enable judicial overstretch of power

Answer 11

Obergefell v Hodges for example, 5-4 ruling with Kennedy, RBG, Stephen Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan majority all with varying liberal swing ideology. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the dissenting opinion criticising the majority opinion for relying on moral convictions rather than a constitutional basis, using the judiciary in a way which was not originally intended

Question 12

How many amendments have been put forth throughout American history?

Answer 12

11,000 amendments

Question 13

How does the Amendment process ensure a degree of calmness and stability?

Answer 13

• Stops rash decision
• Trump in Oct 2018 - wanted to take away citzenship guarantee in the 14th amendment –> cannot repeal it by executive order
  protects rights - see with flag protection amendment attacking free speech

Question 14

How many amendments have passed?

Answer 14

27

Question 15

Has the amendment process improved social justice

Answer 15

Yes, through 14th amendment,
Brown v Board
Loving v Virginia
Obergefell v Hodges

Question 16

How does the difficulty of passing any amendments impact US society?

Answer 16

Some proposals that fail as amendments result in legislation
Seen with proposed amendments reflecting public opposition for busing for desegregation purposes - led to a 1972 education law restricting federal involvement in busing

Question 17

What is it called when laws are outdated

Answer 17

• Fossilisation and an inability to adapt to the times
  o Difficulty to change the constitution has come at a price: fossilisation. The laws are arguably antiquated, out of date, and out of touch, in desperate need of change

Question 18

Whats an example of fossilisation

Answer 18

o Similarly, 2nd Amendment arguably outdated: New York Times, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens pointed out that the amendment was adopted out of “concern that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states […] today that concern is a relic of the 18th century.” Following every mass shooting there have been calls for more gun control; it has been made nigh impossible due to the totemic presence of the 2nd Amendment. 339 mass shootings in 2018, 14,503 deaths.

Question 19

How has the difficulty of amending the constitution given the SC more power

Answer 19

Social change has been enacted through SC
Juficiary is fulfilling role of legislature - making laws updated for modern time
- o Supreme Court was never really meant to have the power of judicial review; The Founders didn’t even bother pick a number of justices for the court. This vagueness allowed the Court, in the landmark case of Marbury vs. Madison in 1803, to ‘discover’ for the first time a supposedly unwritten power in the Constitution, making them the supreme decider in constitution matters. The judiciary was never meant to have to be the legislature. The amendment process needs to be made easier.

Question 20

Why does hard amendment process not stack up to argument of stability

Answer 20

Germany amends its basic law almost once a year,
US states amend their constitutions every couple of years
in germany an amendment requires a 2/3 majority in each house and thats it
Founders of constitution didnt see the country would be more populous and diverse, consensus requried for change much higher

Question 21

What quote did James Madison say about trust/scrutiny

Answer 21

‘the truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted’

Question 22

Example of Congress’ power of the purse

Answer 22

the Senate rejecting a House spending bill that demanded $5.7 billion for a wall along the US-Mexico border. Able to control the legislative agenda

Question 23

Example of Congress veto presidential veto

Answer 23

in 2016, Congress overturned Obama’s veto of a bill that would allow families of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia.

Question 24

What is the state of the Union address

Answer 24

.” The address is the keynote speech by the president to Congress in which he sets out his agenda for the next year, highlights his accomplishments to the American people, and shapes a political message. President Woodrow Wilson was the first president since John Adams to address Congress directly, in 1913 urging reform of high US tariff barriers.

Question 25

How is the State of the Union address a check on Congress?

Answer 25

o The President can use the State of the Union address to try influence the legislative agenda. Now that the State of the Union is broadcast on television, radio, and the Internet, Presidents is speaking not only directly to Congress but also to the American public
According to data from 1965 to 2013, on average, 41.6% of all policy proposals contained in a State of the Union address are enacted by Congress in the legislative session in which the President gave his speech.

Question 26

What shows effectiveness of SoU address

Answer 26

1965 to 2013, on average, 41.6% of all policy proposals contained in a State of the Union address are enacted by Congress in the legislative session in which the President gave his speech.

