Exam 1 Flashcards
habeas corpus
check on unlawful imprisonment
can be suspended temporarily in the event of insurrection (ex: Lincoln during civil war)
The Virginia Plan
Madison used Randolph to kill the Articles of Confederation and introduce the VA Plan
- bicameral (lower house elected by people, upper chosen by lower)
- “national executive” chosen by legislature
- ‘national judiciary” chosen by legislature
- large states preferred VA plan
New Jersey Plan
Patterson
- unicameral with equal representation
- more than one person as executive, chosen by legislature
- supreme court chosen by executive
- smaller states preferred NJ plan
Connecticut Plan (Great Compromise)
- Bicameral
- -lower- HoR, elected by people, 2 year terms, population based
- -upper- Senate, equal (2/state), 6 year terms, state legislature (until 1914)
Three-fifths Compromise
Slave owning states wanted slaves to be counted as a whole person (like a white man) for tax and representative purposes. Non-slave owning states did not want to count slaves at all. Eventually they compromised at 3/5 which satisfied the south
Amendment Process (article 5)
- Congress (2/3 both houses)> states (3/4 of states)
2. 3/4 states>congress (2/3 each)
Constitutional powers of Senate
- Convict during Impeachment
- Advice and consent
- 6 year terms, 1/3 is up for re-election every 2 years
Constitutional powers of House
- power of the purse
- Impeachment
- 2 year terms
Constitutional powers of the President
- commander in chief
- appoint government officials
- enter into treaties (congress approves)
- 4 year terms (initially no # of term limit)
Criteria for Presidential Impeachment
treason
bribery
other high crimes and misdemeanors
Checks and Balances
-president may veto law passed by congress which can then by overridden by a 2/3 majority vote in both houses
Cycles of political system
supports, demands, outputs, feedback
Democracy
given by the Greeks
ruled by the people
Politics
nothing more than pursuit and exercise of power
government, democracy, and power come together in politics
possession and distribution o power
Republic v. Democracy
republic= constitution of rights to the individuals democracy= majority can impose its will on minority
Natural Rights & Social Contract
all individuals are born with inalienable rights
the thought people would give up a few things to live in a civil society
Magna Carta
“the individual has rights the king must respect”
took away some of the king’s powers
-habeas corpus, due process
Mayflower Compact
committed the pilgrims to a body politic (civil self- government)
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
1st written US constitution
Articles of Confederation
- unicameral congress
- each state had one vote
- 9/13 states for approval
- states retained sovereignty
- congress could not tax
- congress powers
- -foreign policy, declare war, court of disputes
- problems
- -no foreign policy, state coined their own money
Shay’s Rebellion
economy bottomed out and farmers had a hard time paying back their creditors so the creditors got fed up and got the law enforcement to go to the debtors to get their payments and the farmer’s revolted by tarring and feathering the law enforcement. they also attempted to over take the armory but when it failed they ran and the militia could not do anything
Civil Liberties
specific rights guaranteed by the constitution that cannot be denied to citizens by government, most are in the bill of rights
James Madison’s role at Constitutional Convention
“Father of the Constitution”
he did not want the AoC, came up with the Virginia plan
persuaded Washington to attend
George Washington’s role at Constitutional Convention
intervened to break up arguments and to vote on the proposed articles
5th Amendment
due process
double jeopardy
right against self-incrimination (Miranda v. Arizona)
8th Amendment
cruel and unusual punishment
excessive bail
death penalty (ruled over tie not cruel/unusual but few states still have it
9th Amendment
unenumerated rights
SLAPS Test
Serious Literary Artistic Political Scientific value? is it obscene?
Symbolic speech
flag burning, armbands to protest war (ex: vietnam)
Factors that pushed for civil rights
Great Depression World War 2 NAACP legal strategy Cold War with U.S.S.R. Television
Necessary & Proper Clause
take actions necessary to carry out authority (ex: US mint, IRS)
Voting Rights Act of 1965
- gutted grandfather clause and literacy tests
- banned racial gerrymandering
- voter registration for African Americans
- federal pre-clearance
Women’s Suffrage
partial suffrage for school board elections in some states, thing changed after men returned from WW 1
1920- 19th amendment gave women the right to vote in every state
19th Amendment
1920
outlawed the abrigement of the US/ any state on the right to vote by the basis of sex
Affirmative Action
Bakke v Weber (1974)
-afforded colleges the ability to admit people based on sex (women) or race (blacks, etc) even if they weren’t the best candidate
Judicial Review
executive or legislative actions are subject to review by the judiciary
Incorporation
that the Bill of Rights was applicable to the states as well as the federal government
John Marshall
dissented from Plessy v Ferguson case, wrote his opinion stating that this ruling would cause hatred between races for the different treatments based on skin color alone
Hugo Black
played a large role in the incorporation of the Bill of Rights to the states
Marbury v Madison
American courts have the power to strike down laws, statutes, and some government actions that contravene the U.S. Constitution
Plessy v Ferguson
8-1 ruling for Ferguson
train from LA to north but was forced to sit in ‘colored’ car even though the ticket was for a much nicer car
-state sanctioned legal discrimination in states for “separate but equal”
Griswold v Connecticut
no right to privacy
Brown v Board of Ed
essentially nullified Plessy v Ferguson and ruled that ‘separate but equal’ was unconstitutional in an unanimous decision
Roe v Wade
federally legalized abortion
7-2 ruling
many on each side agree the logic of the basis for the ruling was not sound
John Locke
advanced the theory of natural rights
“all individuals are created equal with certain unalienable rights the chief of these: life, liberty, and property”
Warrant
document used by a judge that allows law enforcement to search or seize items at any place that is specified
Alexander Hamilton
- Knew what he wanted
- promoted the US Constitution
