The US constitution and federalism

Question 1

define codification

Answer 1

when a constitution is written down all in one document

Question 2

what are the 3 branches of the federal government?

Answer 2

• the legislature (makes the laws)
• the executive (carry out the laws)
• the judiciary (enforces and interprets the laws

Question 3

what does article I outine?

Answer 3

established congress as the legislature

Question 4

what does Article II outline?

Answer 4

all executive power goes to the president who is chosen indirectly by an electoral college

Question 5

what did article III outline?

Answer 5

established the US supreme court and they were required to watch the constitution and ensure laws were upheld

Question 6

an advantage of the vagueness of the constitution
give an example

Answer 6

• it allows the constitution to evolve without the need for reform, ensuring that the constitution remains relevant today
  for example: Obergefell v Hodges - made same sex marriage legal

Question 7

a disadvantage of the vagueness of the constitution
give an example

Answer 7

it has allowed interpretation to become too broad, which has allowed rulings that the Founding Fathers wouldn’t have liked, for example, same sex marriage (Obergefell v Hudges) or abortion (Roe V Wade)

Question 8

what are reserved powers?

Answer 8

powers not delegated to the federal government, they are set aside for the states and the people

Question 9

what are concurrent powers?

Answer 9

powers possessed by the federal and state government

Question 10

what is entrenchment ?

Answer 10

extra safeguards that are put in place to make it more difficult to change / abolish laws

Question 11

why is it good that the US constitution is entrenched?

Answer 11

the founding fathers purposely made the amendment process difficult to avoid giving the president too much power, also to avoid the constitution changing too many times

Question 12

what is the second amendment

Answer 12

the right to bear arms

Question 13

what are some advantages of the formal amendment process?

Answer 13

• protects the constitution from quick changes
• requires broad support : supermajorities lead to everyone being happy
• prevents ill thought out amendments

Question 14

what was the 18th amendment and why is it a good example of why the amendment process is difficult ?

Answer 14

the 18th amendment prohibited the sale and transportation of alcohol, this amendment was then repealed
it is a good example as the difficulty of the amendment process prevents ill thought out amendments

Question 15

what are some disadvantages of the formal amendment?

Answer 15

• difficult to amend outdated amendments
• goes against concept of a majoritarian democracy
• gives the supreme court power to make interpretive amendments
• states with a small population have too much power (it is possible for the 13 smallest states to block a proposal)

Question 16

whats an example of outdated amendments being hard to change

Answer 16

equal rights- despite a broad agreement over women’s rights, an equal rights amendment still hasn’t been passed as it failed to be supported by the required number of states

Question 17

what’s an example of the amendment process going against a majoritarian democracy

Answer 17

the flag protection amendment received over 50% of the vote but this fell short of the supermajority

only 13 out of 50 states need to oppose an amendment, which is unfair and leads to tyranny of the minority as those 13 states represent just 24% of the US, which is wrong as they were able to overturn the amendment that the majority wanted

Question 18

give an example of why the supreme having power to make interpretive amendments is bad

Answer 18

Roe V Wade: five out of the nine judges of the US Supreme Court decided that a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion is no longer constitutionally protected.

Question 19

what is the separation of powers?

Answer 19

the idea that political power is distributed among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary

Question 20

how did Obamacare become a law (separation of powers)

Answer 20

1. both houses of congress had to pass the healthcare reform bill in identical forms (both houses have equal power)
2. the president needs to sign the bill in order for it to become a law, which Obama did in march 2010
3. however, some opponents thought some aspects of this law were unconstitutional, which is where the supreme court steps in and 2 years later, the court announced its decision, upholding the laws provisions

Question 21

how can congress exercise checks on the powers of the president?

Answer 21

• they can amend, block or reject items of legislation
• they can override the presidents veto
• they can reject a budget submitted by the president (power of the purse)
• congress has the power to declare war
• they can impeach

Question 22

give an example of congress blocking a presidents legislation

Answer 22

in 2017, Trump argued that he would ‘repeal and replace’ Obamacare, but this was blocked by Congress

Question 23

when has congress overridden a presidential veto?

Answer 23

congress overrode Obamas veto of the justices against sponsors of the terrorism act 2016 - this however requires a supermajority (2/3), so overriding a presidential veto isn’t easy

Question 24

give an example of congress using the power of the purse on the president

Answer 24

in 2018, congress did not agree with trump over his budget on boarder security, which then led to a federal government shut down late 2018-2019

Question 25

how many times has congress used their power to declare war, when was the last formal use of this power?

Answer 25

11 times 1941: the second world war

Question 26

how many times has congress used their power to declare war, when was the last formal use of this power?

Answer 26

11 times 1941: the second world war

Question 27

what impact did the war powers act 2973 have on congress? give an example of an event where it has been effective

Answer 27

before the act, congress had little say in the decision to use troops abroad, which gave the president more power, but the act then gave congress the right to withdraw troops after 60 days if congress had not voted to approve action. example: Clinton was forced to withdraw troops from Somalia in 1994

Question 28

how can the senate exercise checks on the power of the president? give an example for each of the 2

Answer 28

- ratify treaties: requires 2/3 of a majority: in 1999 senate rejected the comprehensive test ban treaty - approve/reject the appointment of judges (only a simple majority required) : 1987, senate rejected Reagans nomination Robert Bork for the supreme court

Question 29

how can the president exercise checks on the power of congress?

