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Politics > US Constitution > Flashcards

US Constitution Flashcards

1
Q

bipartisanship

A

attemps within the structure of the US Constitution to try and ensure that the two main parties must work together in order to fulfill congressional functions

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2
Q

checks and balances

A

the division of power between the three branches of government where each branch has a direct ability to prevent action from another branch

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3
Q

codification

A

a constitution that is written down in one document

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4
Q

constitution

A

a set of rules determining where sovereignty lies in a political system, and establishing the precise relationship between the government and the governed

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5
Q

entrenchment

A

a system by which the us constitution is protected from change by law, in this case the ammendment process in article 5

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6
Q

enumerated powers

A

powers stated explicitly in the constitution

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7
Q

federalism

A

the us system in which sovereignty is shared between a central governmentand the individual states, with each having their specific rights

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8
Q

limited government

A

the power of the us constitution to limit the extent of federal governments power over its states and their citizens

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9
Q

separation of powers

A

the three key bodies of government (legislature, executive and judiciary) each have their own powers, personel and buildings

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10
Q

where was the us consitution made and when

A

1787 at the Philadelphia Convention Centre

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11
Q

who are the seven founding fathers of the united state

A

george washington, thomas jefferson, john adams, benjamin franklin, alexander hamilton, john jay and james maddison

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12
Q

what does article one of the us constitution say that the role of the legislature is

A

to make the laws

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13
Q

what does article two of the us constitution say that the role of the executive is

A

to carry out the laws

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14
Q

what does article three of the us constitution say that the role of the judiciary is

A

to enforce and interpret laws

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15
Q

which article established the principle of federalism

A

article four

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16
Q

what does the us bill of rights protect states against

A

federal government and potential sources of tyranical powers

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17
Q

what is the nature of the US constitution

A

codified, entrenched, vague and specific

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18
Q

what type of process has the us constitution gone throigh which means that it is codified

A

an authorative, entrenched, judiciable process

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19
Q

what does the us constitution’s nature of entrenchment mean for ammendments

A

it is very hard to ammend -only 26 ammendments since its ratification

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20
Q

what two types of powers are in the us constitution to make it vague and specific

A

enumerated powers or implied powers

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21
Q

what are implied powers

A

powers that the federal government isnt explicitly given by the constitution but that are implied from the enumerated power

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22
Q

where do many of the implied powers from the us constitution come from

A

the necessary and propper clause, otherwise known as the elastic clause

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23
Q

what does the neccessary and proper (elastic) clause state that the us gobvernment has the power to do

A

make all laws wich shall be necessary and proper

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24
Q

what does the necessary and proper clause allow for the us consitution to do

A

evolve and edapt over time

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25
Q

McCulloch v Maryland 1819

A

the federal govenrment had the power to create a national bank because they had the enumerated power to collect tax, meaning the national bank was necessary and proper

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26
Q

Gibbons v Ogden 1824

A

federal laws trump state laws

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27
Q

what are reserved powers

A

powers not belonging to the federal govenrment that are reserved for the states and their people

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28
Q

concurrent powers

A

shared by federal and state governments

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29
Q

what article is the supremacy clause in

A

article VI

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30
Q

what is the supremacy clause

A

a clause which enshrines into the consitution that federal/national law is supreme and takes precedence over conflicting state law

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31
Q

what are the two stages for the ammendment process

A

proposal and ratification

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32
Q

what type of majority is necessary for an ammendment to the us constitution

A

a supermajority

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33
Q

how many ammendments have congress tried to introduce

A

over 11,000

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34
Q

how many of the 11,000 ammendments proposed were accepted by congress and then also passed by the states

A

33 were accepted by congress and 27 were also passed by the states

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35
Q

give two examples of proposals passed by congress that failed to reach sufficient state support

A

the equal rights amendment on account of sex and the district of Columbia voting rights amendment

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36
Q

give two examples of proposals voted on in congress which did not receive 2/3 in each chamber

A

the flag protection amendment and the federal marriage amendment

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37
Q

give two examples of proposals introduced in congress but not voted on by both chambers of congress

A

right to vote amendment for prisoners and the saving American democracy amendment regarding corporate donors

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38
Q

how does the electoral college work

A

voters vote for who they think the electors in the state should vote for - otherwise known as the popular vote. each state has at least three electors: one for every house of representatives member and 2 per senator. electors cast their vote but are not bound to follow the popular vote then candidates win states.

