The constitutional framework of the US govt

Question 1

What is the ‘13 colonies’ and why did they want to be free of British rule

Answer 1

-Europeans settled on the East Coast, looking for economic opportunities and political liberty, so created the 13 colonies
-the 13 govts were ruled by George III who imposed high taxes i.e the sugar tax 1764= imposed a new tax on sugar

Question 2

What were the Articles of Confederation?

Answer 2

-agreement between the 13 states –} loose commonwealth of colonies with very little ‘central govt’ and no president
-weakened by Shay’s rebellion 1787= an armed uprising in Massachusetts in response to a debt crisis and in opposition to the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes

Question 3

What was the Constitutional Convention?

Answer 3

-55 Founding fathers i.e George Washington met in Philadelphia in Sep 1787 and drew up the US constitution
-had to be ratified by 9/13 states before it came into effect

Question 4

The Connecticut Comprise

Answer 4

-dealt with clash between smaller and larger states
-Senate(upper chamber) has 2 representatives per state
-House of Representatives(lower chamber) has representation based on population size, 435 reps in total

Question 5

Key features of the US constitution

Answer 5

-codified
-Separation of powers
-Checks and balances i.e Congress can override a presidential veto by passing the act by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the
Senate
-rigid + hard to amend as it requires the approval of supermajorities in both chambers(2/3), 27 amendments since 1787
-indirect election of executive(Electoral college)
-Bill of rights= first 10 amendments, protecting individual rights

Question 6

Reflections of the US constitution: not repeating ‘tyranny’ of the monarch

Answer 6

-Congress mentioned first, as the ‘principal player’
-President mentioned second as a focus for unity
-Supreme Court’s mention is very vague

Question 7

Reflections of the US constitution: Separation of powers

Answer 7

-stated in Thomas Jefferson’s biography, good governance came “not by the consolidation or concentration of powers but by their distribution”
-power shared between states and federal govt–} limited govt was a key principle in considering individual + state rights

Question 8

Reflections of the US constitution: vagueness

Answer 8

-Implied powers= powers of federal govt that were vaguely outlined i.e ‘common defence’
enumerated powers= powers explicitly mentioned in the Constitution i.e minimum age for President (35)

Question 9

Similarities between the UK + US constitutions

Answer 9

-framework for politics and rights(Bill of Rights in the US)
-checks and balances
-regular fixed term elections

Question 10

Differences between the UK + US constitutions

Answer 10

-The US constitution was the product of revolution
-The UK constitution was the product of centuries of evolution in a monarchical country

Question 11

Positive impact of vagueness and implied powers

Answer 11

-Has allowed some adaptation of the const. to take place to reflect the times via elastic clauses
-i.e The 1934 Immigration Act which banned the entry of Asians to US was not reflected in the 1964 Voting rights Act which forbid racial discrimination in voting

Question 12

Negative impact of vagueness and implied powers

Answer 12

-by saying nothing on slavery in the original document it sowed the seeds for division + war
-the 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms) doesn’t necessarily state that everyone can
-Congress or president has responsibility of initiating military action?

Question 13

Positive impact of the Supreme Court conducting judicial review

Answer 13

-grants the Courts power to label things ‘unconstitutional’ and hold other branches to account
-lead to revisions i.e racial segregation laws reversed in the 1954 case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka–} ‘re-type’ the constitution

Question 14

Negative impact of the Supreme Court conducting judicial review

Answer 14

-inevitable politicisation i.e 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization… right to abortion was not “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history or tradition”
-widespread issues that may otherwise be settled by legislation or referendum i.e gay marriage (legalised in 2015 with the Obergefell v. Hodges case)

Question 15

Positive impact of checks and balances causing gridlock

Answer 15

-encourages co-operation + compromise i.e all laws must be approved by both congressional chambers
-Senate dilutes the populism within the House

Question 16

Negative impact of checks and balances causing gridlock

Answer 16

-division of the branches can lead to gridlock i.e presidential veto/congress’ refusal to pass leg requested by President
-i.e limited shutdown govt –} 35 days Dec 2018-Jan 2019, in part due to Trump’s insistence of funding for the border wall

Question 17

Positive impacts of elections in a federal system

Answer 17

-certain national criteria are mandatory under laws i.e Voting rights act 1965(prohibits racial discrimination in voting)
-tailored to suit each of the 50 states i.e 2020 Georgia state law required that as neither candidate for its two senatorial elections achieved over 50%, a runoff election was held in Jan 2021

