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A Level Politics > US constitution > Flashcards

US constitution Flashcards

1
Q

what does codified constitution mean?

A

a constitution that consists of a full and authoritative set of rules written down in a single text

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2
Q

what is the supremacy clause?

A

the portion of article VI which states that the constitution, as well as treaties and federal laws, ‘shall be the supreme law of the Land’

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3
Q

what are Enumerated (or delegated powers)

A

Powers delegated to the federal government under the Constitution. Generally these are those enumerated in the first three Articles of the Constitution

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4
Q

what are implied powers?

A

powers possessed by the federal government by interference from those powers delegated to it in the constitution

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5
Q

what is the Necessary and proper clause?

A

The final clause of Article 1, Section 8, which empowers Congress to make all laws ‘necessary and proper’ to caddy out the federal governments duties.

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6
Q

what are Reserved powers?

A

Powers not delegated to the federal government, or prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states and to the people

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7
Q

what are Concurrent powers?

A

Powers possessed by both the federal and state governments

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8
Q

what are the key features of the US Constitution?

A

A codified constitution, a blend of specificity and vagueness, it’s provisions are enthrenched

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9
Q

what are different possible amendment processes to the US Constitution?

A

Proposed by: 2/3 of House and Senate
Ratified by: 3/4 of State legislature
How often used: 26 times

Proposed by: 2/3 of House and Senate
Ratified by: Ratifying conventions in 3/4 of states
How often used: 1 time

Proposed by: Legislatures in 2/3 of the states calling for a national constitutional convention
Ratified by: 3/4 of State legislature
How often used: Never

Proposed by: Legislatures in 2/3 of the states calling for a national constitutional convention
Ratified by: Ratifying conventions in 3/4 of states
How often used: Never

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10
Q

Advantages of the amendment process of the US constitution

A
  • Super-majorities ensure against a small majority being able to impose its will on large majority
  • lengthy and complicated process makes it less likely the constitution will be amended on a merely temporary issue
  • ensures that both the federal and state governments must favour a proposal
  • gives a magnified voice to smaller-population states
  • provision for a constitutional convention called by the states ensures against a veto being operated by Congress on the initiation of amendments
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11
Q

Disadvantages of the amendment process of the US constitution

A
  • makes it overly difficult for the constitution to be amended, thereby perpetuating what some see as outdated provisions: eg the electoral college
  • makes possible the thwarting on the will of the majority by a small and possibly unrepresentative minority
  • lengthy and complicated process nonetheless allowed the Prohibition amendment to be passed
  • difficulty of formal amendment enhances the power of the unelected supreme court to make interpretative amendments
  • voice of small-population states is over represented
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12
Q

How many votes on proposed constitutional amendments were there during the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush?

A

Bill Clinton - 17

George W. Bush - 6

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13
Q

what are examples of bills to amend the constitution that have been introduced recently?

A

require a balanced federal budget, ban flag desecration, reverse Supreme Court decisions on campaign finance, guarantee equal rights for men and women, introduce congressional term limits (at start of 113th congress in January 2013) abolish electoral college (November 2016, after election)

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14
Q

how many times have the House of Representatives voted on the proposed amendment to ban flag desecration?

A

6 times (never passed in senate)

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15
Q

how many of the amendments passed to them by Congress have been ratified by the States?

A

of the 33 amendments passed to them, the states ratified 27

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16
Q

what is the most recent amendment to the US constitution to have failed at the ratification stage?

A

the District of Columbia voting rights amendment (which would have granted the district - the federal capital - full representation in congress as if it were a state)

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17
Q

what is the 1st amendment?

A

Freedom of Religion, speech, the press and assembly

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18
Q

what is the 2nd amendment?

A

Right to keep and bear arms

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19
Q

what is the 3rd amendment?

A

No quartering of troops in private homes

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20
Q

what is the 4th amendment?

A

Unreasonable searches and seizures prohibited

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21
Q

what is the 5th amendment?

A

Rights of accused persons

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22
Q

what is the 6th amendment?

A

Rights of trial

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23
Q

what is the 7th amendment

A

the right of trial by jury

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24
Q

what is the 8th amendment?

A

Excessive bail, and cruel and unusual punishments prohibited

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25
Q

what is the 9th amendment?

A

Un-enumerated rights protected

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26
Q

what is the 10th amendment?

A

Un-delegated powers reserved to the states or the people

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27
Q

what are later amendments to the US Constitution?

A

XIII - Slavery prohibited (1865)
XIV - Ex-slaves made citizens - including ‘equal protection’ and ‘due process’ clauses (1868)
XXII - Two-term limit for the President (1951)
XXVI - Voting age lowered to 18 (1971)

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28
Q

reasons the US constitution has been amended so rarely

A
  • Founding fathers created deliberately difficult process
  • Founding fathers made document that was in parts deliberately unspecific and vague so it can evolve without need to for formal amendment
  • Supreme courts power of judicial review
  • Americans cautious with tampering with constitution (amendment to prohibit manufacture, sale and importation of alcohol discredited and repealed 14 years later)
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29
Q

what are constitutional rights?

