Required Documents

Question 1

Federalist No 10 (1787)

Answer 1

Mischiefs of factions can not be eliminated, but curbed; representative and pluralist democracy; factions would neutralize one another

Republic is the only type of Democracy suitable in a large nation.

Question 2

Brutus 1 (1787)

Answer 2

Constitution threatens states; necessary and proper clause and supremacy clause are both too expansive

country too large to elect a group to represent everyone; country too diverse as is; 13 states can NOT be one

Question 3

McCulloch v Maryland (1819)

Answer 3

the Supreme Court held that Congress has implied powers derived from those listed in Article I, Section 8. The “Necessary and Proper” Clause gave Congress the power to establish a national bank.

Question 4

United States v Lopez (1995)

Answer 4

United States v. Lopez reaffirmed certain limits on congressional power. Ruled (5–4) that the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional because the U.S. Congress, in enacting the legislation, had exceeded its authority under the commerce clause of the Constitution.

Question 5

Federalist 51 (1788)

Answer 5

James Madison
Checks and balances/separation of power
Says a govt should have 3 branches
Proposes that this govt would reduce the power of factions
BIG IDEA: The Constitution created a competitive policy- making process to ensure the people’s will is accurately represented and that freedom is preserved.

Question 6

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

Answer 6

PA had restrictions against abortion that were still upheld after Roe v Wade

Question 7

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Answer 7

Students in underperforming schools in Cleveland, Ohio were given vouchers to attend any school they wanted but many ended up using them to attend religious schools
Liberal thought it as a violation of the establishment clause b/c the govt was as a result paying for religious education
Conservatives saw this as upholding freedom of choice regarding education
Conservatives won

Question 8

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Answer 8

Conservatives believe that marriage and family is one of the chief cornerstones of society & the govt should prevent non-traditional marriages
Liberals believe that the govt should have no say in who someone can marry

Question 9

Baker v Carr

Answer 9

Districts hadn’t been reapportioned in decades leading to rural districts having the same amount of voting power as urban districts
Argued that the voting districts in TN violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
Supreme Court agreed
Resulted in one-person-one-vote principle
Redistricting had to be done in such a way that every person’s vote was equally powerful

Question 10

Shaw v Reno

Answer 10

Racial Gerrymandering = unconstitutional
In NC two districts were drawn in really weird ways to create majority black districts
Districts were drawn to boost the power of the black vote
SCOTUS ruled that the drawing of districts solely based on race was a dangerous practice that could on other occasions be used to disenfranchise minority voters

Question 11

Federalist 70

Answer 11

Hamilton argues for a single executive
A single person can act more decisively when required
A single executive will actually be a protection against expansion of executive power
If the president tries to grab at power, everyone knows exactly who to blame
Anti-federalist feared that a single executive would lead to the executive branch becoming too powerful and tyrannical

Question 12

Federalist 78

Question 13

Marbury v Madison