Question 18

Negative impacts of elections in a federal system

Answer 18

-inconsistencies with elections i.e use of postal ballots(California, Colorado etc), stricter requirements for voter ID(more republican states i.e Kansas + Mississippi)

Question 19

Federalists vs anti-federalists

Answer 19

-federalists believe in a strong central govt whereas antis believe that power should be in state govts

Question 20

Support for anti-federalists

Answer 20

the 10th Amendment= all powers not delegated to the federal govt i.e trade and defence are ‘reserved to the States’

Question 21

Federalism: Shifting powers

Answer 21

-1861-65: state power suppressed when the North won the Civil War(fought for reunification + abolition of slavery= limited power of south)
-1870s: state power grew in South due to segregation i.e Jim Crow laws encompassed formal and informal segregation policies= public transport + schools
-1913: 16th amendment allowed national income tax to be from the authority of central govt
-70s and 80s: Republican(Nixon + Reagan) new Federalism= federal money to states to use at their discretion–} Democrat Clinton ‘The era of big govt is over’
-Obama’s Affordable care Ac 2010(healthcare reform) following 2007-08 financial crisis

Question 22

State(Reserved) powers

Answer 22

-North Dakota + Arkansas have tightly restricted abortion laws
-Minnesota abolished death penalty in 1911 but Texas still has it

Question 23

USA IS strongly federal

Answer 23

-dominant in shaping social policy i.e Affordable Care Act 2010 which required states to set up health exchanges where citizens could purchase health insurance, no child left behind act 2002 where each state had to set standards-based education reform including provisions applying to disadvantaged students
-Presidential input i.e Trump deploying federal troops during BLM protests despite opposition of state officials
-national response to COVID 19 i.e Operation warp speed in April 2020 to facilitate public - private partnerships for fast developments of vaccines

Question 24

USA ISN’T strongly federal

Answer 24

-social policy is very state-dependent i.e California requires background checks for gun ownership and rejects the No Shoot first Law(allow people to shoot and kill in public even if they can safely walk away from the situation) whereas Texas is the opposite
-COVID 19 policy variations i.e Washington + NY etc had mask mandates but Missouri didn’t, Michigan closing non-essential businesses but Florida more flexible
-Based on Presidential opinion i.e New Federalism + Clinton

Question 25

Comparing federalism in the US and devolution in the UK

Answer 25

-federalism is an entrenched principle of the constitution(10th amendment) and devolution is recent statute law
-US states have more federal powers than devolved regions
-States decide their own electoral system but WM decides it in the UK

Question 26

Separation of powers: Legislature

Answer 26

-congress(100 senators + 435 reps)
-pass laws + raise taxes
-ratifies foreign treaties and declarations of war
-can impeach presidents & judges

Question 27

Separation of powers:
Executive

Answer 27

-President
-acts as commander in chief for armed forces
-oversees foreign policy
-chooses secretary of state
-can issue pardons
-nominates judges to supreme court
-can put forward laws + veto them

Question 28

Separation of powers:
Judiciary

Answer 28

-Supreme court
-interprets the constitution
-ensures the actions of congress and the president are in accordance with the constitution
-can strike down laws as unconstitutional

Question 29

the separation of powers ARE significant

Answer 29

-branches being separate reduce bias or tyranny of a specific branch i.e Clinton had to resign as senator for NY when she was appointed as secretary of state by Obama ‘09
-allows for checks and balances between branches
-prevents elected dictatorship as president must get policy through congress and are limited by the constitution

Question 30

the separation of powers AREN’T significant

Answer 30

-more accurate to describe it as ‘shared powers’ i.e VP is also senate president and has the casting vote on a tie–} Pence used this to appoint Betsy DeVos as education secretary in 2017
-US judiciary remains politicised i.e all 5 judges that voted to overturn Roe v Wade were appointed by Republican presidents, Trump accused his judge in Manhattan fraud case of being a “ Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family”
-presidents have the power of pardon, which limits significance of the law i.e Bush pardoned 77 people, including senior officials involved in the Iran-contra affair

