The Nature And Significance Of The US Constitution Flashcards
What are the origins of the US constitution?
-after American can first attempt creating new gov based on Articles of Confederation
-an agreement between first 13 states was first constitution
What did the Article of Confederation provide for?
-provided for loose commonwealth of colonies - very little by way of central government/authority
-these colonies with own distinct features were very reluctant give up independence for it be handed over to a remote central gov
What were the weaknesses of this first constitution?
-setup soon proved unsustainable within several years
-weaknesses apparent through Shay’s rebellion
What was Shay’s rebellion?
-armed uprising 1787
-mainly ex-rev war soldiers tuned farmers who opposed Massachusetts policies that led to poverty + property seizures
-tension lay on how to balance freedom + right resist on occasion with effective gov
What was the result of the rebellion?
-constitutional convention — met in Philadelphia may to Sept 1787
-55 attended (founding fathers) + drew up US constitution
What happened to this new US constitution?
-had to be ratified by 9 of 13 states before could come into effect
-this achieved June 1788 - New Hampshire 9th state to ratify it
Who were three of the founding fathers?
-George Washington
-Alexander Hamilton
-Thomas Jefferson
What was the problem with the new US constitution?
-heated discussion, debate, disputes over points
-like how power be balanced between states, federal gov + between large + small states
-final doc had many key features
What were some of the key features of the US constitution?
-emphed representative gov not democracy
-product of its time + its authors
-a compromise in several ways
-it was very vague
-the constitution was to be sovereign
What was the feature of it emphasising representative gov + not democracy?
-no requirement for secret ballot,
-no lofty aspirations to one man, one vote
-only nod to elections was ‘times,places + manner of elections for senators + reps
How was this feature put into practice?
-indirect election of the pres - elected by electoral college + not direct popular vote
-senate chased indirectly by state legislatures - but altered 1913 by 17th amendment
What is the feature of it being a product of its time + its authors?
-founding fathers all white, Christian males
-slave owners, most owned land
-no desire undertake shift in power away from wealthy elite
What is one way the constitution was a compromise (key feature)?
-Connecticut compromise — dealt with clash between small + large states
-states feared being dominated or helpful to political ransom by the other
-upper chamber (senate) have equal rep from every state
-lower chamber (HoR) rep based on population size
What was the compromise between large states?
-larger states with large population enslaved people
-e.g, Virginia + others via the three-fifths clause
What was the three-fifths clause?
-3/5 skates were counted when determining states total population your legislative rep + taxation
-not intended grant slaves part of vote
-repealed in 14th amendment 1868
What was the compromise between the founding fathers?
-Hamilton wanted strong central gov
-but Jefferson wanted most power with the states
-residence act 1790 — est US capital in DC
-exchange funding act 1790 est Hamiltons foundation for public credit
How was the US constitution very vague (key feature)?
-powers outlined were vaguely termed ‘implied powers’
-e.g. congress given power ‘provide for common defence + general welfare of US’
-vague on what it meant — perhaps justify national healthcare programme?
-but also specific e.g. setting min age for pres (35), senators (30) + members HoR (25)
What are implied powers?
-power of federal gov implied by its roles + responsibilities as laid out in constitution
What do the implied powers also do?
-designed to be long lasting + enduring
-not easily changed or overturned
-e.g. process for amendment complex + requires high threshold of approval
What are the delegated powers?
-powers explicitly set out in constitution
-e.g. congress power ‘coin money’ + pres acting as commander in chief
What is the key feature of the constitution being sovereign?
-the ultimate source of authority
-states in article VI ‘shall be the supreme law of the land’
-neither pres nor congress can override its provisions
