US Constitution Flashcards
How many states are there?
50
How many colonies were there?
13
What does the constitution do?
Defines the relationship between the state and individuals
What is the nature of the society?
Hyphenated society - e.g. African-American
What did the size of America result in?
Decentralisation - federalism
Who is the executive?
President
Who is the legislature?
Congress - House of Representatives and Senate
What was a principle of the constitution concerning the branches?
Separation of powers
When was the Philadephia Convention?
1787
What happened at the Philadelphia Convention?
55 founding fathers drew up constitution - had to be ratified by 9/13 of the states.
When was the constitution ratified?
June 1788 - New Hampshire became the 9th state
When was the War of Independence?
1775-1783
When was the Declaration of Independence?
1776
When were the Articles of Confederation?
1781
What were the Articles of Confederation?
Agreement between 13 colonies - little central government - no president - didn’t want to hand over control to a central government.
Why didn’t the Articles of Confederation work?
No political unity
When was Shay’s rebellion?
1787
What was Shay’s rebellion?
An armed uprising against Massachusetts economic policies.
When was the Bill of Rights ratified?
1791
When was Marbury vs Madison?
1803
What was Marbury vs Madison?
Discovered the power of JR
What is the structure of Congress?
Bicameral
What is the constitution a blend of?
Specificity and vagueness
What is the elastic clause?
Necessary and proper
What does the elastic clause do?
Allow Congress to pass laws that enable the successful running of the country
How is the constitution flexible?
Can be interpreted
What form of government does the US have?
Representative government not democracy
How was the Senate chosen?
By state legislatures until 1913 with the passing of the 17th Amendment
How is representative democracy exemplified?
Notion of representative government borne out further by the indirect election of the president.
Why is there indirect democracy?
Fear of mass democracy and the tyranny of the majority
Why was there no desire to move power away from the elite?
The constitution is a product of its time, culture and authors
What was a part of the nation?
Slavery - economy and society - South - forced slave labour on cotton and tobacco plantations - constitution silent on slavery - diplomatic in the eyes of its authors.
When do individual rights first appear?
Bill of Rights 1791
How are the order of the articles deliberate?
Congress = principal player = first article - president = second - more of a trouble shooter - international representative and a focus for unity as an authority figure. SC = last = lacked detail - no requirements in terms of age, number or nationality - no mention of role to interpret the Constitution or of judicial review.
How is the constitution a compromise?
Connecticut Compromise - clash between small and large states - fear of being dominated - Senate - equal representation v HoR representation based on population size. Also compromise between states with large populations of enslaved people - Virginia - three-fifths clause. Compromise between founding fathers - Hamilton (central government) and Jefferson (more federalist).
Why is negotiation and cooperation essential?
Promote political relations between executive and legislature
What is there a fear of?
Fear of Power
How is this fear of power managed?
Power was separated and shared between states and federal government. Limited government is a key principle - balance between individual and government rights.
What is the US constitution?
CODIFIED
Why is the constitution vague?
Implied powers - congress given power to provide the common defence and general welfare of US - vague. Can be prescriptive - age of president (35) and senators (30). Enumerated powers - congress power to coin money and president being commander-in-chief. Long lasting and enduring - not easily changed.
What is sovereign in the US?
The constitution
What were the key issues at the Philadelphia Conference?
Large v Small States
Centralisation v Fragmentation
Democracy v Mobocracy
Codified but not totally inflexible
What is the main aim of the constitution?
Avoid Tyranny - tyranny of the British
What is another aim of the constitution?
Federalism - ensure states rights are overridden
Why is Republicanism a principle?
The British
Why are there checks and balances?
To avoid gridlock between the three separate branches.
Why are there staggered lengths of terms of office?
Different branches often have different perspectives
What are the Powers of Congress?
Enacts laws
Taxation
War and Peace
Accepts or rejects presidential policies
What are the powers of the President?
Formulates all major policies
Chooses ministers
Responsible for day-to-day-running of the government
Enforces laws
What are the powers of the SCOTUS
· Interpretation of laws
· It has acquired the duty of deciding if laws passes by Congress and actions of the President are in accordance with the Constitution (power of judicial review ß 1803 Marbury v Madison)
How does Congress check the president?
Impeachment Powers
When does Congress select the president and VP?
House = President, Senate = VP - no majority of electoral votes
What can congress override?
Presidential Vetos
What does the Senate approve?
Departmental appointments, treaties and ambassadors - also replacement VP
What power does Congress have?
Declare war and enact tax and allocate funds
What must the president do from time to time?
Deliver a State of the Union address
What checks does Congress have on the Judiciary?
Approves federal judges
Impeachment
Initiate constitutional amendments
Set courts inferior to SCOTUS
Set jurisdiction
Alter the size of SCOTUS
What are the self checking powers?
Bills must be passed by both houses of Congress
House must originate revenue bills
Neither house may adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other house
All journals are to be published
What are the executive checks on Congress?
Veto Power
VP = president of the Senate
Commander of the military
Recess appointments
Emergency calling of session
Force adjournment
Executive checks on the judiciary?
Appoint judges
Pardon Power
Executive checks on the executive?
