Social Studies: The US Constitution Flashcards
Pleading the fifth. And also 1-4 and 6-27.
Mayflower Compact
First attempt at self-government in the colonies
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
First written constitution in the colonies
Articles of Confederation
First national constitution
Misc I
The Senate ratifies treaties made by the president
The “necessary and proper” clause is the “elastic clause”, grants the US Congress “implied powers”
Three Types of Constitutional Powers
- Enumerated (also: expressed, listed, or delegated)
- Reserved (or residual)
- Concurrent (or shared)
Not accepted: prohibitive
Article I
Creation of the Legislative Branch
Article II
Creation of the Executive Branch
Article III
Article IV
“full faith and credit!”
Article V
Outlines the process for amending!!
Article VI
Supremacy Clause!
No religious test to hold public office.
Article VII
nine states required for ratification of the Constitution.
The “original Constitution”
- Refers to the Constitution including the preamble and articles, but not any of the amendments.
- Prohibited:
- Passing “ex-facto laws”
- issuing bills of attainder
- suspending a writ of habeas corpus
- states placing duties on imports
- Included:
- Extradition of fugitive slaves
- direct election of Senators
- the Electoral College
- Ability of federal government to impose taxes
Ratified 1788; first state Delaware
Did not prohibit passing taxes on individual incomes (personal income tax), did not include seperation of church and state; did not provide that states receive one vote in congress
Methods of Amending
congressional legislation
judicial review
customs and usage
Congress is the only method that has been successfully used to
propose an amendment to the US Constitution, not state or national conventions.
At present, 38 states is the minimum number needed to ratify an amendment before the change could occur
Not popular referendum
Number of Amendments
27 (currently)
Bill of Rights
collective name by which the first ten amendments are known
Amendment 1
right to petition (This means that citizens have the right to approach their government for the resolution of problems, to express dissatisfaction with government policies, or to request changes in legislation or government practices.)
protects freedom of speech, press, and religion
Amendment 2
bear arms
Amendment 3
no quartering of soldiers
Amendment 4
unlawful or unreasonable search and seizure
warrants needed for searches
Amendment 5
deals with criminal justice
protection against double jeopardy
eminent domain
associated with self-incrimination
]
Amendment 6
deals with criminal justice
speedy public trial
right to confront witnesses
the court system is compliant when it allows a suspectthe “Assistance of Counsel” for his or her defense.
states in part “In all
criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jmy …. “
Amendment 7
trial by jury
Amendment 8
deals with criminal justice
no excessive bail
no cruel and unusual punishment
Amendment 9
Amendment 10
Amendment 11
Amendment 12
Seperate ballots for president and VP
Added after the disputed election of 1800 electoral vote that declared Jefferson the president
Amendment 13
abolished slavery
Amendment 14
Amendment 15
deals with voting
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Amendment 16
allows Congress to levy a federal income tax
Amendment 17
deals with voting
direct election of senators
Amendment 18
prohibited the manufacture, sale,
and transport of alcoholic beverages within the United States, “created prohibition”
Ratified 1919
Amendment 19
deals with voting
woman’s sufferage
Amendment 20
eliminated the lame duck sessions of Congress
Amendment 21
The only Amendment to the US Constitution to repeal a previous amendment (18th, prohibition)
Only amendment ratified by state conventions
Amendment 22
1951
Amendment 23
gave washington dc three electoral votes
Amendment 24
prohibits poll tax
Amendment 25
defines the process of removing the
president from office if he becomes disabled, unable to fulfill his duties.
Ratification was aided by the illnesses of Dwight Eisenhower
order of presidential succession Amendment
Amendment 26
voting rights
precipitated by protests of the war in Vietnam (lowered voting age from 21 to 18; “old enough to fight, old enough to vote”)
Amendment 27
was not ratified for over 200 years
The Constitutional Convention
- 1787
- Benjamin Frankin was the oldest attending member
- NJ Plan: every state has equal congressional representation and there is a unicameral legislature
- VA Plan: congressional representation is based on state population and there is a bicameral legislature
- The Three-Fifths compromise settled the controversy over the counting of slaves.
- Roger Sherman of Connecticut proposed the “Great Compromise” or “Connecticut Compromise”, the method of determining U.S. congressional representation
- There was also a Rhode Island System?
- Principal participants in the Constitutional Convention: Roger Sherman, Ben Franklin (NOT: Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry.)
The Federalist Papers
documents formally advocating the ratification of the US Constitution
Authors: Hamilton, Madison, John Jay
Patrick Henry
radical Virginia orator who was a leader of the Anti-Federalists, opposing ratification of the US Constitution
Benjamin Franklin
Who am I? I was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706. When I was 17, I ran away to start a
new life in Philadelphia. I started a successful newspaper, and became active in Pennsylvania
politics. During the French and Indian War I proposed a plan for colonial unity that was never
adopted. During the Revolution, I helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of
Independence, and in 1787, I was the oldest delegate present at the Constitutional Convention
James Madison
“father of the US Constitution”
Alexander Hamilton
- Loose construction: interpretation of the constitution supported by Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists that invoked the “elastic clause” granting enormous powers to the federal government; “evolved the theory of loose construction of the Constitution by invoking the elastic clause.”
- Leader of the Federalist Party
- Greatly admired the British political, economic, and industrial system.
- Advocated for a strong Navy to protect commercial interests.
Thomas Jefferson
Believed in rule by the informed masses and the extension of democracy and became President of the US.
Believed in a strict or literal interpretation of the Constitution
Favored France and the ideals of the French Revolution
Misc
- Prohibited: self-incrimination, slavery, cruel and unusual punishment
- Not prohibited: gender bias in the workplace
- Wyoming was the first state to write woman’s sufferage into its constitution
- The Constitution does not have an amendment requiring a balanced budget every year
- Federal election day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