Question 31

3 examples of presidential checks on congress

Answer 31

-can veto acts/resolutions passed by congress i.e Obama issued 12 regular vetoes in his 2 terms, including Keystone XL pipeline(oil pipeline system in Canada and the US) in line with commitment to fight climate change
-can issue executive orders to bypass the need for formal legislation i.e 2017, Trump introduced a travel ban on visitors from certain, mostly Muslim countries
-can use commander in chief role to deploy troops oversees i.e Bush invasion of Iraq & Afghanistan

Question 32

Presidential checks on the court

Answer 32

nominates all federal justices to the supreme court i.e Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor who voted to legalise same-sex marriage and Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch who voted to overturn Roe v Wade
-can issue pardons to those convicted of federal crimes i.e Ford pardoned his immediate predecessor Nixon for crimes including involvement in the Watergate scandal

Question 33

Congressional checks on the president

Answer 33

-presidential veto can be overturned by a supermajority in both houses i.e Obama’s JASTA(justice against sponsors of terrorism act) in 2016
-can decline legislation desired by the president i.e Obama requested several gun-control measures after mass shootings including Sandy Hook School in 2012 but nothing was passed
-impeachment i.e two impeachment trials against trump put forward by the House

Question 34

Congressional checks on Court

Answer 34

-can impeach federal justices and remove them from office i.e Thomas Porteous was successfully impeached and removed from office for corruption in a near unanimous vote
-constitutional amendments can be initiated to overturn Supreme Court verdicts i.e national income tax reversed by the ratification of the 13th amendment in 1913

Question 35

Judicial checks on the president

Answer 35

-courts can rule presidential actions unconstitutional and therefore illegal i.e Hamdan v Ramsfield 2006, court ruled against special military commissions set up by Bush to try suspected members of Al Qaeda

Question 36

Judicial checks on Congress

Answer 36

-courts can declare acts of congress to be unconstitutional and therefore effectively require them to be repealed i.e in 2013, the Defence of Marriage Act was ruled unconstitutional in United States v Windsor which legalised same-sex marriage

Question 37

The significance of checks and balances

Answer 37

-encourages the political players(congress and president) to deploy other tactics, like treaties to get around constraints i.e Trump called a national emergency to secure additional funding without approval from Congress
over the Mexican border, Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
-affects the timing of presidential initiatives–} often lose popularity by midterm congressional elections which may lead to divided govt i.e Republicans lost control over the House in 2018, Dems lost control over the senate in 2014= try and pass legislation in their first 2 years i.e Affordable care act
-may lead to gridlock due to dispersed power i.e during COVID in 2020, it took much negotiation ad several days to get CARES act passed and get 2.2 trillion dollar package

Question 38

How are checks and balances less significant?

Answer 38

-powerful methods i.e impeachment, are rarely used–} none successfully removed from office BUT Nixon resigned in 1974 to avoid likely removal
-presidential veto is declining in usage i.e Obama used it 12 times vs Reagan who used it 78 times during 2 terms
-the threat of checks and balances has the bigger impact

Question 39

Similarities between UK and US checks and balances

Answer 39

-both have independent judiciary
-parliament and congress both have 2 houses and scrutinise the executive
-PM and President can deploy troops
-both UK and US use committee systems
-parliamentary debates

Question 40

Differences between UK and US checks and balances

Answer 40

-UK judiciary cannot rule something unconstitutional or overturn primary legislation
-fusion of powers in the UK
-no impeachment in the UK
-no PMQs in the US
-Presidents can issue pardons in US(weakens judicial checks + balances)
-judges are nominated by president

Question 41

Describe the nature of the US constitution

Answer 41

-codified= sourced from a single document
-sovereign= has supreme authority
-entrenched= it is hard to amend

Question 42

What is a formal amendment?

Answer 42

-amending the constitution using ratification from states

Question 43

What are the 2 ways to pass a formal amendment?

