Nature of the US constitution Flashcards
What happened between 1787 and 1790?
The US constitution was ratified by the colonies, bringing 13 seperate countries together into one singular country, the United States of America
how many articles does the original constitution contain?
seven
what do the first four articles of the original constitution deal with?
the four key institutions of government in the US; Congress, the Presidency, the Supreme Court, and the states.
what does Article V outline from the original constitution?
outlines the amendment process.
what did the ‘supremacy clause’ from Article VI establish?
the US Constitution as the highest law in the land.
what did Article VII outline?
the ratification process; 9/13 was required to agree that the new US governing framework could begin.
what is the Bill of Rights made of?
The first ten amendments of the US Constitution which were all passed in 1791. Articles 3-12, contain the Bill of Rights
what does a standard bill of rights aim to do?
protect the power of an individual against government power.
what does the US Bill of Rights aim to do?
protecting the power of states against a federal government.
what are the 10 amendments in the Bill of rights?
Amendment 1 Freedoms, Petitions, Assembly
Amendment 2 Right to bear arms
Amendment 3 Quartering of soldiers
Amendment 4 Search and arrest
Amendment 5 Rights in criminal cases
Amendment 6 Right to a fair trial
Amendment 7 Rights in civil cases
Amendment 8 Bail, fines, punishment
Amendment 9 Rights retained by the People
Amendment 10 States’ rights
what does it mean for the US Constitution to be codified?
written in one document.
a constitution that has been through the process of codification is..
-authoritative: on a higher level than normal law, sets out the basis for all political institutions
-entrenched: hard to amend or abolish
-judiciable: a higher form of law, other laws can be judged against it and the judiciary is in charge of this.
what are enumerated powers?
powers explicitly stated and held by the Congress, president, and courts
why is the US Constitution so vague?
the founding fathers often disagreed and they did that deliberately to leave room for the US Constitution to evolve.
what are implied powers?
Powers that are not explicitly written down in the US Constitution and held by the Congress, president and courts
what is the ‘elastic clause’?
it is in Article I section 8 of the constitution and states that the congress has the power to ‘make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers’.
