US constitution Flashcards
1) Origins of the US constitution
Origins of the US constitution
- 13 british colonies along the eastern seaboard
- war of independence
- confederacy - ‘league of friendship’
- Philadelphia Convention
- Connecticut compromise
13 british colonies along the eastern seaboard
- each colony had judiciary, governor, legislature - voting qualifications limited democracy (race and gender)
war of independence
- colonists had to pay tax but had no rep in british parliament - revolution.
1776 - 13 colonies signed Declaration of Independence
War - defeat of british
confederacy - ‘league of friendship’
- loose collection of states instead of national government
agreed in articles of confederation - turned out it was weak - success into defeat?
Philadelphia Convention
- 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
Connecticut Compromise
- progression of situation with leaving some powers to federal gov and some with states
Key features
- Codified constitution
- Federal
- Entrenched - rigid
Key principles
- Bipartisan
- Separation of powers
- Checks and balances
- Federalism
- Limited government
Bipartisanship
- 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)
Separation of powers
- avoid tyranny
- branches check on each other - ensures no one branch becomes too powerful
- institutions separate, not powers
- exception: vp is head of congress
Checks and balances
- each branch checks on each other to ensure no one branch becomes too powerful
Federalism
- central government (federal gov) and devolved governments (state govs)
- national law supersedes individual state law when they conflict
- divides sovereignty
Limited government
- government only does what is essential - does not intrude on individual freedoms and fundamental rights
- debates around scope of federal gov and their roles
Nature of the US constitution
- Entrenchment
- Codification
- Vagueness
- Reserved powers
- Concurrent powers
- Amendment process
Entrenchment
- difficult to change, unflexible
- long, demanding amendment process - needs supermajorities
- prevents circumstantial changes on a whim
Codification
- 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
Vagueness
- 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
Reserved powers
- 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
Concurrent powers
- powers that are shared by federal and state gov (eg, collecting taxes, building roads etc)
- supremacy of national law - supersedes conflicting state law
Amendment process
- 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
types of federalism
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)
how has federal in the USA changed over time?
- 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
examples of changes my presidents
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
sanctuary cities case
- 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
marijuana case/controversy
- 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
arguments for federalism in name not reality
- 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.
arguments against federalism in name not reality
- 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
what is the impact of the constitution on government today? - positives
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)
what is the impact of the constitution on government today? - negatives
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
