US Constitution Flashcards
US Constitution
What was the Constitution based on?
The Articles of Confederation 1777
What was Shay’s rebellion and why did it happen?
Armed uprising in Massachusetts
It was in opposition to the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes on individuals and their trades
Give 4 key features of the US Constitution:
- Fear of mass democracy + prefers representative government
- Slavery part in parcel of the new nation but not mentioned in the C
- Order of the articles was deliberate
- Constitution is sovereign
How is the Constitution vague?
Necessary and proper/ elastic clause empowers Congress to pass laws ‘n + c’ to carry out their federal duty (example = Immigration Act 1924 banned Asian people from voting, Voting Rights Act 1965
Said nothing about slavery - culminated in 1860s civil war - slavery banned in 1865 (13th Amendment)
Gun rights and ability to make war
Who established judicial review and through what?
The Supreme Court
Marbury v Madison (1803)
What factors contribute to gridlock?
Divided government
Give a recent example of gridlock occurring:
Failure to agree on the budget after Senate refused to give Trump money for his border wall led to 35 day government shutdown which cost $11 billion
Who are elections in the hands of?
The states - apart from Electoral College
Give 2 pieces of legislation which lay out uniform criteria for voting:
Voting Rights Act 1965
Help America Vote Act 2002
Most states use a majoritarian system. However what state uses ranked choice voting similar to STV?
Maine
Give 2 states with strict ID laws:
Kansas and Mississippi
Who resigned as Senator of New York when appointed Secretary of State 2009-2013?
Hillary Clinton
Give an example when the Senate president had the deciding vote:
Mike Pence when confirming Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary in 2017
Who broke records for breaking the most tie-breaking votes with 32?
Kamala Harris
For example she broke cloture on the nomination of Loren L AliKhan - the nomination was approved
Give a check of the President in Congress
Obama vetoed the Keystone XL Pipeline
How many bills has Biden vetoed? Give one example
10
June 2023 he vetoed a Rep-backed bill rolling back EPA emissions standards
Give a presidential check on the courts:
Issuing pardons and commutations
Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Nixon after Watergate
Obama 330 commutations on last day in office
Give a congressional check on the President:
Approving nominations (Senate Judiciary Committee do not allow for hearings of Merrick Garland 2016)
Overturned Obama’s veto of JASTA in 2016
Power of the purse did not give Trump all the funding he wanted for his border wall (although he got some)
Refusal to pass Obama’s gun-control measures announced at the State of Union Address after Sandy Hook
Impeachment
Not ratifying treaties (COTROPWD)
Launching investigations (2019 House Oversight and Reform Committee inquiry into a potential conflict of interest over increased spending by the US air force on refuelling at a struggling scottish airport near a resort owned by Trump
Congressional checks on the courts:
Impeaching federal judges (Louisiana federal judge Thomas Porteous in 2008 over corruption)
Overturning constitutional amendments (in 1896 the court found a national income tax to be unconstitutional- but this was revered by the ratification of the 16th Amendment in 1913 - subsequently there have been attempts in Congress to pass amendments banning flag burning and prayer in public state schools - but have been unsuccessful)
Supreme Court checks on the President
Judicial review (Gorsuch and Kavanaugh) e.g. Trump v Mazars
Supreme court checks on Congress:
Declaring Acts unconstitutional e.g. Obergefell overturned DOMA 1996)
What do checks and balances encourage?
Political players to deploy other tactics such as executive orders (Trump’s muslim ban and calling a national emergency for funding for his border wall)
As of March 2024 Biden had issued 136 executive orders- March 2024 order on advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation)
Who is the most subject to checks and balances and who intended for this?
The President
The Framers
When do Presidents also face checks?
During divided government (currently Reps have the House and the Senate is majority 51 because Bernie Sanders, Angus King and Kyrsten Sinema are all independents but caucus with the Democrats)
What act in 2020 took much negotiation despite it being for an emergency?
The CARES Act $2.2 trillion
Is impeachment a useful check?
Yes but no president has been impeached (despite 2 attempts to impeach Trump)
What is needed for a formal amendment?
2/3 vote in the house and senate
Then 3/4 state ratification
OR by constitutional convention called by 2/3 of states
What did the 10th amendment establish?
Federalism aka state’s rights
What did the 13th do?
Abolish slavery
14th?
Gave former enslaved people citizenship
17th?
Direct election to the Senate
19th?
Gave women the vote
26th? (1991)
Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
Which amendment has failed multiple times to get enough state ratifications?
The Equal Rights Amendment
Informal amendments by the supreme court:
Roe v Wade overturned by Hobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organisation 2022
Right to remain silent - Miranda rights (1966 in Miranda v Arizona)
4th amendment?
5th amendment?
Prohibits unreasonable searches
Right to a jury trial when charged with a crime, protection against self-incrimination and a free and fair trial
What is a federal system of government?
When powers are shared between states and federal government
What are reserved powers?
Powers reserved to the states
All powers NOT delegated to the central government e.g. trade and defence
What are federalists and give an example:
Those who want a stronger central government
Hamilton + John Adams
Anti-federalists:
Those who want more autonomy for states
Thomas Jefferson
Give 6 key landmarks in the debate over federalism:
Shay’s rebellion
Civil war (1860s) - while fought over slavery it also involved states rights BUT North won so states rights were repressed
Post-civil war era and the emergence of legalised segregation seen as ‘states rights’ but challenged in the 1950s and 60s
16th amendment allowed for a national income tax
1970s and 80s a backlash against big government with Nixon and Reagan talking of a ‘new federalism’ with block grants given to states
Since 2000 era of big government has been back with a vengeance - Obamacare and CARES Act
What 4 key powers do states hold?
- Legislative areas such as abortion and local taxes
- Issue of the death penalty
- Presidential election - number of electoral college votes depends on the size of its congressional delegation
- Deciding whether to hold primaries or caucuses
What happened between governors and the President during Covid ?
Highlighted states inability to cope with
Governor JB Pritzker called Trump’s response ‘incompetent’ saying he does not understand the world federalism
Trump said states should have been stocked up long before covid hit
Shortages of ventilators and PPE
In what chamber are smaller states overrepresented?
Senate
What branch is sometimes argued to have too much power?
Judicial branch (SC)
Who are not explicitly protected in the Constitution?
Women, disabled, LGBTQ