A

fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from arbitrary arrest

30
Q

what does separation of powers mean?

A

A theory of government whereby political power is distributed among the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, each acting both independently and interdependently

31
Q

what does checks and balances mean?

A

a system of government that gives each branch - legislative, executive and judicial - the means to partially control the power exercised by other branches

32
Q

what are checks by the president on congress?

A
  • state of the union address (An annual speech made by the president to a joint session of congress, setting out his proposed legislative programme for the coming year)
  • Presidential veto (the presidents power under Article II of the constitution to return a bill to Congress unsigned, along with his reasons for his objection)
33
Q

what are checks by the President on the courts?

A
  • president nominates all federal judges

- president has the power of pardon

34
Q

what are checks by Congress on the President?

A
  • Congress can amend, block or even reject items of legislation recommended by the president
  • Congress can override the presidents veto (with 2/3 majority)
  • Congress has the ‘power of the purse’
  • Congress has power to declare war
  • senate has power to negotiate treaties
  • Senate has the power to confirm many of the appointments that the president makes to the executive branch and all the appointments he makes to the federal judiciary
  • Congress has the power of investigation
  • Congress can impeach any member of the executive branch including the president
35
Q

what is an example of Congress amending, blocking or rejecting items of legislation

A
  • In 2010 it passed in an amended form President Obamas healthcare reform bill
  • Blocked Obamas attempt at immigration reform and rejected every proposal he made regarding meaningful gun control legislation
36
Q

what is an example of congress overriding a president’s veto?

A

-Congress overrode President George W. Bush’s vetoes of the 2007 water resources development bill and the 2008 Food Conservation and Energy Bill

37
Q

what is an example of congress using its power of the purse to check the president?

A

In 2007, the democrat-controlled congress attempted to limit President George W. Bush’s spending on the military operations in Iraq

38
Q

what is an example of Congress forcing presidents to seek specific authorisation before committing troops to situations in which hostiles are likely or inevitable?

A

In October 2002, President George W. Bush gained specific authorisation from Congress to use military force in Iraq

39
Q

what are examples of congress ratifying and not ratifying treaties made by the president?

A
  • In 2010 the Senate ratified the new START Treaty with Russia by 71 votes to 26
  • In 1999 the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by 48 votes to 51
40
Q

what is an example of Congress investigating the executive branch?

A

Following a terrorist attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012, in which the American ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed, seven congressional committees held hearings on the events that had led up to it and the way President Obama and then secretary of State Hillary Clinton handled the matter

41
Q

what are checks by Congress on the courts and examples of these taking place?

A
  • the power of impeachment, trial and removal from office (between 1986 and 1989 Congress removed three federal judges from office - Harry Claiborne, Alcee Hastings, and Walter Nixon)
  • Congress can propose constitutional amendments to in effect overturn a decision of the supreme court (in 1896 the supreme court declared federal income tax to be unconstitutional and congress proposed the sixteenth amendment granting congress the power to levy income tax)
42
Q

what is a check by the courts on congress?

A

the judiciary - headed by the supreme court has the power of judicial review (in 2013, in United States v Windsor the court declared the defence of marriage act (1996) unconstitutional

43
Q

what are checks by the courts on the president?

A

-judicial review

44
Q

what does bipartisanship mean?

A

Close cooperation between the two major parties to achieve desired political goals. In the US system of government it may be crucial for political success

45
Q

what does divided government mean?

A

when the presidency is controlled by one party and one or both houses of congress are controlled by the other party.

46
Q

what is an example of bipartisanship being helpful?

A

President George W. Bush managed to achieve his education reforms in 2001-2002 because he worked with leading congressional Democrats such as Senator Edward Kennedy.

47
Q

what are arguments that divided government makes the checks and balances between congress and the president more effective?

A

when congress and the president are of the same party, legislation, nominations, budgets, treaties and the like are nodded through without much careful scrutiny. e.g. during the years of Republican control from 2003 through 2006, Congress was fairly feeble in exercising oversight of Republican president George W. Bush’s war in Iraq

48
Q

how many times since 1935 has the senate rejected a treaty of its own party?

A

never

49
Q

how many times in the last 50 years has congress overridden a veto of a president of it’s own party?

A

twice

50
Q

what are arguments that divided government does not make the checks and balances between congress and the president more effective?

A

divided government doesn’t lead to good checks and balances - e.g. treatments of republican supreme court nominees Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas by a democrat controlled Senate and impeachment proceedings conducted against President Bill Clinton by a Republican controlled congress

51
Q

arguments for the US Constitution still working?

