The Constitutional Framework Of US Government: The Significance Of Constitutional Principles Flashcards
What is the ‘necessary and proper’ clause?
it empowered Congress to make all laws ‘necessary and proper’ in order to carry out the federal laws
What callus is often termed the elastic clause?
‘Necessary and proper’ clause
What is a examples of the ‘elastic clause’ enabling legislature to adapt over time to changing circumstances and values?
The Immigration Act 1924, reflecting clear racial bias, banning the entry if all Asian people to the USA, and The Voting Rights Act (1965) expressly forbade racial discrimination in voting
What is an example of Constitutional vagueness being a weakness too?
By saying nothing on slavery in the original document it sowed the seeds for a sectional divid leading to the civil war in the 1960s?
In which amendment was slavery banned?
Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
What is the Supreme Court’s most important power?
Judicial review (the power of the courts to decide whether a law or action is legal or illegal)
When did judicial review come into precent, as its not specifically mentioned in the Constitution?
In 1803 with the case of ‘Marbury v Madison’
What did Charles Evans Hughes say in 1907 before becoming Supreme Court justice about the relationship between the Supreme Court and Constitution?
‘We are under a Constitution, but the Constitution is what the judges say it is’
What is an example of ‘rematches’ in the Supreme Court?
In 1896 ‘Plessy v Ferguson’, which upheld racial segregation law, that was effectively reversed in the 1954 case ‘Brown v Board of Education of Topeka’
What was the hope of having to have both chambers agree in laws, essentially requiring mutual agreement an attempt to stop what?
the hope was they would work together and calm the passion and populism of the House
What does having both chambers of the legislature have to agree lead to?
Competition and deadlock between
What is an example of something that often has gridlock in government?
The budget, which is proposed by the president and submitted for approval to congress
What is an example of a budget ‘standoff’?
when there was a limited government shutdown for 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019 for the longest time every when party differences made compromise more heated when Trump instance on greater funding for his border wall
What are 2 laws that are national criteria for voting in the US?
Voting Rights Act 1965 and America Vote Act 2002
Why is voting laws so different in the US?
Each state can choose there rules other than the national criteria leading to differences like post ballots, early voting and voting rights of ex-felons
