US Constitution

Question 1

How can a Constitutional amendment be proposed?

Answer 1

Propose amendment:
- 2/3 supermajority in HoR and Senate ( this has
always been used)
- Or 2/3 state legislatures to call for a national
convention to propose amendment
Ratified by at least:
- 3/4 State legislatures
Or ¾ state ratifying conventions held in every state

Question 2

1st Amendment

Answer 2

Freedom of religion, speech, assembly and petition

Question 3

Example of 1st Amendment in SC

Answer 3

Texas v Johnson (1989) – SC ruled 5-4 that burning American flag was protected as ‘free speech’ after Johnson was charged with violating Texas law

Question 4

2nd Amendment

Answer 4

Most controversial – right to bear arms

Can be interpreted to individual right to own guns or collective right to form a militia

Question 5

Example of 2nd Amendment in SC

Answer 5

US v Miller (1939) – SC upheld national firearms act which required the registration of sawed off shotguns  not protected by 2nd amendment as guns weren’t military equipment

DC v Heller (2008) – SC argued diff verdict that a law banning handguns in Washington DC was unconstitutional

Question 6

3rd Amendment

Answer 6

Less relevant - Soldiers cannot be quartered in peoples homes without their permission
Not been used tbh

Question 7

4th Amendment

Answer 7

Protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures of property through requiring a ‘probable cause’/warrant from judge to do so

Question 8

Example of 4th Amendment in SC

Answer 8

Katz v US (1967) – Katz was convicted of illegal gambling after FBI recorded convos from public phone booth
SC ruled that evidence violated the 4th Amendment as FBI didn’t get warrant

Question 9

5th Amendment

Answer 9

Longest Amendment – Protects the rights of those who are accused of committing a crime

• Requires grand jury of civilians to decide whether individual should be indicted/accused for a crime before being tried at court
• Ensures due process/fair treatment
• Cannot be forced to testify against yourself

Question 10

Example of 5th Amendment in SC

Answer 10

Miranda v Arizona – confession cannot be used as evidence as accused had not been informed of his rights – now known as miranda rights

Question 11

6th Amendment

Answer 11

Establishes the rights of someone accused of a crime

e.g. right to a speedy & fair trial

Question 12

7th Amendment

Answer 12

Establishes rights to a trial by jury in most civil cases

Question 13

8th Amendment

Answer 13

Freedom from excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishments – most controversial

Question 14

Example of 8th Amendment in SC

Answer 14

Coker v Georgia (1977)
- SC ruled that Georgia could not apple death penalty for rape as only a few states passed such laws, making it ‘cruel and unusual punishment’

Question 15

9th Amendment

Answer 15

Called the forgotten amendment –
Reminder that the bill of rights does not list every right the people have, just bc rights aren’t included doesn’t mean they don’t exist

Question 16

10th Amendment

Answer 16

Federal gov’t powers are limited to those enurmerated by the constitution
- 10th amendment used to uphold role of the state

Question 17

Example of 10th Amendment in SC

Answer 17

Printz v US (1997)
Federal gov’t law passed requiring local authorities to perform background checks on people buying firearms
SC argued that this violated 10th amendment as Federal gov’t cannot force states to enforce federal law

Question 18

Why is power over legislation divided between the President and Congress?

Answer 18

President proposes bill and measures congress – must pass bill in both chambers – president must sign bill (if he doesn’t want to he can veto but that can be overridden with supermajority).

Question 19

What checks and balances over legislation are there between the Supreme Court and Congress?

Answer 19

Supreme court can strike down any unconstitutional laws but congress can propose a constitutional amendments.
An example of this is Pollock V Farmer Loan - 1895

Question 20

What happened in Pollock V Farmer Loan (1895)

Answer 20

Supreme court declared federal income tax to be unconstitutional. Congress passed the 16th Amendment, giving congress the power to impose a direct income tax

Question 21

What checks and balances exist over spending?

Answer 21

Congress has the “power of the purse” – all spending by the executive must be first approved in budgets passed by congress.

