The nature of the US Constitution

Question 1

positives to the vagueness of the constitution

Answer 1

+ allowed supreme court to make imperative judgements to make sure the Constitution remains relevant today eg Roe V wade them SC announced that the 14th amendment right of ‘liberty’ included the right for a woman to terminate her pregnancy.

Eg Obergefell V Hodges SC judges the 14 amendment guarantees same sex couples the right to marry, effectively making same-sex marriage legal in 50 states

Question 2

drawbacks to the vagueness of the constitution

Answer 2

• Is the interpretation opportunity as broad as the founding fathers would’ve wanted? – conservatives argue that the founding fathers wouldn’t have supported same sex marriage or abortion
• The vagueness of Article 2 has allowed the president to dominate US gov, particularly in foreign policy at the expense of Congress which has struggles to interpret its power as broadly

Question 3

positives to the seperation of powers

Answer 3

+ the con creates a gov of separated institutions sharing powers and limiting power of the federal gov over the states

+ checks and balances between the three branches coupled with the short election cycle of the House of the Representatives ensure that the gov works in the interests of the people whom it represents

+Overlap of powers between executive and legislature means there needs to be bipartisan cooperation between the parties especially during a divided gov

Question 4

drawbacks to the seperation of powers

Answer 4

• Some aspects don’t work how the Framers envisage eg the growth of federal over at the expense of the states, gridlock leads to government shut downs when the president and Congress can’t agree on a budget. 6-7% of bills became law in the 1980s whereas this dropped to 2-3% because of the inability of the two parties to compromise regularly on legislation.

Question 5

why did the founding fathers make the const difficult to amend

Answer 5

so that it isn’t subject to the political whims of the day, and that the Constitution should remain the higher law of the land.

Question 6

what does Article 5 mean in the const

Answer 6

two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution

Question 7

what were the 4 objectives to the constitution

Answer 7

1 - prevent oppressive rule
2 - entertain liberty
3 - economic freedom: america should be a meritocracy
4 - religious freedom

Question 8

what are the 3 key features of the consitution

Answer 8

codified
vagueness and specificity
entrenched

Question 9

codified constitution

Answer 9

• authoritative set of rules written in a single text
• Articles 1-3 set out powers of gov
• the federal gov does not have unlimited power but only the power granted by the const unlike the UK
• ENUMERATED POWERS AND RESERVE POWERS AND CONCURRENT

Question 10

what are enumerated powers

Answer 10

ARTICLE 1 SECTION 8
what the federal government can do and override state govs on
eg declare war, borrow money, do anything ‘Necessary and proper’

Question 11

what are concurrent powers

Answer 11

powers shared by state and gov
eg tax, road works and courts

Question 12

what are reserve powers

Answer 12

10th amendment
what the state gov has control over
eg education, marriage, driving, alcohol

Question 13

Blend of specificity and vagueness

Answer 13

implied powers - federal gov powers that can be implied from the enumerated powers
eg ‘to provide for the common defence and general welfare’ means that congress has the power to collect taxes
the ‘Necessary and Proper Clause’ - article 1, section 8 which allows the federal gov to stretch its powers beyond its enumerated powers

Question 14

why is vagueness good?

Answer 14

• it can be applied to present day

Question 15

Provisions are entrenched

Answer 15

entrenchment means ‘protect from attack’ ie those who tried to change or abolish the american people
very complicated process to change it
there have only been 27 amendments in total since 1787 - the first 10 are the bill or rights

Question 16

what are the types of amendement process

Answer 16

1 - 2/3rds of house and senate propose change, 3/4 of the state legislatures have to agree; has been used 26 times
2 - 2/3rds of the house and senate propose, ratifying conventions in 3/4 of the states; has been used once in the 21st amendment (which appealed the 18th amendment saying alcohol was prohibited)

Question 17

what is flag desecration

Answer 17

if you take a flag down or damage one you cna get arrested. Wanted to be an amendment but the supreme court said it was free speech

Question 18

whats an example of when all three branched were required to play a role in governance

Answer 18

OBAMA CARE - patient protection and affordable care act
1 - both houses had to pass the bill identically because both houses have equal power
2- President signed it and the executive branch rolled out provisions to carry out the law
3 - opponents to the law saw it as unconstiutional which left the courts to dispute the law eventually the court announced its decision and upheld the laws provisions

Question 19

what are the 3 branched of US gov

Answer 19

Legislative - makes laws - congress: senate and house of reps
executive - carries out laws - predident, vice pres and cabinet
Judiciary - interprets law - supreme court

Question 20

what was the aim of Obama care

Answer 20

intendedt o improve access to health insurance

was objected to because of the increase in taxes and insurance premiums

Question 21

what does popular sovereignty mean

Answer 21

all political power derives from the people

Question 22

what did Richard Neustad say about the seperation of powers

Answer 22

‘they are separate institutions sharing power’

Question 23

info on congress

Answer 23

The Capitol building is home to congress
435 members sit in the house of reps
100 members sit in congress
total 535 members

Question 24

what was the Philadelphia Convention

Answer 24

aimed at revising the Articles of Confederation but instead they made a whole new charter of government: the constitution

Question 25

advantages to the amendment process x3

Answer 25

1 - the lengthy process makes it less likely that the con will be amended for temporary issues (amendment 18 and 21 are examples of this going wrong)
2 - it ensures that both federal and state govs must favour a proposal
3 - super majorities make sure that a small majority cannot over power

Question 26

disadvantages to the amendment process x 3

Answer 26

1 - makes it overly difficult for the con to be amended which means that outdated provisions can’t be changed eg electoral college
2 - very difficult to get congress and states to agree to get a supermajority which means it is virtually impossible with a 0.2% success rate
3 - is it actually what the founding fathers wanted?

“Each generation” should have the “solemn opportunity” to update the constitution “every nineteen or twenty years” thus allowing it to be “handing on with periodical repairs from generation to generation, to the end of time”

Question 27

why is the constitution is the way it is

Answer 27

it was an attempt to avoid concentration of government power but also its dilution - not too strong not too weak. they needed all power to be checked - unlike when the British were there and their power was unchecked so they were oppressive

Question 28

what is constitutionalism

Answer 28

all aspects of the gov and its policies must follow the principles in the constitution and its amendments. The con has near universal acceptance