Answer 43

-by a two thirds majority in the Senate AND the house
-at a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of states
-to ratify the amendment, three quarters of the state legislatures must ratify OR three quarters of state legislatures must ratify it at special state ratifying conventions

Question 44

Info on the formal amendments

Answer 44

-27 formal amendments since 1791–} Bill of Rights include 1st amendment= freedom or religion, speech, the press and assembly, 2nd amendment= introduced the right to bear arms
-8th amendment= banned the use of cruel and unusual punishment
-normally passed in response to a particular situation/context i.e restricting president to 2 terms in office happened after lengthy presidency of Roosevelt(13 years)

Question 45

3 amendments after the BOR

Answer 45

-26th= lowered voting age from 21 to 18
-13th= abolished slavery
-17th= direct election to senate

Question 46

The Texas plan

Answer 46

-Governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, called for a ‘convention of the states’*
to pass 9 constitutional amendments to limit the power of the federal govt
*article V of the constitution= states can ‘call a convention for proposing amendments’ BUT it is vague on what a convention entails i.e some suggest 34 states consider proposed amendments together
-9 suggested amendments i.e prohibit congress from regulating activity that occurs within one state

Question 47

the constitution IS hard to formally amend

Answer 47

-very few amendments have been passed i.e 27 amendments, outdated like the 13th amendment on slavery
-limits modernisation i.e the equal rights amendment aimed to embed the rights of women into the constitution but failed despite passing congressional stages in 1972
-very complex amendment process= 2/3 vote in both chambers and ratification

Question 48

The constitution IS NOT hard to amend formally

Answer 48

-clauses can be repealed i.e Amendment 21= repeal of the prohibition in 1933(ban on alcohol), can be subject to adjustment i.e 2nd amendment= right to bear arms
-what is not amended in the constitution can be protected under federal/state law i.e Federal anti-discrimination and civil rights laws that protect against racial, age, gender etc, Patent and copyright laws
-bill of rights established key amendments i.e freedom of speech, state power

Question 49

Informal amendments of the constitution

Answer 49

-updated by supreme court’s judgements–} interpret the constitution via judicial review
-relevant for elastic clauses= can adapt over time

Question 50

4 examples of informal amendments

Answer 50

-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization = centred around a Mississippi law, the “Gestational Age Act,” which banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Court ruled in a 6-3 decision to uphold the Mississippi law, effectively overturning Roe v. Wade and Casey(‘personal liberty’)
-the ‘miranda rights’ = right of those stopped by police to remain silent and avoid self-incrimination(extension of Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and the Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel)
-Obergefell v. Hodges 2015= legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a 5-4 decision

Question 51

3 ways that clauses in the constitution are problematic

Answer 51

-smaller states are becoming overrepresented in the Senate–}half of senators are elected by states representing 16% of the population
-Electoral college has failed to reflect the popular vote in 2000 and 2016
-Second amendment remains problematic + anachronistic

Question 52

The US constitution IS fit for purpose

Answer 52

-vagueness of clauses i.e elastic/necessary and proper clauses allows for flexible interpretations i.e LGBTQ rights
-checks and balances ensure that no branch dominates another + cooperation i.e congress provided funding and legislative support for executive branch to distribute COVID vaccines under operation warp speed, CARES act
-congress held to account via elections every 2 years BUT can lead to divided govt

Question 53

The US constitution IS NOT fit for purpose

Answer 53

-some rights are weakly protected i.e women’s rights
-constitution often left up to interpretation by unelected, partisan, Supreme court judges i.e Roe v Wade overturned
-hard to amend and very rigid

Question 54

3 key rights enshrined in the constitution

Answer 54

-fifth amendment not to incriminate oneself
-sixth amendment to a swift, fair and public trial
-first amendment to free speech and expression, free press and the right to practise one’s religion freely

Question 55

First amendment rights: Schenck v US (1919)

Answer 55

-2 socialists were convicted under the Espionage act, of distributing leaflets urging people to disobey the draft but advising only peaceful actions
-Court concluded that free speech doesn’t protect speech that could create a clear danger

Question 56

First amendment rights: Morse v Frederick (2007)

Answer 56

-Alaskan student holding a religiously offensive banner across the street from the school at a supervised event + was suspended for promoting the use of illegal drugs
-appealed in claims that freedom of expression was violated but they lost the case–} schools can regulate speech to protect student safety

Question 57

The US constitution DOES protect individual rights well

Answer 57

-many key rights are explicitly protected i.e in the BOR–} entrenched and inalienable
-doesn’t prevent rights being protected by Acts of congress i.e equal pay act 1963, Americans with disabilities act 1990
-Court’s judgements have often discovered new rights in the elastic clauses i.e equal protection + cruel and unusual punishment

Question 58

The US constitution DOES NOT protect individual rights well

Answer 58

-many rights are not explicitly protected i.e free and fair elections, children’s rights
-Court’s interpretations can be partisan and subjective
-laws passed by congress can be reversed and aren’t rigid