Answer 29

- veto legislation - use of executive agreements instead of treaties to negotiate with foreign power

Question 30

give an example when a president has vetoed congress' legislation

Answer 30

May 2020, Trump vetoed the Iran War powers regulation, which would have limited the presidents ability to wage war against Iran

Question 31

give an example of when a president has used executive agreements instead of treaties to negotiate with foreign power

Answer 31

when Obama knew that Congress would not ratify a nuclear deal that he negotiated with Iran, so he therefore signed the Joint Comprehensive Unit Plan of Action agreement with Iran

Question 32

how can the Supreme Court exercise checks on the power of Congress? give an example (1)

Answer 32

- they can declare acts of congress as unconstitutional through judicial review. e.g: United States V Windsor : SC declared the defence of marriage act unconstitutional

Question 33

what is bipartisanship?

Answer 33

close cooperation between the 2 major parties to achieve their desired political goals

Question 34

what is a divided government?

Answer 34

when the presidency is controlled by one party, and one or both houses of congress are controlled by another party

Question 35

when has bipartisanship been good?

Answer 35

George W Bush managed to achieve his education reforms as he worked with democrats

Question 36

what is the impact of a divided government? (positive)

Answer 36

- bills are scrutinised more closely - treaties are checked more carefully -

Question 37

what is the impact of a divided government? (negative)

Answer 37

- party polarisation: the ideological gap makes it hard for 2 parties to compromise

Question 38

what major legislation was made under divided government in the 98th Congress? (2)

Answer 38

- The Declaration of Martin Luther Kings birthday as a federal holiday - The Comprehensive Crime Control Act : major revision of the federal criminal code which increased penalties for drug trafficking and terrorism

Question 39

what is federalism?

Answer 39

when power is divided through national government and state governments

Question 40

what is a limited government?

Answer 40

the idea the government would only interfere when it is essential - leaving freedoms and rights untouched

Question 41

give 2 examples of federal government powers

Answer 41

- declaring war - creating and maintaining armed forces

Question 42

give 2 examples of concurrent (shared between federal and state) powers

Answer 42

- making constitutional amendments - levying taxes

Question 43

give 2 examples of state government powers

Answer 43

- establishing local governments - regulating elections

Question 44

is federalism a fixed concept? explain why

Answer 44

no, as federalism has changed over time , it has evolved in 3 broad stages

Question 45

dual federalism (1790s to 1930s)

Answer 45

limited role for federal government where state and federal governments were co-equal with distinct policy boundaries the states undertook most governing and exercised the most political power

Question 46

cooperative federalism (1930s to 1960s) what was the new deal?

Answer 46

federal and state governments worked together after the Wall Street crash the Great Depression, and the second World War, the federal government began to gain more power under the presidency of Franklin D Roosevelt the New Deal: the federal government took responsibilities such as unemployment benefit, work programmes and providing local schools

Question 47

New Federalism (1960s to 2000s)

Answer 47

an attempt to reduce federal power and give it back to the states however, this still resembles cooperative federalism as there are still blurred lines between the division of powers

Question 48

arguments that the states retain sovereignty

Answer 48

- laws vary across states - healthcare - electoral practices vary widely - autonomy towards the handling of national crises - SC ruling supports the state over federal government

Question 49

how do laws vary across states? (criminal punishment and taxes)

Answer 49

punishment: death penalty is legal in 29 states and has been abolished in 21 states taxes: tax can be set at state level, e.g California have 13% and 7 states have 0% tax

Question 50

how do states have autonomy over healthcare?

Answer 50

after Obamacare was passed, the states have power over the provision of medical insurance

Question 51

how do states have autonomy over electoral practices in states?

Answer 51

article I of the constitution allows states to run their own elections, and they have can set their own boundaries for the districts in their states

Question 52

how do states have autonomy towards the handling of national crises? give an example

Answer 52

during covid, each of the states had the responsibility of creating their own plans for how they were to deal with it the Ohio governor was the first to call state wide closure of schools, meanwhile 7 states didn't issue orders to stay home

Question 53

how do Supreme Court rulings support state governments over federal government?

Answer 53

United States V Texas: the SC struck down Obamas use of an executive order to implement his immigration reform programme, ruling it to be unconstitutional due to the cost it had to the states

Question 54

arguments that the federal government is challenging state autonomy

Answer 54

- taxation and federal financing - healthcare - federal government encroachment on numerous state issues - federal encroachment on state autonomy during a national crises

Question 55

how does the federal government challenge state autonomy though taxation and federal financing? give an example

Answer 55

state citizens have to pay federal income tax and the states rely on the federal government when their finances run low for example, in 2005, after hurricane Katrina, the federal government gave $120 billion of aid to state governments

Question 56

how does the federal government challenge state autonomy through healthcare? give an example

Answer 56

healthcare provision is heavily dependent on federal funding e.g Bush signed into law the Medicare Prescription Drug Modernisation Act, which majorly expanded Medicare, this cost $400 billion

Question 57

how does the federal government challenge state autonomy through encroachment on state issues? (education)

Answer 57

education: The No Child Left Behind Act signed into law by Bush increased the federal governments role in education - this law mandated that states test children annually

Question 58

how does the federal government challenge state autonomy through encroachment during national crises?

Answer 58

federal government gave $120 billion of aid after Hurricane Katrina

Question 59

when has Supreme Court rulings supported federal government over state government?

Answer 59

the SC upheld the Affordable Care Act, which gave the federal government more control over healthcare