Question 22

How has the presidency threatened power of the purse

Answer 22

In the short term - congress can be forced to cede power during crisis
Example is the Gulf War where President George H.W. Bush unilaterally changed the objective of the U.S. military from deterring an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia to the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq without the consultation of Congress
Congress is therefore deterred from using its Power of the Purse in such cases of crisis where members risk harming their own re-election chances.

Question 23

Whats an example of congress withholding funds/check over Presidency?

Answer 23

Example – The foreign assistance act of 1974 cut all military funding for the gov’t of S. Vietnam – ending Vietnam war – done by congress

Question 24

What is a Presidential pardon? How does this balance the power of the judiciary?

Answer 24

In case the judiciary made a mistake in sentencing or was too harsh or etc, the president has the power to pardon those convicted in court. Acts as a forgiving the crime – restores rights lost when sentenced (vote, bear arms, serve on a jury, hold public office)

Question 25

Example of Trump presidential pardon

Answer 25

four American men convicted of massacring 14 Iraqis while working for Blackwater in 2007 violated U.S. obligations under international law

Question 26

What checks and balances are there over appointments and dismissals?

Answer 26

Whoever the president nominates (cabinet members, ambassadors, heads of agencies) – needs a simple majority vote in the senate.
Senate can also impeach the president. A majority vote is needed by the HoR, with the senate holding a trial – a supermajority can remove president from office.

Question 27

How is influence over foreign policy divided by the Constitution?

Answer 27

Constitution divides war power:
- President is ‘Commander in Chief’ of the armed forces.
- Power to declare war is held by congress (last formal declaration of war was WWII)
Constitution also divides the power to make treaties with other nations:
- President represents the nation internationally and make treaties
- Treaties must be ratified by a 2/3 supermajority in the Senate

Question 28

What are the ‘enumerated powers’? Why are they also called ‘delegated powers’?

Answer 28

Enumerated powers – listed powers
Can be called delegated powers – By ratifying the constitution, the original 13 states were choosing to delegate (give up) these powers to the newly federal gov’t.

Question 29

What are the ‘reserved powers’?

Answer 29

Anything not specifically allocated to the federal gov’t by the constitution should be left to the states.

Question 30

What are ‘concurrent powers’?

Answer 30

Powers belonging to both state and gov’t powers (eg, levying and collecting taxes, borrowing money and establishing courts) and defining crimes; setting punishments.

Question 31

What are the prohibited / denied powers?

Answer 31

Laws that clearly prohibit state/federal gov’t from doing certain things.
Example – The federal gov’t cannot pass laws that favour one state over another
- State gov’t cannot tax imports or exports

Question 32

What is established by the ‘Supremacy Clause’?

Answer 32

The supremacy clause shows that any conflicting state law is replace with federal law; federal law is supreme over state law

Question 33

Why is the ‘Necessary and Proper Clause’ also called the ‘elastic clause’?

Answer 33

Congress can do anything necessary and proper, in order to carry out its enumerated powers.
Your definition of ‘necessary and proper’ was broad enough, the powers of the federal gov’t could be greatly stretched. – hence why its called elastic clause, as with enough justification, the power of the federal gov’t can expand to allow it to fulfil their more limited enumerated powers.

Question 34

What are examples of implied powers?

Answer 34

> The power to draft people into the armed forces may be implied from Congress’s power enumerated power to raise an army and navy.
Congress was given the power to ‘provide for the common defence and general welfare of the US’ - implied they have the power to levy and collect taxes.

Question 35

What are implied powers?

Answer 35

Powers possessed by the federal government by inference from those powers delegated to it in the constitution.

Question 36

What is the ‘Commerce Clause’?

Answer 36

The clause in Article I, section 8 of the constitution empowering congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states.
Implies congress has the power to
- Eg- set minimum wage

Question 37

How does the ‘Full Faith and Credit Clause’ influence horizontal federalism?

Answer 37

Under the articles of confederation, the states had often refused to recognised legal acts from other states. The full faith and credit clause means that states should recognise the judicial proceedings of other states. Eg if a couple got divorce in one state, other states would have to give ‘full faith and credit’ to these divorce proceedings. Full faith and credit clause can be argued to expand the power of each states, as other states are bound to their decision. Can also limit states as it forces them to respect other states decision. Doesn’t mean that states have to abandon their laws because of other states.