THE US CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS Flashcards
Une caractéristique de la Constitution des USA ?
The Constitution of the USA is the oldest written constitution still in use (plus ancienne constitution écrite encore en vigueur).
Combien d’articles comprenait la Constitution des USA originally ?
It originally comprised 7 articles but has since been augmented by 27 amendments.
Qu’est-ce qu’ils établissent les 7 premiers articles de la Constitution des US ?
The first 7 articles of the US Constitution establish
the federal gov, the judiciary, interstate and federal-state relations.
Qu’est qu’ils précisent les 10 premiers amendments ?
The first 10 amendments, called the Bill of Rights, set out the individual rights of citizens (les droits individuels des citoyens).
The US C…
provides a set of rules by which the federal republic of the USA is governed.
A. Historical background
Quelle fut la 1ère colonie anglaise en Amérique du Nord ?
England’s 1st colony in North America was Virginia (was made a royal colony by 1624).
Qu’est-ce qu’il s’est passé après une guerre : la guerre de 7 ans ?
Following the Seven Year War, the Parliament of Great Britain, to help defray war debts, imposed heavy taxes on its North American colonies.
Les colons étaient mécontents des taxes imposées par le Parlement de GB (après la Guerre de 7 ans). Pourquoi ?
Many colonists resented such taxes as they were imposed by a parliament thousands of miles away and where they had no representation.
An early slogan of the American Revolution was thus “No Taxation without Representation.”
By 1775…
By 1775 the colonists formed a “Continental Army” under George Washington.
B. The Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation
On 4 July 1776, delegates from the 13 colonies (by the time of the American War of Independence there were 13 English colonies), signed the Declaration of Independence.
By 1781, the colonies had ratified the Articles of Confederation which implemented a confederation of 13 sovereign states.
Qu’est-ce qu’a établi cette “Confederation” ?
The Confederation established a weak central government under the authority of the state legislatures.
Mais la Confédération s’est révélée être une forme de gouvernement inadéquate.
Donc pour établir…
a more workable form of central governance, Federalists (including George Washington), called for a convention to discuss giving more powers to the government by revising the Articles of Confederation.
C. The Philadelphia Convention
The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 brought together delegates from every state (except Rhode Island, which was extremely mistrustful of a powerful central government).
At the Convention, James Madison (un Federalist) presented the Virginia Plan which proposed a new and much stronger national government
- (doté de) under a constitution
- with a bicameral legislature (un corps législatif bicaméral)
- and a strong executive.
This plan was opposed by the Anti-Federalists, who disapproved of such changes, wanting to keep the general framework of the Articles of Confederation.
The Federalists succeeded (only) in getting approval for a U.S. Constitution.
(As a further condition for ratification, Anti-Federalists demanded that a bill of rights, meant to protect the states and their citizens from federal interference, be added once the Constitution came into force).
Petit problème :
Larger states sought greater representation in the proposed new government.
And smaller states feared that they would lose a say in their governance.
In order to appease both camps a compromise (“The Great Compromise”) was reached.
Article 1 of the US Constitution set up (instaure) a bicameral legislature composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The representation of each state in the House of Representatives is based on population,
while each state is given equal representation with 2 senators sitting in the Senate.