Question 27

How is the congressional veto on presidential veto ineffective

Answer 27

The Obama veto, for example, was the only one during his entire presidency over 8 years. The prior 3 presidents before him have only been overridden 7 times in total, and Trump hasn’t been overridden once.

Question 28

What happened with Mark Fuller

Answer 28

2014- Congress impeached Mark Fuller for hitting his wife when drunk

Question 29

What is a good check judiciary has over Congress

Answer 29

Judicial review - established in Marbury Vs Madison 1803

Question 30

When has the judiciary used judicial review against the president

Answer 30

o The US District Court for the Southern District of New York blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds from states that “refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in tracking down illegal aliens.”, citing the 10th Amendment as a ‘check’ against that kind of ‘tyranny’,

Question 31

How are the checks between legislature and judiciary ineffective

Answer 31

legislature can initiate constitutional amendment, throwing judicial review out the windown
Seen with Pollock V Farmers (1895) and how 16th amendment was done in responce

Question 32

What was Pollock V Farmers and 16TH Amendment

Answer 32

Pollock v. Farmers (1895) in which the Supreme ruled that unapportioned income taxes by the federal government were, in effect, direct taxes, and thus unconstitutional. In response, Congress initiated the 16th Amendment making unapportioned income taxes legal, and rendering the Supreme court ruling moot.

Question 33

How many judges have Trump nominated

Answer 33

234 including 3 SC justices

Question 34

How are checks between exec/judiciary ineffective?

Answer 34

Exec nominates judges
With Kavanaugh, for example, he wrote that whether ‘the Constitution allows indictment of a sitting President is debatable.’ – his questionable views on executive privilege likely influenced Trump’s decision to appoint him.

Question 35

How have federal mandates eroded state power

Answer 35

Federal mandates allow for imposition of national standards of states

Question 36

What are federal mandates

Answer 36

o Federal mandates: federal laws as Acts of Congress imposing national standards, increasing number of which since FDR’s New Deal 1930s. Create policy restrictions and also can limit states financially (by making them required to pay for policies imposed.)

Question 37

Whats an example of federal mandates

Answer 37

American care act 2010
requiring everyone to have health insurance limiting state choice in healthcare. All states required to set up health exchanges

Question 38

How has the fiscal power of the federal gov’t eroded state power

Answer 38

Seen with Franklin Rossevelts new deal
that stripped away the prevailing moral restraint against government borrowing and intervention. In 1900, the government spent $10 billion on social welfare. In 1988 the government spent $980 billion. The vast bureaucracy that accompanied this colossal change now comprises of over 7-9 million employees

Question 39

How much has the us gov’t spent from 1900 to 1988 on social welfare

Answer 39

In 1900, the government spent $10 billion on social welfare. In 1988 the government spent $980 billion. The vast bureaucracy that accompanied this colossal change now comprises of over 7-9 million employees

Question 40

How has constitutional federalism failed to be strict enough in preventing presidents limiting state power

Answer 40

o Under Bush, expansion of state power because of Iraq, 9/11, expansion of Medicare, ‘No Child Left Behind Act 2001’, and 2008 Wall St collapse; federal spending increased at a rate higher than LBJ 1960s. Obama equally has increased federalism, for example with money from the federal government accounting for 30% of state government spending in 2009, compared with 25% in 2008. Expansion of Medicaid, and $4.35bn spent on Race to the Top programme to boost education.

Question 41

How does the 10th amendment ensure state power is protected

Answer 41

10th Amendment
any power not given to federal govt given to states. Has allowed overturning of federally imposed policy, like Printz v US 1997, SC overturning Brady Act requirement that state officials perform background checks on those purchasing guns

Question 42

What is the Brady act requrement,

Answer 42

state officials perform background checks on those purchasing guns - overturned by Printz v US 1997

Question 43

How have the American gov’t/president showed the ability to reduce federal gov’t

Answer 43

Through block grants -
o Money given for a fairly broad purpose with few strings attached. When the Republicans retook Congress in 1994, they changed many federal grants into block grants. Instead of giving money to states to buy textbooks or repair schools, for example, Congress gave states blocks of money to spend on education in any way the states saw fit. In 1972, the Nixon Administration initiated a practice called revenue sharing, in which the federal government gave money to the states with no restrictions attached whatsoever.

