US constitution Flashcards
When was the US constituion rattified?
1789
What were the precursors of the us constituion?
- Articles of Confederation (1781) - a collection of individual states, with no formal branches of government. Problem was that the govertnment that was created was too weak (couldn’t collect taxes)
- Philadelphia compromise 1787 - delgated from 12 states agreed something had to change
- New Jesey Plan suggested by William Patterson - Proposed a singular congress with equal representation of all states
- Virginia Plan suggested by James Maddison - two chambers where states get represented in proportion to their population
- Connecticut compromise 1787 - agreed to have one chamber based on population (HoR) and one chamber based on equal representation (Senate)
What are the different articles of the constitution
article 1 - Legislative branch
article 2 - executive branch
article 3 - judiciary
article 5 - ammendment process
part of article 6 - supremacy clause
What is the constitutional framework of the legislature? (article 1)
Defined it as a bicameral legislature, with an upper and lower chamber. 435 members in the lower chaber (HoR) and 100 in the upper chamber (Senate)
To be a member of the HoR, you must be at least 25 and a resident of your state for 7 years.
To be a senator, you must be 30 and live in your state for 9 years.
Powers - creating legislation, declaring war, power of the purse, ratifying treaties, confirming executive appointments
What is the constitutional framework of the president (article 2)
Must be at least 35, a natural born citizen and lived in the US for 14 years.
Powers - Commander in cheif of the army, formulates international treaties, can veto bills and grant executive orders, nominate ambasadors, cabinet members and members of the supreme court.
What is the constitutional framework of the Judiciary (article 3)?
Although never a enumerated power, the supreme court became the umpire of the constitution (this wqw made more explicit in the ruling of Madbury v Maddison in 1803, where it first used judicial). This means that it declares acts of congress or actions of the executive constitutional or not.
What is the supremacy clause?
That the constitution is the ‘supreme law of the land’ and thus takes precident over any conflicts with state law.
What are the 3 key features of the nature of the US constitution?
- codification
- entrenchment
- vagueness
What is codification?
Where the rules and principles outlined in a constitutioin are written down in a single document.
What are arguments for and against the us constitution being entrenched?
for -
* difficult ammendment process - outlined in article 5, Amendments can only be proposed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress or by a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures. Afterward, amendments must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures
* supremacy clause - in article 6, protects the constitution from being changed or undermined by state law
against
* 27 ammendments have been made, proving changes are possible, eg 13th ammendment banning slavery
* it was purposfully left flexible to allow for it to change over time - eg the elasticity clause
What are arguments for and against the US constituion being codified
for -
* single document ratified in 1789
* ammendment process clearly outlined in article V
against -
* unwritten conventions such as the practice of judicial review
* the role of judicial precendent - Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The Supreme Court overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) decision, which had upheld racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine - not codified, but principles built upon an accumalation of cases.
Arguments for and against the us constitution being vague
for
* Some provisions of the U.S. Constitution are intentionally vague to allow for flexibility in application - “Necessary and Proper” Clause (Article I, Section 8): Empowers Congress to make laws that are “necessary and proper” for executing its other powers. The lack of clear limits on what is “necessary” or “proper” has resulted in significant judicial debate and has been broadly interpreted, especially in cases like McCulloch v. Maryland (1819).
* The US supreme courts power to declare branches acts as being unconstitutional is entirely implied, diriving from Mabury v Maddison 1803
against
* clearly defined powers of government on the whole, outlined in acts 1-3
* bill of rights is explicit
What is the ammendment process outlined in article 5
An amendment can be proposed by a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. It must then be ratified, which can be done through 3/4 of state legislatures or conventions.
What are the advantages of the process of ammendments?
- protects the constitution - the US was formed on the principles of the protection of the countr from tyranny. The safeguards put over the constitution prevents the government from over extending their powers, possibly undermining peoples rights or the federal nature of the US (as outlined in the 10th ammendment
- supermajorities require genuine consensus and create balance in a country as diverse in the US, this is important
What are the disadvantages of the process of ammendments?
- means outdated principles (electoral college) are extremely hard to change
- Goes against the principles of a majoritarian democracy - to block an ammendment, only 13 states need to oppose it. This happened in the Equal rights ammendment, where it was 1 short (37/50) of the threshhold needed to pass. This is a clear example of tyanny of the minority - 13 of the smallest states, with a population of around 15 million to block an ammendment