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39
Q

results of 2000 presidential race

A

Bush (47.9%) popular vote, 271 electors. Al Gore (48.4%~) popular vote

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40
Q

results of 2016 presidential race

A

Trump (46%) 304 electors, Clinton (48.1%)

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41
Q

what sort of agenda did the roberts court have

A

arguably an activist one

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42
Q

what was the aim of the robers court

A

to overturn any regulations limiting the use of money in us elections

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43
Q

what case did the scotus (the roberts court) strike down

A

citizens united v FEC 2010

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44
Q

what did the bipartisanship campaign reform act state

A

that companies and independant donors are not allowed communications attempting to sway election outcomes 60 days prior and after an election, or 30 days prior and after a primary

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45
Q

what are the 5 principles of the us consitution

A

bipartisanship, limited government, checks and balances, separation of powers, federalism

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46
Q

what does each state have tyheir own mini version of

A

the federal government

47
Q

in the past 100 years, what has happened to the power of federal government

A

it has grown fairly rapidly

48
Q

how is the us government’s power limited

A

through checks and balances and separation of powers

49
Q

how does the bill of rights limit the government of the us

A

the people are protected from the government using excessive power to control or punish its citizens as the consitution clearly lays out their rights

50
Q

why is spending of healthcare, education, or other social spending programmes usually disliked in the us

A

because it does not promote limited government as it allows central government to have greater control over state spending

51
Q

what rule ensures separation of the powers

A

a person can not be part of two or more branches at the same time(there is no overlaps).

52
Q

how does obama evidence the separation of powers

A

he had to resign from the illinois state to run for us senator and eventually resign from the federal senate to run for president

53
Q

how did jfk evidence the separation of powers

A

he had to resign from the house of representatives to become a senator then resign from there to run for president

54
Q

what does the separation of powers allow for the braches to do to each other

A

act as a check and balance on the powers of the other branches

55
Q

what case showed that the separation of powers allowed branches to act as a check and balance on each other

A

the case of xavier alvarez in 2007

56
Q

if the exec can veto bills, what can congress do in response

A

can override potential vetoes

57
Q

if the exec can veto bills, what can the judiciary do

A

judge may rule presidential actions unconstitutional

58
Q

what do checks and balances work alongside

A

separation of the powers

59
Q

what do checks and balances ensure

A

that each of the branches can limit the other two’s influence

60
Q

give an example of an informal check on power

A

congress’ check of investigation through its committee system, shows in the January 6th Committee

61
Q

Who was voted against becoming an sc judge by the senate

A

merrick garland

62
Q

why did republican senators argue that merrick garland should not be appointed

A

it was too close to the end of obama’s presidency, however they appointed an sc judge close to the end of trump’s presidency

63
Q

what do executive orders chalenge

A

checks and balances

64
Q

how do executive orders chalenge checks and balances

A

they are not voted on by congress so can extend the power of the executive, seen my trump retracting obamacare or building a wall

65
Q

how can congress prevent unconstitutional executive orders

A

with a 2/3 supermajority, they can strike down executive orders.

66
Q

it is possible for a single party to control all three branches of government but…

A

bipartisan control is common due to divided government

67
Q

give two examples of bipartisanship in action

A

violence against women reauthorisation act and repeal of dont ask dont tell policy

68
Q

give three consequences of polarised parties

A

less legislation is passed, there ius a weaker govenrmnet, there is greater disagreement amongst population

69
Q

in 50 years, how many years of united government was there

A

12

70
Q

why was roosevelt’s new deal necessary

A

because of the great depression, there was a national economic crash, banks across the country collapsed and there was cross-state unemployment, hunger and poverty. the wall street crash impacted every state

71
Q

what was the wall street crash’s impact on federalism

A

it gave the states less power as the federal government knew they had to invest in the economy to give people jobs and kick start the economy again. federal agencies were set up to look after people

72
Q

what are the three stages of federalism

A

dual, cooperative, and new federalism

73
Q

what was a feature of dual federalism

A

state and federal governments were co-equal, like a layered cake, but individual state governments exercised the most political power

74
Q

what was a feature of cooperative federalism

A

a significant increase in power and scope of federal government, alongside FDR’s new deal. the distinction between the roles of federal and state gov had been greatly blurred

75
Q

what is a feature of new federalism

A

powers of federal government have been rolled back but there is still blurred lines between fed and state

76
Q

how has federalism evolved when looking at foreign policy?

A

federal government has sole authority over foreign policy, having much greater power than the states, has the power to raise an army

77
Q

how has federalism evolvedwhen looking at supreme court decision?

A

the courts interpretation of the implied powers of government has enhanced the powers of federal government as ‘the constitution is what the judges say it is’

78
Q

how has federalism evolved when looking at constitutional ammendments?

