The Constitution Flashcards
What is a constitution?
-System of rules which describe the structure and powers of the govt
-Outlines the relationship between the three branches of govt
-Outlines relationship of govt and its citizens
What are the three branches of govt?
-Legislative > Congress > creates federal laws
-Executive > President and executive office
-Judiciary > Federal Supreme Court
What type of state is the US?
Federal
What is a federal state?
-Each state have their form of govt
-Each state lends power to the federal govt
What is the History behind the constitution?
- 13 colonies were ruled by British George III
- Americans had to pay British taxes but had no MPs in parliament
-Eventually, American colonies wanted independence so declared this in The Declaration of Independence
-War of Independence 1776-83
-Once the states won they set up a confederacy so each state had its power
What is a Confederation?
-Political system which there is a loose alliance of self-governing states, with a weak central govt to bind them all together
Why were their economic problems with the articles of confederation?
-Congress had no power to lay or collect taxes > Govt were always short of money
-Congress had no power to regulate interstate or foreign trade > Economic quarrels among the states - difficult arranging trade
What were the legislative problems with the Articles of confederation?
-Congress had no power to enforce its laws > Govt depended on the states to enforce the law
-Approval of nine states was needed to enact laws> difficult to enact laws
-Amendments to the Articles required consent from all 13 states > no practical way to change the powers of govt
What were the Judicial problems with the Articles of Confederation?
-No national court system > central govt had no way of settling disputes among the states
What were the executive problems with the Articles of Confederation?
-No executive branch in govt > No effective way to coordinate the work of the govt
When was the Philadelphia convention?
1787
What happened at the 1787 Philadelphia convention?
-George Washington presided over it
The aim was to revise the Articles of the confederation with the decision to scrap them
-This was all done in secret
-Problems with small-population states (New Jersey) and large-population states(Virginia)
-New constitution written by the delegates > founding fathers
What emerged out of the problems with the small population states ad large population states within the democratic process?
-Connecticut compromise
What was the Connecticut compromise?
-provided a basis of agreement surrounding large and small populated states
-Proposed a bicameral legislature
-Resulting in the United States Senate and House of Representatives
What ideas is the constitution built on?
-Governing not Democracy > fear of too much power to the people
-Formed based on liberalism > feared authority so, therefore, had the separation of powers
-Open to interpretation over time due to its vagueness
Is the American constitution Codified or Uncodified?
-Codified > entrenched > hard to change
What powers do the states have due to having a federal govt?
-States exercise sovereign authority over many important issues > sentencing > death penalty in some states
-Different states have different rules and regulations
-power of legalisation of abortion > 2023 Roe V Wade
-Individual states cannot be suspended or abolished
What does a federal Constitution create?
-Limited govt
Why is the Constitution Specific and Vague?
-Specific > explicitly stated powers
-Implied powers > not specifically states
-checks the power of the president
e.g federal power to draft people into the armed forces is implied due to congress’s power to raise an army
What does Article I of the constitution relate to?
Congress (Legislature)
What does Article II of the constitution relate to?
The Executive
What does Article III of the constitution relate to?
The Judiciary
What are reserved powers?
The federal govt do not have > only states
- Individual state laws > different electoral systems within states
What are concurrent powers?
-Powers > both state and federal govt
-Taxed by federal govt and state
What is the Highest law in the USA?
-The Constitution> has legal authority
-All laws are judged against the Constitution
How can laws be “struck down” by the Supreme Court?
-as a law can be deemed as unconstitutional
What is a Strict constructionist?
-Interpret the Constitution as how it was written at the time it was written
What is a loose constructionist?
-Open to interpretation of modern-day circumstances of the Constitution
-See it as a living document
Why is the Constitution entrenched?
-Not easily changed due to the complex amendment process
Why was the Separation of powers intended in the constitution?
-Due to the hardships faced under the rule of Britain
-So that the institutions can “check” and “balance” the power of one another
-Enhances limited govt > Power cannot be held by one person
What is the intention behind representative govt?
-Not representative democracy
-Due to the Connecticut compromise
-House of Senate reflects this
-Bill of rights was an after thought
What is significant about the Elastic clause in allowing the constitution to be specific and vague?
-means you can interpret it as far as you want about representative govt
-allows constitution to develop over time
What is a weakness in the vagueness and specific’s?
