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AP U.S. Government and Politics > The Constitution > Flashcards

The Constitution Flashcards

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1
Q

During what time period was the constitution written?

A

the Enlightenment

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2
Q

Who were some of the leaders?

A

Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison

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3
Q

key ideas

A
  1. reason (means by which we improve society, absence of intolerance)
  2. natural laws (discovered by human reason)
  3. progress (laws of govt make it possible)
  4. liberty (freedom from absolute monarchs, freedom = natural right, progress requires this)
  5. toleration (opposed superstition, intolerance, and bigotry)
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4
Q

John Locke

A
  • people born with “natural rights” - “life, liberty, and property”
  • govt preserves right, based on consent of the governed
  • rulers promise to protect people’s natural rights
  • people have right to replace leaders
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5
Q

Charles de Montesquieu

A
  • separated powers (executive, legislative, and judicial)

- protect rights of people bc no absolute control

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6
Q

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A
  • sovereign power does not lie in ruler, general will of the community
  • rulers are servants
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7
Q

the original writings of the USA

A

Articles of Confederation - “a firm league of friendship” with a weak national govt (each state had its own “sovereignty, freedom, and independence”

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8
Q

type of congress that the articles created

A

unicameral Congress in which each state had one vote, no judicial or executive branch, only congressional committees

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9
Q

flaws in the AoC

A
  1. reluctant to give govt powers that they had just denied Parliament
  2. lacked the power to levy taxes, had to ask states for revenue
  3. lacked executive and judicial, no means of forcing will
  4. no power to regulate or promote commerce among the states
  5. amendments required a unanimous vote of all 13 states
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10
Q

cause of Shay’s rebellion

A

Massachusetts farmers losing their land bc they could not pay debts in hard currency

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11
Q

What was Shay’s rebellion?

A
  • farmers demanded end to foreclosures, relief from oppressively high taxation, and increased circulation of paper money
  • led by Daniel Shay’s
  • forced several judges to close their courts
  • convinced leaders that AoC too weak, US = stronger central govt
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12
Q

The Framers

A
  • 12/13 sent delegations to Philadelphia (RI refused bc opposed strong central govt)
  • 55 delegators
  • “an assembly of demi-gods” - Thomas Jefferson
  • daunting task = James Madison
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13
Q

shared ideas

A
  • human nature (all selfish, Franklin: “two passions - love of power and love of money”
  • political conflict (unequal distribution of property - creates rival factions, society divided by wealth)
  • purpose of govt (“the preservation of property is the end of govt” - no excessive democracy)
  • nature of govt (power should be limited and divided, checks and balances)
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14
Q

purpose of “Philadelphia Convention”

A

revising the Articles of Confederation but then decided to create a national govt with increased power

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15
Q

the 2 plans in the connecticut (great) compromise

A
  1. Virginia Plan (called for bicameral legislature, representation based on each state’s population)
  2. New Jersey Plan (called for unicameral legislature, equal representation between states)
    - small state delegations were upset by this bc the larger states will take over
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16
Q

the connecticut plan

A

Roger Sherman and William Johnson broke deadlock.

  • called for bicameral legislature
  • HoR - representation based on population
  • S - two members per state
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17
Q

consequences of connecticut plan

A
  • still a disproportionate influence in Congress

- 20 Senators to represent 53% of US population and 20 to represent 3% of the U. S. population

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18
Q

2 positions of 3/5s compromise

A
  1. southern (90% of slaves lived in Georgia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Virginia, 30% of total population) - demanded slaves to be counted in determining representation in congress
  2. northern (opposed slavery) - how can be property be counted in representation (slaves were akin to cattle in the south)
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19
Q

The Three-Fifths compromise

A
  • all free people and three-fifths of all other people should be counted for representation in congress
  • used same formula for taxation
20
Q

consequences of three-fifths compromise

A

-thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery eliminated compromise

21
Q

How did Congress ensure a strong national govt in economics through the Constitution?

A

promotes economic growth and protect property:

  1. obtain revenue through taxing
  2. pay debts
  3. coin money and regulate its value
  4. regulate interstate and foreign commerce
  5. establish uniform laws of bankruptcy
  6. punish counterfeiting
  7. establish post offices
22
Q

How does the Constitution safeguard individual rights?

