Unit 1: The Constitution Flashcards
What date what the US constitution signed?
17th September 1787
What are the three principles of the constitution?
Separation of powers
Checks and Balances
Federalism
What are the three features of the US Constitution?
Codified
Judicable
Entrenched
Name three reasons the Constitution is significant
Compromise between different views
Designed to avoid tyranny
A ‘beacon of democracy’
Name three ways checks and balances can help government
Leads to more scrutiny and bipartisanship
Prevents tyranny
Reduces mistakes and improper decisions
Name three ways checks and balances can hinder government
Gridlock
Impeachments can result from party differences
Supreme court nominees can be poorly treated
What philosopher were the Founding Fathers influenced by?
Montesquieu - argued for separation of powers to avoid tyranny
How many branches can a person be in at one time? and example
ONE - Barack Obama had to resign from Senate when he was elected President
Define Federalism
A theory of government where power is divided between a central national government and state governments
Name 5 factors that led to an increase in federal government
Westward expansion Population growth Better communication e.g radio, internet Foreign policy Great Depression
Did state or federal government have the most power from 1780-1920s?
State
What happened in 1930-1960? (federalism)
Increase in federal control
What happened with New Federalism and when was this period?
Decentralisation - unfunded mandate so didn’t benefit states, from 1970-2000 (republicans)
How is federalism implied in the constitution?
Three branches
10th Amendment
Necessary and proper clause (all other powers given to states)
Name 4 consequences of a federal system
- Variety of laws and taxes
- Different election systems
- Regionalism
- States used as policy experiments
What are the two ways an amendment proposal can be confirmed
2/3 vote by BOTH houses of congress
Constitutional convention called by 2/3 of states
Name 2 things an amendment can be ratified by
3/4 of state legislatures
3/4 of state constitutional conventions
How can an informal amendment be created?
Judicial review by Supreme Court
Give 3 examples of informal/interpretive amendments
Rowe v. Wade
Brown v. Board
U.S. v. Nixon (president not above law)
Name 3 ways the amendment process is ineffective
Informal amendments
Super majorities
‘Dead-hand control’ - prevents reform
Name 3 ways the amendment process is effective
Majority have to agree with change - only essential amendments pass
Shifts in society addressed by amendments in past
Protects liberties of Americans
Define original intent
Interpreting the Constitution as the Founding Fathers originally meant for it to be implemented
Name 2 reasons original intent should still apply
Provides stability when making decisions - judges may impose own values if not
Judges need neutral criteria to make non-biased decisions
Name 3 reasons original intent should not still apply
Values of society then vary drastically with those today
Even FF had different opinions on what should be included - shows it is imperfect
Judges need to fill gaps with modern things e.g Carpenter v. US - mobile phoness