-Vagueness > frustrating
-long march to democracy as intended to be a representative govt
-Reluctancy to change firearm laws > NRA (National rifle association) > influential and powerful in politics
What is Judicial review?
-Grants SC the power of interpret the constitution and declare laws or active actions either lawful or unconstitutional
Who are SC Justices appointed by?
-The president of the day
How many Justices are there and how long do they hold their position?
-9 justices
-Hold positions for life
what is the current scene with the Justices?
-6 are strict constructionists > Trump appointed three
-Trump appointed relatively young judges > longer period in SC
Is Judicial review specifically mentioned in the Constitution?
-No > from a precedent set in 1803 in the case of Marbury v Madison > raised doubts over sovereignty
-Judges gave themselves more power to interpret laws
What has Judicial review led to in the Judiciary?
What is the constitution meant to promote between the different branches?
-The cooperation and compromise
etc Senate was meant to calm the passion and populism of the house
What does Gridlock do?
-Hard to pass laws
-Govt shuts down e.g 35day shutdown between dec 2018 and jan 2019 over Trumps budget conflict for building the wall
-More relevant when a President is a different party to congress
What is a trend in congress during the Presidential terms?
-Congress at the start > agree with the president
-By the last two years > congress moves away
What is an example of extreme Gridlock?
- Between December 2018 and January 2019 > Govt shut down over Trumps budget and conflict over funding ‘the wall’
Whose hands does the constitution place the organisation of elections?
The 50 federal states
Is there universal rules based on elections crafted by the constitution?
Yes > The voting rights act 1965
How through the constitution do elections vary between states?
-How primaries and caucuses are organised
-Early voting
-No national list of voters > Each state has its own method > variating use of ID
How can states having control over the organisation of elections cause issues?
-can cause questions of validity surrounding states methods > Trumps questioning of the validity of the 2021’Stolen election’
How is political power distributed through the constitution?
-distributed among the three branches of govt
- All act independently or interdependently
-Powers are shared through a series of checks and balances
What is the significance of the separation of powers?
-Each branch is checked and limited by the other two
-Helps prevent any one branch from having too much power > avoids ‘elective dictatorship’
-Helps retain the independence of the judiciary and non-politicisation
Why can the separation of powers be seen as less signifficant?
- Powers aren’t truly separated but instead ‘shared’ / ‘fused’ > both executive and congress involved in passing law
-Politicians involved with who is appointed to the judiciary
How can the Executive check the legislature?
-Veto (Pocket and official)
-Issue executive orders > bypassing formal legislation
-Deploy Us Troops overseas
How can the judiciary check the legislature?
-Judicial review
How can the executive check the judiciary?
-Appointment of SC judges
-Power to pardon those convicted of a crime
How can the legislature check the judiciary?
-Impeachment trials and removal from office
-Proposition of constitutional amendments
How can the legislature check the Executive?
-Amend/ delay/ reject legislation
-Veto override > supermajority
-Power of the purse
-Declaration of war
-Ratification of treaties
-Confirmation of appointments
-Impeachment
How can the judiciary check the executive?
-Judicial Review > deem laws and actions unconstitutional
How can checks and balances encourage the political players to deploy other tactics?
-Causes presidents to often negotiate with external forces > executive agreements without the approval of Congress
-Presidents often make deals with foreign powers
How can the checks and balances encourage the political players to deploy other tactics be seen ?
-Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
-Trump and the US-Mexican border
How can the president significantly be subject to the most checks and balances?
-Constitution > fear of the FF of too much power in the hands of one person
How can the President being seen to have limited power due to the checks and balances be seen?
-trump > congress tried to block Trumps funding for the Mexican border and they were successful in 2016
How can checks and balances be seen as significant because they affect the timing of presidential initiatives?
-Presidents face difficulty passing legislation through Congress> when they do not have control of Congress > divided govt
-Presidents often lose popularity midway through a 4 year term > party performing badly in the mid terms
-therfore presidents try to push most legislation through in their first 2 years
how can checks and balances affecting the timing of presidential initiatives be seen?
-Obama lost control of the senate in the 2014 mid terms
-Trump lost control of the house in the 2018 mid terms
-Obama pushed through Obama care early in 2010