A

section 1 of the 14th ammendment contains the ‘due process’ and ‘equal protection’ clauses which have been used to limit state activity

79
Q

2012 national federation of independant business v sebelius

A

courts declared that obama’s healthcare reform act could not be justified under the commerce clause, but could come under Congress’s power to levy taxes

80
Q

brown v board of education

A

regardless of equality of facilities, seperate is inherently unequal so public school segregation of pupils was in violation of the 14th ammendment equal protection clause

81
Q

oberfell v hodges

A

the fundamental right to marry must also be given to smae-sex couples due to the equal protection clause and due process clause and required all states to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples

82
Q

how is interdependance created

A

because the states and federal gov have to work together to be successful

83
Q

the most common way of federal gov carrying out its initiatives in the states is to provide them with money. give an example of when this happenecd

A

obama’s race to the top to implement new educational policy

84
Q

another way for federal initiatives to be carried out on state level is to uissue a federal mandate. give an example of when this happened

A

americans with disabilities act 1990 - states were forced to provide ‘reasonable accomodations’ and would be penalised if they did not comply

85
Q

federal gov can also challenge states on ideological grounds if they disagree with decisions. give an example

A

north carolina’s bathroom bill opposition which would have prevented transgender people from using public toilets - fed gov threatened to stop educational grants and funding until the idea was scrapped

86
Q

what did the case of gonzales v raich discuss

A

marajuana legalisation - california legalised it but federal gov said that they did not have the juristiction to do so as this was a problem for federal gov

87
Q

give examples of where there are big differences between state laws

A

gun laws in liberal California vs conservative Texas, crimes, e.g. ‘theft’ punishments

88
Q

how do elections uphold democracy?

A

article 1 of the constitution states that each of the three branches of government shall be elected in some form - gives the people the power

89
Q

us votes get to vote more than any other country. why?

A

sep of powers has led to many posts being up for election and midterm elections mean that election cycles are frequent, keeping the people involved so therefore upholding democracy

90
Q

why do senate elections pose as a problem for democracy?

A

because each state regardless of size only gets to elect two senators so it could be seen to give unfair influence to smaller states

91
Q

what are midterm elections

A

elections that take place half way through a president’s term where all seats in the house of representatives are up for grabs and 1/3 of all seats in the senate are up for grabs

92
Q

what are mid term election often seen as

A

a referendum on the current administration

93
Q

how do checks and balances uphold democracy

A

they maximise the power of the people by preventing one individual or branch from holding too much power

94
Q

what is one positive to checks and balances upholding democracy

A

policies are often considered by both parties as to pass a law, bipartisanship is required

95
Q

what is one negative of checks and balances which may suggest they do not uphold democracy?

A

‘middle of the road’ policies are often implemented which do not truly represent anyone

96
Q

what is the name for policies which are seen more as a compromise than an idea and do not truly represent anyone?

A

middle of the way policies

97
Q

how did checks and balances manage obama’s power when implementing obamacare or the aca

A

congress and the executive were kept in check from influencing law based on personal views

98
Q

how did checks and balances undermine obama

A

his policies which he had an elected mandate for struggled to be passed which discredits his voters and therefore democracy as he cant exercise the will of the people

99
Q

what is the key idea of rights and protections?

A

to uphold the liberal concept of individual freedoms

100
Q

what do rights and protections give people

A

positive freedoms

101
Q

how do liberal v conservative views undermine democracy?

A

the conservative nature of the constitution does not fully open up the democratic process to all as it protects the status quo of the economic elite holding all the power

102
Q

what did bernie sanders suggest to decrease the conservative nature of the constitution to improve democracy

A

increase in minimum wage and other reforms to limit the wealthy

103
Q

the us constitution being the longest standing constitution in the world suggests that it has provided…

A

political stability to prevent radical change

104
Q

what is a majoritarian democracy?

A

the majority gets what the majority wants - people select representatives and those with over 50% of support get to decide on behalf of the population which maximises the power of the people by giving the largest group decision making power but may lead to tyranny of the majority

105
Q

what is a pluralist democracy?

A

a democracy which aims to compromise based on views and interests which tends to create multi-party / coalition governments and maximises the power of the people by giving all/most people influence in creating policy

106
Q

how does the sc protect the power of the states?

A

6:3 conservative courts is protecting rights of states due to strict constructionism

107
Q

how does legislation uphold power of states?

A

since covid, states continue to regulate their own elections

108
Q

how does who represents the people uphold the power of the states?

A

hyperpartisanship at government level has led to gridlock with only 2-3% of bills being passed so states are governing more

109
Q

how do debates over who should act uphold the powers of the states

A

fed law is supreme but state law that contradicts with fed law is still in place and in action, e.g. California marajuana laws

110
Q

how does the sc limit/erode the power of the states?

A

sc power has increased and implied fed gov’s powers to a greater extent, meaning they have more juristiction than state gov, reducing state powers

111
Q

how does legislation erode/limit the power of the states?

A

landmark leg has been passed which overrides that of the states, e.g. obamacare

112
Q

how does who represents the people erode/limit the power of the states?

A

rights are protected most at federal level so state representation decreases in value

113
Q

how do debates over who should act limit the power of the states?

A

national issues require national responses, as seen with the great depression but also covid

Politics (5 decks)

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