Vice President and Cabinet can vote that the President is unable to discharge his duties
Judicial checks on the legislature?
Judicial review
Seats are held on good behaviour
Compensation cannot be diminished
Judicial checks on the executive?
Judicial review
Chief Justice sits as President of the Senate during presidential impeachment
What do checks and balances ensure?
· Some level of bipartisanship is vital for success
What do many believe leads to better scrutiny?
Divided government
When was the government forced into lockdown?
Under Trump
How has the system become over politicised?
Appointing judges and impeachment
What is the Amendment process?
2/3 majority in both Houses of Congress + ¾ of States need to approve (i.e. two supermajorities required)
How many amendments have there been so far?
27 - first 10 = Bill of Rights
How many amendments have been successful since 1971?
One - in 1992 required any change to the rate of compensation for members of the U.S. Congress to take effect only after the subsequent election in the House of Representatives.
What does JR allow?
Interpretative amendments
What do some people believe?
Federal government too weak, separation of powers results in gridlock, a weakened presidency, an unaccountable president
What reforms have been proposed?
Single 6 year term for President - don’t need to worry about being re-elected
Lengthen House terms to 4 years - whole house re-elected at the same time
President may appoint members of Congress to cabinet
What is another criticism of the US system?
Federal government is too strong, too big, too expensive, resulting in high levels of taxation, too much regulation of business, too much involvement in states’ affairs (education, social policy etc)
What reforms have been proposed for the government being too strong?
Balanced budgets
Tax limits
Term limits on members of Congress
Give the President a line-item veto
Reduce the authority of the federal courts
What does the constitution provide?
A ‘beacon on the hill’. It is flexible and effective even in a crisis; providing effective government and personal freedom
What is Dahl’s criticism of the political inequality?
It’s built-in – equal representation of all states in the Senate (Wyoming pop. 500,000; California 37 million)
What does Dahl say about the presidential system?
Divided government leads to gridlock (22 democracies in the world, nearly all are parliamentary systems
What is Dahl’s view on the electoral college?
‘Undemocratic blemish’ e.g. GWB/Gore 2000 Clinton/Trump 2016
What is his view on the electoral system?
FPTP favours 2-party system, minor parties marginalised, minorities sidelined. Even when unified government exists, there are three different majorities, not necessarily pushing in the same direction.
Who was denied as president?
John Tower
What did Trump veto in 2021?
Defence budget vetoed
How many amendments have been proposed?
11,000
What do fiscal conservatives believe about the constitution?
Not an effective barrier against government intervention - $1.7 billion budget
What do fiscal conservatives believe about how the constitution should be interpreted?
Limited to their intentions
What do conservatives believe about gridlock?
Its a good thing
What do social conservatives believe the government should do?
Protect moral standard - ban abortion and gay marriage
What do liberals believe?
Positive freedom - develop own potential - government needed to protect rights
What shows that non-intervention goes against democracy?
Slavery
What do Liberals commend?
New Deal and Great Society programmes
What do liberals want the constitution to do?
Promote equality by restricting the actions of those who would constrain it
What do liberals gets frustrated with?
Constraints on federalism and seek to increase the role of federal government
How do centrists view of the constitution?
Best possible balance
What is a benefit of the constitution?
Liberty is entrenched and most Americans are well aware of their rights
What is federalism?
When the power is spread out to lower levels of government without a defined central government to retake the power
What amendment ensures federalism?
10th Amendment
What does the constitution intend?
Dual federalism - federal government and states to have separate spheres
How many states have the death penalty?
27
What is dual federalism?
Dual Federalism - state government and federal government - as powerful as each other but in different areas. 1787 to early 20th century.
Why did Reagan support states rights?
Governor of California
What is layer cake federalism?
Clear delineation of authority and programs among the levels of government.
What is marble cake federalism?
Based on a pragmatic mixing of authority and programs among the national, state and local governments.
What was the impact of 9/11?
Changed the way air travel occurred - security changes - department of Homeland Security.
Introduced
What was seen as an infringement of states rights?
Medicare and Medicaid
What programme did Bush introduce?
No Child Left Behind
What is co-operative federalism?
Implies that the federal and state governments share power equally in order to resolve common problems collectively - lines blurred in this approach
When was cooperative federalism popular?
1930-1960
What is creative federalism?
Creative federalism allows the federal government to decide what the states need, and then provide them with the resources. It shifted power to the federal government.
When was creative federalism popular?
1960-1980 - Johnson welfare reforms
What is new federalism?
New federalism included a reassertion of powers going back to the state and local governments in order to create a new balance between the two
When was new federalism popular?
1980-2001
What was a vehicle for this shift?
Remove the conditionality on federally provided block grants to enable states to choose how to prioritise what they should be spent on.
What was Bush federalism?
Bush federalism demonstrated an increasing level of federal interference in state issues. The drive for greater national security legitimised increasing federal powers over US citizens and states
When was Bush federalism?
2001-2008
What is progressive federalism?
Provides states with greater control over issues previously reserved for the federal government, such as environmental and consumer protection. It supports state tailoring of federal regulations in these areas, such as the stricter regulations on vehicle emissions introduced by California
When is progressive federalism popular?
2009-2016
