US Constitution

Question 1

What makes up the legislative branch?

Answer 1

• Congress
  Senate, House of Representatives

Question 2

What makes up the executive branch?

Answer 2

• President
• Vice president
• Cabinet

Question 3

What powers do the legislative branch have?

Answer 3

• Set and collect taxes
• Regulate foreign commerce
• Establish rules on citizenship
• Set up courts under the SC
• Declare war/raise an army
• Make laws ‘necessary and proper’

Question 4

What powers does the executive have?

Answer 4

• Commander in chief.
• To make treaties.
• Grant pardons.
• Appoint judges and ambassadors.
• Address congress on the state of the union.
• Veto leg.

Question 5

What powers do the judicial branch have?

Answer 5

Rule on issues arising from the constitution between two or more states or conflicts between the federal and state governments.

Question 6

What articles of the constitution outlines the branches?

Answer 6

• Article I : legislative
• Article II : executive
• Article III: Judiciary

Question 7

What is Article V of US constitution?

Answer 7

Outlines the amendment process to the US constitution.

Question 8

What was ‘The Great Compromise’?

Answer 8

Congress has two chambers with one based on state population (house of representatives) and one based on equal representation (senate).

Question 9

What are the Founding Father principles?

Answer 9

Checks and balances
Separation of powers
Federalism - shared sovereignty
Limited gov
Bi partisanship

Question 10

What are the two main concepts of a limited government?

Answer 10

• Separation of powers
• Checks and balances

Question 11

How is the separation of powers established?

Answer 11

• Separation of the president, congress and SC
  -The ‘ineligibility clause’ of article I to prevent one person from controlling more than one branch at a time.
  (Constitution is also codified and entrenched)

Question 12

How are checks and balances established?

Answer 12

Powers of each branch directly prevent the action of another branch.

Question 13

What is the aim of a limited gov?

Answer 13

To prevent a branch from gaining too much power and becoming tyrannous.

Question 14

Define Bipartisanship.

Answer 14

Two parties working together to achieve a super majority.

Question 15

How is a Super majority achieved?

Answer 15

38/50 states agree
2/3 congress

Question 16

Define federalism.

Answer 16

• A system of shared sovereignty.
• Federal gov have control over some aspects of police’s life while states would remain sovereign over others.

Question 17

What is the 10th Amendment?

Answer 17

The powers that weren’t given to the president/congress in the constitution are given to the states.

Question 18

What are the Bill of Rights?

Answer 18

The first ten amendments to the constitution. It sets out the rules of due process law and reserves all powers not delegated to the federal gov to the people/states.

Question 19

What is the first amendment?

Answer 19

Freedom of speech, expression, and protest.

Question 20

What is the second amendment?

Answer 20

Right to keep and bear arms.

Question 21

What is the fourth amendment?

Answer 21

Bars the gov from unreasonable searches of an individual or their private property.

Question 22

What is the fifth amendment?

Answer 22

Provides protection for those accused of a crime. All entitled to a fair trial.

Question 23

What is the sixth amendment?

Answer 23

Right to a public trial with an impartial jury.

Question 24

What is the eighth amendment?

Answer 24

Bars excessive cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 25

What three ways is the constitution described?

Answer 25

• Authoritative: higher than ordinary laws.
• Entrenched: hard to change.
• Judicable: other laws can be judged against it.

Question 26

What is Article I section 8?

Answer 26

• ‘Congress has the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper’
• Known as the elastic clause used to extend powers of congress over time.

Question 27

How is the constitution vague?

Answer 27

• It fails to regulate political practice.
• SC could become too powerful.
• Some powers are enumerated, some are implied.

Question 28

What court case established the Supreme Court?

Answer 28

Marbury v Madison 1803

Question 29

What is Marbury v Madison 1803?

Answer 29

• It established the modern judiciary.
• It was unclear what branch had the final say so judges determine whether laws are unconstitutional (judicial review).

Question 30

What do federal courts have the power to review?

Answer 30

• Congressional laws
• State actions
• Federal bureaucratic agencies
• Presidential action

Question 31

How does the constitution uphold the principle of liberal democracy?

Answer 31

• The Bill of Rights ensures individual rights are upheld. (Snyder v Phelps 2011, right to free speech of the Westboro Baptist church)
• Independence of the SC protects rights.
• Checks and balances limit the government (Obama and Trump both failed to achieve all their goals e.g., gun control, the repeal and replacement of Obamacare)

Question 32

How does the constitution uphold the principles of representative democracy?

Answer 32

The House of Representatives:
- All appropriation bills begin here.
- Two-year election cycle.
- Ensures proportionality.

• Amendments have extended eligible voters.(15th,19th)

Question 33

How has the constitution undermined the principle of liberal democracy?

Answer 33

• Checks and balances can limit the gov so much that it ceases to be effective. 14 gov shutdowns since 1981
• Electoral college undermines ‘free and fair’ elections with the loser of the popular vote winning the presidential election twice in the last five elections.
• Not all rights have been protected well.(Guantanamo Bay)

Question 34

How has the constitution undermined the principle of representative democracy?

Answer 34

• SC holds vast amounts of power. Can overrule elected branches whilst being unrepresentative and unaccountable.
• Senate represents not population size.
• Supermajority leads to tyranny of the minority.