A
  • prohibits suspension of habeas corpus (a court order requiring a person in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention)
  • prohibits Congress from passing bills of attainder (legislative act that inflicts punishment without a court trial)
  • prohibits Congress from passing ex post facto laws (punishes a person for acts that were not illegal when the act was committed)
  • upholds the right to trial by jury in criminal cases
  • prohibits the imposition of religious qualifications for holding office
23
Q

legislative branch

A

bicameral Congress that consists of a HoR and a Senate

24
Q

executive branch

A

president chosen by an electoral college

25
Q

judicial branch

A

Supreme Court as the highest court of the national govt

26
Q

congress and the president: checks and balances

A
  • congress has power to make law, but president may veto an act of congress
  • congress can override a presidential veto by a two-thirds vote in each house
  • president negotiates treaties that must be ratified by the Senate
27
Q

congress, the Supreme Court, and the President: checks and balances

A
  • president nominates justices to Supreme Court
  • Senate approves/rejects presidential nominations
  • Supreme Court can declare laws and presidential acts unconstitutional
  • Congress proposes constitutional amendment to reverse a Supreme Court ruling
  • HoR may impeach SC justices and president. Senate can remove president and justices by ⅔’s vote
28
Q

consequences of checks and balances

A
  • slows change and encourages compromise

- three branches are not completely independent

29
Q

ways the constitution limits majority rule

A
  • insulated senate
  • an independent judiciary
  • an indirectly elected president
30
Q

insulated senate

A
  • Senate = bulwark against irresponsible majorities in the HoR
  • state legislatures originally chose senators (Seventeenth Amendment established election of senators by popular majority)
  • staggered term of service made it more resistant to popular pressures
  • Senate checks passions expressed by HoR (Washington uses cooling coffee)
31
Q

an independent judiciary

A
  • insulate from popular control
  • appointed by president and confirmed by senate
  • serve until they resign, retire, or die in office
32
Q

an indirectly elected President

A
  • not directly elected by the popular vote
  • created electoral college (electors would choose a distinguished character of continental reputation) - now are “rubber stamps” that follow the popular majority
33
Q

the process of ratifying the constitution

A
  1. AoC amended only by agreement of all 13 state legislatures
  2. 9/13 necessary to approve constitution
  3. nationwide debate between anti-federalists who opposed it and federalists who supported it
34
Q

the anti-federalists

A
  • included small farmers, shopkeepers, and laborers
  • favored strong state govts and weak national govt
  • called for a Bill of Rights to protect individual liberties
35
Q

the federalists

A
  • included large landowners, wealthy merchants, and professionals
  • favored weak state govts and strong national govt
  • promised to add amendments specifically protecting individual liberties
36
Q

the federalist papers

A
  • 85 essays written by alex hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to support Constitution
  • Madison: political factions = undesirable but inevitable (limited by republican representation created by constitution)
  • large republic would fragment power and curb the non-wealthy majority
37
Q

ratification of the constitution

A
  • Delaware, NJ, and smaller states quickly ratified it but very close in NY and VI
  • NC and RI insisted on a bill of rights as a condition for jointing the Union
  • the First Congress ratified ten amendments collectively known as the Bill of Rights
38
Q

methods of proposal - the formal amendment process

A
  • ⅔’s vote in both houses of Congress
  • national constitutional convention called by Congress at the request of ⅔’s of the state legislatures (never used)
  • examples of federal structure of American govt
39
Q

methods of ratification - the formal amendment process

A
  • by legislatures in ¾’s of the states

- by conventions in ¾’s of the states

40
Q

informal methods of constitutional change

A
  1. congressional legislation
  2. executive actions
  3. judicial decisions
  4. party practices
  5. unwritten traditions
41
Q

congressional legislation

A
  • pass numerous laws that both clarify and expand constitutional provisions
  • Judiciary Act of 1789 - process of creating the federal court system
  • Acts of Congress made cabinet departments, agencies, and offices in the executive branch
  • defined and expanded Commerce Clause (congressional regulations cover railroad lines, air routes, and Internet traffic and ban discrimination in public accommodations)
42
Q

executive actions

A
  • president = commander-in-chief of armed forces to send troops into combat without declaration of war
  • executive agreement = pact between prez and head of foreign state (do not have to be ratified by the senate) - circumvent the formal treaty-making process
43
Q

judicial decisions

A
  • judicial review = power of the supreme court to determine if acts of Congress and the President are in accord with the Constitution
  • claimed power in Madison v. Marbury in 1803
44
Q

party practices

A
  • not specified in constitution (GW and Framers advised against them)
  • political parties have held conventions to nominate candidates for President (result: electoral college as “rubber stamp”)
  • how congressional committees are organized and led
45
Q

unwritten traditions

A
  • Constitution: nominate federal judges who are approved by Senate
  • senatorial courtesy: the President to first seek the approval of the senator or senators of the president’s party from the state in which the nominee will serve

AP U.S. Government and Politics (20 decks)

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