The US Constitution

Question 1

What are the origins of the US constitution?

Answer 1

After the American Revolution, the Articles of Confederation was signed by the 13 original states, serving as the first constitution. Then in 1787, the founding fathers drew up the US constitution which was about the structure and framework of the government, not about individual rights.

Question 2

What was the Bill of Rights?

Answer 2

The first 10 amendments to the US constitution in 1789. It included:
. 1st Amendment - Freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly
. 2nd Amendment - The right to bear arms
. 13th Amendment - Abolished slavery
. 19th Amendment - All white men and women over 18 can vote

Question 3

How do you make an amendment to the US constitution?

Answer 3

To make an amendment you need 3/4 of state legislature to ratify and a supermajority in both houses.
Or alternatively, 2/3 states can call a constitutional convention and 3/4 of the states must ratify.

Question 4

Why is it so hard to make amendments?

Answer 4

The founding fathers made making amendments hard as they were trying to unite 13 colonies and didn’t want the constitution easily changed. Nowadays, the country has grown larger, more diverse and more polarised to it’s harder to make amendments.

Question 5

What is an informal amendment?

Answer 5

Changes to the Constitution that do not lead to changes in the written document e.g the Miranda rights, the right to private gun ownership, LGBTQ+ rights.

Question 6

How is power divided between state government and federal government?

Answer 6

Federal government controls:
. Controls national legislation e.g Obamacare
. Controls federal taxes
. Controls currency
. Declares war
. Establishes rules for citizenship
. Owns public land
. Establishes federal courts
The limits of Federal gov’s power:
. The presidential election
. Death penalty
. To legislate areas e.g abortion, local tax
. Cannot tax state exports
. Cannot pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws.