Unit 1 - The Constitution Flashcards
When was the US constitution signed?
17th September 1787
What is the constitution?
A handbook for helping the Supreme Court make decisions, it guarantees basic rights for citizens and says how the government will be ran
How did the US constitution come into existence?
When delegate voted to remove the articles of confederation, the constitution replaced the articles - necessary as articles were badly written and led to economic issues
What are the 7 articles of the constitution?
I - all power placed in congress which will be split into the senate and the House of Representatives
II - executive power of the president
III - judicial power of Supreme Court
IV - relationship between federal and state governments
V - amendment procedures
VI - supremacy clause - federal government always overrides state governments
VII - ratification - there should be a formal confirmation usually by vote
What are the 3 principles of the constitution?
Separation of powers
Federalism
Checks and balances
What does a principle of the constitution mean?
What the constitution aims to achieve
How is separation of powers a principle of the constitution?
It stops one person having complete power and stops the government from becoming corrupted - power is distributed between the judicial branch, executive branch and the legislative branch
How is federalism a principle of the constitution?
It gives states representation as power is divided between the federal and state governments
How is checks and balances a principle of the constitution?
It means that each branch of the government can partially control the others - it also makes sure that someone is always checking the President and congress so they cannot do whatever they want
What are the 3 features of the US constitution?
Codified
Judicable
Entrenched
What does it mean that the US constitution is codified?
It means that the US constitution is written up in one document that contains 7 articles
What does it mean that the US constitution is Judicable?
It means the US constitution can be used to determine the legality of ones actions, laws passed by the federal government become law of the land which sets out some laws that all Americans must follow
What does it mean that the US constitution is entrenched?
It means the US constitution s protected from enemy attack by those who try to change it or abolish it - this is because it has a complex amendment process
Why are the 3 features of the US constitution considered so significant? And not so significant?
Judicable - especially significant in ensuring civility and in ensuring the executive branch act legally and dont see themselves as above the rule of law
Entrenched - protected from enemy attack and stops there being a dictator HOWEVER the complex amendment process leads to interpretative amendments which can be repealed and may reduce rights
Codified - citizens can better protect their rights and be aware if them so they aren’t exploited HOWEVER does lead to citizens not wanting to led go of dangerous rights such as the second amendment which causes the deaths of so many
Why were the articles of confederation bad?
They were made by a provisional government in 1777 - the making of them was rushed
Made central government too powerful
No judicial court system
No national economy - led to inflation as states printed too many continentals making them worthless
What is the US constitution made up of?
It’s a mixture of ideas from different state constitutions, the articles of confederation and also from ideas of political philosophers
Who were the founding fathers influenced by when it came to adding the separation of powers to the US constitution?
A French political philosopher called Montesquieu
What did Montesquieu argue?
He argued for a separation of powers to avoid tyranny
What does the separation of powers mean?
That there should be 3 branches of the US government, an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch - these should be independent but also co-equal and no person should be in more than one branch of the federal government at the same time.
An example of someone having to leave a certain branch of the government to be part of another?
When Obama had to resign from the senate when he was elected as president
In my opinions is the separation of powers effective?
I do think that the separation of powers is very effective, as it stops one singular person from becoming too powerful. For example, Obama, if he was allowed to be part of the senate and the president, he may have had too much power and there’d be a risk of there being a corrupt government.
Tyranny
Government system where a singular person or party hold absolute power
Founding fathers
The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and drafted the constitution
Who makes up each branch of the US government?
Executive - president and exop
Judicial - Supreme Court
Legislative - congress
Bipartisanship
Cooperation between republicans and democrats, as well as compromise between the president and the congress
Power of the pardon
When a president leaves office, they can pardon anyone, forgiving them for their crimes and releasing them from prison e.g. trump said that he should be pardoned for his crimes but the Supreme Court rejected this pardon
Power of the purse
The congress being in charge of taxes and raising them
Why did the founding fathers want to avoid tyranny?
They had just escaped a tyrannical monarchy and gained independence so didnt want there to be someone like a monarch again
Impeachment
When Congress can remove a president if a two thirds majority of the Congress deem the president as unconstitutional upon investigation - House of Representatives initiate this BUT the senate have the verdict
Reasons why checks and balances have helped government
It keep the government fair
It prevents tyranny - there must be discussions before the president does something
A more separate government can lead to more scrutiny to keep them in check
Reasons why checks and balances have hindered the government
They sometimes debate on issues for a long time if they cannot agree, meaning some laws may never be passed like gun reform laws - this is called gridlock
Supreme Court nominees can be poorly treated
Impeachments can be as a result of party differences, there may be no reason for impeachment but they may have done so to pick on president - Trump claimed that both of his impeachments were false and were attacks from the democrats
Why does each branch of the government have some control over each other?
Part of checks and balances is that each branch has some power over the others
What power does the president have over congress? With examples.
Checks congress by vetoing a bill that has been passed by Congress e.g. Obama used his power of the veto 12 times in his 8 years in office for example when in 2016 he vetoed a bill that went against his healthcare legislation
Can recommend legislation to the Congress in the State of Union address which occurs every year in January e.g. Obama, in his state of union address in 2010, proposed legislation to focus on his healthcare reform proposals like the affordable healthcare act
What power does the president have over the Supreme Court? With examples.