Question 44

How has the Trump gov’t limiting federal gov’t

Answer 44

: In 2017, Trump signed an executive order to begin pulling the federal govt. out of K-12 education, following campaign promises to return school control to state officials, in an order dubbed the ‘Education Federalism Executive Order’. Trump said his administration was working to ‘reverse’ the ‘federal power grab’.

Question 45

How have states judiciary limited federal gov’t size

Answer 45

: The US District Court for the Southern District of New York blocked the Trump administration from withholding funds from states that “refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in tracking down illegal aliens.”, citing the 10th Amendment as a ‘check’ against that kind of ‘tyranny’, with Judge Edgardo Ramos saying that the ‘Executive Branch’ shouldn’t have the power to determine that kind of policy.

Question 46

How has the interstate commerce clause protected state power

Answer 46

o Has protected state power in giving states power to regulate business and trade within each state (intrastate commerce); US v Lopez 1995 ruled that federal Gun-Free School Zones Act 1990 was unconstitutional

Question 47

How has the interstate commerce clause attacked state power

Answer 47

o Interstate commerce clause as seen in regulation of Marijuana; Gonzales v Raich 2005 ruled that Congress can regulate California after it legalised it. But Congress hasn’t done so yet (Obama: ‘bigger fish to fry’) despite constitutional authority; illustration of weakness of state power

Question 48

Whats a fun fact about how much you hate the BoR AND LIFE

Answer 48

: the BoR had little judicial impact for the first 150 years of its existence. Historian Gordon S. Wood: ‘After ratification, most Americans promptly forgot about the first ten amendments to the Constitution.’ No important decision on free speech was taken by Supreme Court till 1931 (in Stromberg v. California).

Question 49

When was the Bill of rights added to the constitution

Answer 49

Then the Bill of Rights (comprising the first ten amendments), added in 1791, ensured certain guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, such as freedom of speech, and the 2nd amendment, a right to bear arms.

Question 50

How does the 14th Amendment deal with civil rights

Answer 50

the amendment confirmed the rights and privileges of citizenship and, for the first time, guaranteed all Americans equal protection under the laws

Question 51

How are Bill of rights designed to protect rights specifically

Answer 51

, the entrenched nature of rights as guaranteed in the Bill of Rights means that there are guarantees of personal freedoms/rights like freedom of speech. e.g. Texas v Johnson 1989 invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the American flag enforced in 48 of the 50 states based on the 1st Amendment. So, rights protected. Except: bill of rights originally only applied at the federal level. So secondary level of rights protection in:

Question 52

How are cases like Roe v Wade (1973) still undermined?

Answer 52

More than 400-and-counting restrictions to abortion access have been enacted at state level since 2010. Some states forge ahead as if it has been overturned, with barriers to abortion access effectively prohibiting it for many, especially for low-income populations, people of colour and younger people.

Question 53

What happened in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016)

Answer 53

the Supreme Court had to step in and throw out an abortion access law in Texas that would have shuttered all but a handful of clinics in the state.

Question 54

How are civil liberties still constantly undermined? (civil rights)

Answer 54

o When Brown v Board passed, states ignored it, failing to desegregate until the Civil Rights Act 1964, showing how sometimes practical reality involves rights not being protected

Question 55

How is constitutions vagueness both protects and degrates righrs

Answer 55

o ‘Finding’ rights like abortion in Roe v Wade is possible, but equally justices can interpret the Constitution in a way that doesn’t promote liberties like Plessy v Ferguson 1896 ruling that separate but equal facilities were constitutional, or Shelby County v holder failing to protect racial minority rights

Question 56

How are the checks and balances undemocratic?

Answer 56

e.g. 2012 public voting for Obama who campaigned for immigration reform but when it was introduced into the house, speaker John Boehner refused to allow House to debate it. Alternatively, with Obama he received a mandate for healthcare reform in 2008 yet was forced to abandon major parts of this policy given opposition from Congress.