US constitution

Question 1

Origins of the US constitution

Answer 1

• 13 british colonies along the eastern seaboard
• war of independence
• confederacy - ‘league of friendship’
• Philadelphia Convention
• Connecticut compromise

Question 2

13 british colonies along the eastern seaboard

Answer 2

• each colony had judiciary, governor, legislature - voting qualifications limited democracy (race and gender)

Question 3

war of independence

Answer 3

• colonists had to pay tax but had no rep in british parliament - revolution.
  1776 - 13 colonies signed Declaration of Independence
  War - defeat of british

Question 4

confederacy - ‘league of friendship’

Answer 4

• loose collection of states instead of national government
  agreed in articles of confederation
• turned out it was weak - success into defeat?

Question 5

Philadelphia Convention

Answer 5

• leaders in revolutionary war believed in strong central government
• states squabbled instead of cooperating - fear of british during divisions
• 1787 - 12/13 states delegates all agreed on flawed confederacy - fearful that stronger central gov would trample on individual rights
• federal government - state’s rights and individual liberties as well as bill of rights and checks and balances
• disagreements over virginia and new jersey plan

Question 6

Connecticut Compromise

Answer 6

• progression of situation with leaving some powers to federal gov and some with states

Question 7

Key features

Answer 7

• Codified constitution
• Federal
• Entrenched - rigid

Question 8

Key principles

Answer 8

• Bipartisan
• Separation of powers
• Checks and balances
• Federalism
• Limited government

Question 9

Bipartisanship

Answer 9

• two main parties cooperating
• not stated in constitution
• if doesn’t happen, can lead to divided gov (one party controls presidency and the other controls 1/both houses)

Question 10

Separation of powers

Answer 10

• avoid tyranny
• branches check on each other - ensures no one branch becomes too powerful
• institutions separate, not powers
• exception: vp is head of congress

Question 11

Checks and balances

Answer 11

• each branch checks on each other to ensure no one branch becomes too powerful

Question 12

Federalism

Answer 12

• central government (federal gov) and devolved governments (state govs)
• national law supersedes individual state law when they conflict
• divides sovereignty

Question 13

Limited government

Answer 13

• government only does what is essential - does not intrude on individual freedoms and fundamental rights
• debates around scope of federal gov and their roles

Question 14

Nature of the US constitution

Answer 14

• Entrenchment
• Codification
• Vagueness
• Reserved powers
• Concurrent powers
• Amendment process

Question 15

Entrenchment

Answer 15

• difficult to change, unflexible
• long, demanding amendment process - needs supermajorities
• prevents circumstantial changes on a whim

Question 16

Codification

Answer 16

• systematic, authoritative set of rules organising government and politics
• federal govs only possess the power set out to them in the constitution
• not all principles of constitution found in the constitution

Question 17

Vagueness

Answer 17

• allows constitution to evolve and change (Philadelphia convention)
• implied powers - federal powers implied by enumerated powers (explicitly spelled out) (eg. judicial review)
• elastic clause - powers stretch beyond enumerated powers
• lack of clarity can cause confusion and disputes

Question 18

Reserved powers

Answer 18

• powers reserved to states alone or people
• federal govs are of limited powers - if powers are not delegated to federal gov, they fall into the hands of the individual states or people

Question 19

Concurrent powers

Answer 19

• powers that are shared by federal and state gov (eg, collecting taxes, building roads etc)
• supremacy of national law - supersedes conflicting state law

Question 20

Amendment process

Answer 20

• 2 stage process: stage 1 - proposal, stage 2 - ratification (signing and agreement)
• can be proposed by congress or national congressional convention called by congress
  difficult process

Question 21

types of federalism

Answer 21

dual federalism - ststes and federal gov are co-equal and have distinct areas of policy
cooperative federalism - federal gov is seen as supreme, greater cooperation over powers. previously, federal powers expanded due to events.
new federalism - roll back of power transferred to the states (followed by nixon and clinton)

Question 22

how has federal in the USA changed over time?

Answer 22

• initially the states had a lot of power due to the reserved powers written in the constitution
• during the 20th century the federal govs power expanded to such an extent that this power was reduced due to the new idea of ‘new federalism’ introduced by presidents nixon, bush, clinton etc

Question 23

examples of changes my presidents

Answer 23

bush:
state = state sponsored euthanasia
federal = USA patriots act 2001 - collect people’s info to deter terrorism

obama:
state = obamacare - state provision over medical insurance
federal = nationally legalised same sex marriage

trump:
state = federal gov must have warrant for phone location records
federal = the cole memo - national marijuana prohibition

Question 24

sanctuary cities case

Answer 24

• some states had ‘sactuary cities’ where they limit or decline federal gov immigration law
• trump threatened these states with the risk of withdrawing federal grants

Question 25

marijuana case/controversy

Answer 25

• obama left states that had legalised marijuana alone
• trump wanted to completely decriminalise - but this didn’t happen
• currently a number of states have legalised marijuana for recreational use and more have legalised marijuana for medical use

Question 26

arguments for federalism in name not reality

Answer 26

• federal government economic power over the states
• supreme law of the land - national law takes priority over conflicting state law
• federal gov role in education has expanded - biden expanded federal education provision by $20 bil.

Question 27

arguments against federalism in name not reality

Answer 27

• state govs have power and choice when it comes to lots of social policy
• reserved powers - any powers not explicitly set out for federal gov lies with states
• referendums are state based

Question 28

what is the impact of the constitution on government today? - positives

Answer 28

positives:
- each branch has clear roles and powers
- members of congress may decide to act in line with those of their constituency rather than party - more representative
- congress is elected so frequently (every 2 years) - upholds legitimacy
- considerable scrutiny (checks and balances) mean government policy is always compromised (met half way)

Question 29

what is the impact of the constitution on government today? - negatives

Answer 29

negatives:
- clear separation of powers can be ineffective due to prominent partisanship and gridlock - eg. shutdown in trump’s administration due to the funding of the wall - caused by lack of compromise between president and congress
- gov policy responding to modern problems deemed as unconstitutional
- vagueness - presidential dominance, however means that congress struggled to interpret as widely