Can check federal courts by nominating judges e.g. Trump nominated Amy Coney-Barret to the Supreme Court
Has the power of the pardon e.g. 1964 - President Ford pardoned Nixon (the former president) for the watergate affair where Nixon was accused of spying including bugging the offices of political opponents’s offices & Trump issuing 73 pardons on his last day of President
What 4 powers does the Congress have over the President? With examples.
- They can reject/delay/amend the presidents legislative proposals e.g. when in 2010 congress passed (but with huge amendments) Obamas healthcare reforms but blocked Obamas attempts at immigration reform and rejected his attempts at making meaningful gun control legislation
- The can override the presidents veto e.g. in January of 2021, Trumps veto was overridden for the first time when he wanted to remove policies that limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe from the National Defence Authorisation Act
- They have the power of the purse - they refused to fully fund Trumps Mexican border wall in 2018 where he requested $25 billion but the democrats in congress only offered him $1.6billion
- They can investigate and remove a president - through impeachment e.g. Donald Trump was impeached twice - he was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of congress after his stormed the capitol building in January 2021 - but he was found not guilty at trial
What power does the Congress have over the Supreme Court? With examples.
They can propose constitutional amendments to overturn a judicial decisions e.g. the Equal Rights Amendment was a proposal in response to the 1973 ruling of Roe v Wade
They can refuse to approve a person nominated to the federal courts e.g. Coney-Barretts’s nomination in 2020 was confirmed however George Bush’s nomination of John Tower in 1989 was rejected
What power does the Supreme Court have over the Congress? With examples.
They can declare a law as unconstitutional and reject it e.g. when in 2013, United States v Windsor declared the defence of marriage act as unconstitutional which in turn allowed same sex marriages
What power does the Supreme Court have over the President? With examples.
They can check the president by declaring their actions (or the actions of their subordinates) as unconstitutional e.g. when in July 2020 Trump v Vance saw the court rule that the president is not immune from court subpoenas (orders for a person to attend court)
They can also suspend the presidents executive action e.g. in 2016 where the Supreme Court blocked Obamas executive action to legally recognise 4 million long-stay immigrants - he said he was heartbroken by this suspension
Federalism
A theory of government by whcih political power is divided between a national government and state governments, each having their own substantive jurisdiction (each have areas they have control of)
Is federalism mentioned in the US constitution?
No, federalism is not mentioned in the Constitution, but it is implied by the three branches in separation of powers
The idea of it can be taken from: the necessary and proper clause, the concurrent powers of states and federal government, the 10th Amendment, and the fact that the Supreme Court was made the judge of any disagreements between them
Why would the founding fathers have wanted federalism?
To discuss issues and laws - more democratic
To stop tyranny - or else the president would have too much power and be like a king
To help increase representation - limited government, grounded in individual rights and popular sovereignty - this was John Lockes idea
To find middle ground - double security - if either state or federal government got too powerful or unconstitutional then the other could take power from that one - believed by James Madison
Does state government override the federal government or the other way around? What is the effect of this?
Federal government always overrides the state governments - but state governments can ask the Supreme Court to review legislation passed by the federal government to see if it is deemed unconstitutional HOWEVER although this stops tyranny of smaller states, it does mean that gun reforms are rarely agreed upon where states may disagree and want a reviewal
What is the factor that most increased the power of the federal government, in your opinion?
In my opinion, the factor that most increased the power of the federal government was the amendments made to the constitution. This is because, the amendments, like the 14th amendment, handed power straight over from state governments to the federal government. For example, states no longer had the power to segregate public schools or to outlaw abortion, which the federal government can do if they so wish upon approval by the Supreme Court. The other factors did somewhat increase the power of the federal government too, however the other factors - particularly the Great Depression and foreign policy - didn’t necessarily give more power to the federal government, but rather meant the state governments relied on it for relief or support.
Commerce clause
The clause of article 1, section 8 of the constitution empowering congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations
What are the 8 factors that increased the power of the federal government?
Westward expansion
Population growth
Industrialisation
Communication
Great Depression
Foreign policy
Supreme Court
Amendments
How did westward expansion increase the power of the federal government?
Settlement of the colonists spread westwards meaning that a stronger, more powerful government was needed to control this expansion as there was a larger area to control - more Europeans moved to America which caused this
How did population growth increase the power of the federal government?
Population grew from 4 million in 1790 to 76 million by 1900 then to 332 million by 2016 - required a growing government as more people to control
How did industrialisation increase the power of the federal government?
It brought the need for government regulation - led to the creation of the federal executive department of commerce and labour in 1903 - more money and resources to control
How did communication increase the power of the federal government?
Growing population meant that communication had to improve, creation of roads, railways and airports and then radios and television then finally phones so people far from one another could connect - gave the federal government the opportunity to spread information across the country more easily and easier to command and control people
How did Great Depression increase the power of the federal government?
The Great Depression hit the US in 1929, states looked for help from the federal government - didnt possess resources to decrease unemployment rate or launch public work schemes - gave power to government to introduce the new deal
How did foreign policy increase the power of the federal government?
WWII was incoming so the US became a superpower and the federal government found its role enhanced significantly
How did the Supreme Court increase the power of the federal government?
There were decisions made that gave the federal government a significant amount of more power e.g. more powers given to congress when it came to the commerce clause - their interpretations enhanced the governments powers as they usually vote in favour of the federal government