A
  • Federalism has proved to be an excellent compromise between strong national government and state government diversity
  • The text has proved very adaptable to changes in US Society
  • The demanding amendment process has usually prevented frequent and ill-conceived proposals for amendment
  • Rights and liberties if Americans have been protected
  • The Supreme Courts power of judicial review has made it even more adaptable through interpretative amendment
52
Q

arguments against the US Constitution still working?

A
  • The amendment process is too difficult, making it almost impossible to amend parts that are no longer applicable or to add parts that a majority desires
  • The power of judicial review gives the supreme court too much power to amend its meaning
  • It is too negative, giving too much power to those who oppose change
  • some parts make little sense in todays society (eg electoral college)
  • Some parts don’t work as the framers of the constitution would have envisaged (eg war-making powers)
53
Q

what does federalism mean?

A

A theory of government by which political power is divided between a national government and state governments, each having their own areas of substantive jurisdiction

54
Q

what does limited government mean?

A

a principle that the scope of the federal government should be limited to that which is necessary for the common good of the people

55
Q

what does popular sovereignty mean?

A

the principle, inherent in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, that ultimate political authority rests with the people

56
Q

what factors have led to an increased role for the federal government during the 19th and 20th century?

A
  • Westward expansion
  • Growth of population
  • Industrialisation
  • Improvements in communication
  • The great depression
  • Foreign policy
  • Supreme court decisions
  • Constitutional amendments
57
Q

what is the commerce clause?

A

The clause in Article I, Section 8 of the constitution empowering Congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states

58
Q

what does New federalism mean?

A

An approach to federalism characterised by a return of certain powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

59
Q

what does unfunded mandate mean?

A

a federal law requiring states to perform functions for which the federal government does not supply funding

60
Q

what does Great Society mean?

A

Democratic president Lyndon Johnson’s programme of economic and social reforms and welfare schemes - announced in May 1964 - to try to solve Americas problems of poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and access to medicare

61
Q

what did total federal government spending grow by during Bush’s first term?

A

33%

62
Q

which four policy areas accounted for the expansions of the federal government under George W. Bush?

A
  • Education (No Child Left Behind Act - required children in failing schools be moved to more successful ones, provided for a 20% increase in funding for the poorest, inner city schools, tripled amount of federal funding for scientifically based reading programmes ect.)
  • Medicare (George W. Bush signed major medicare expansion bill into law estimated to cost $400 billion in its frst 10 years)
  • Homeland security and defence (between 2001 and 2009, spending by the department of defence increased from $290 million to $651 million)
  • Economy and jobs (following banking collapse of 2008)
63
Q

how did federalism change under Obama?

A
  • more focused on domestic agenda
  • federal government assistance to the states increased from 3.7% of GDP in the last year of the Bush administration to 4.6% in first year of Obama administration
  • Health care reform legislation received criticism
64
Q

what are the consequences of federalism?

A
  • Legal Consequences (variety in state laws, both federal and state courts)
  • Policy consequences (states can act as policy laboratories - healthcare reform in Massachusetts received considerable attention
  • Consequences for elections (all elections state based and run under state law)
  • Consequences for political parties (all political parties are essentially decentralised)
  • economic consequences (income tax levied by both federal and some state governments, different property taxes are levied by the state governments, and sales taxes differ between cities)
  • Regionalism (different distinct cultures and identities in different regions)
65
Q

arguments for federalism working today?

A
  • It permits diversity
  • It creates more access points in government
  • It provides a ‘double security’ for individual rights and liberties
  • It makes states ‘policy laboratories’, experimenting with new solutions to old problems
  • It is well suited to a geographically large and diverse nation
66
Q

arguments against federalism working today?

A
  • It can mask racial and economic inequalities
  • It can frustrate the ‘national will’
  • It makes problem solving more complicated
  • The relationship between federal and state governments can become a source of conflict and controversy.
  • It is overly bureaucratic - and therefore costly to run and resistant to change
67
Q

what is an example of the constitution not being suitable for the 21st century?

A

Controversy regarding gun control following shootings such as the Parkland shooting in 2018. 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms) makes it difficult to pass gun control laws. When the constitution was written guns were less advanced, so it was written to suit that world rather than the current one.

68
Q

What is an example of the amendment process of the US constitution hindering key issues of public policy?

A

Failure of the Equal rights Amendment

69
Q

What amendment changed the way senators were elected to be elected by people?

A

17th amendment

70
Q

What amendment outlawed slavery?

A

13th amendment

71
Q

What is an example of things in the constitution not being applied properly?

A

Under Obama’s Presidency the extra-judicial killing of suspected terrorists around the world was ordered including US citizens deemed unworthy of the due process of trial and other procedural protections of the Bill of Rights.

A Level Politics (20 decks)

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