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Politics Paper 3🖤 > US Constitution > Flashcards

US Constitution Flashcards

1
Q

What makes up the legislative branch?

A
  • Congress
    Senate, House of Representatives
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2
Q

What makes up the executive branch?

A
  • President
  • Vice president
  • Cabinet
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3
Q

What powers do the legislative branch have?

A
  • Set and collect taxes
  • Regulate foreign commerce
  • Establish rules on citizenship
  • Set up courts under the SC
  • Declare war/raise an army
  • Make laws ‘necessary and proper’
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4
Q

What powers does the executive have?

A
  • Commander in chief.
  • To make treaties.
  • Grant pardons.
  • Appoint judges and ambassadors.
  • Address congress on the state of the union.
  • Veto leg.
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5
Q

What powers do the judicial branch have?

A

Rule on issues arising from the constitution between two or more states or conflicts between the federal and state governments.

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6
Q

What articles of the constitution outlines the branches?

A
  • Article I : legislative
  • Article II : executive
  • Article III: Judiciary
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7
Q

What is Article V of US constitution?

A

Outlines the amendment process to the US constitution.

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8
Q

What was ‘The Great Compromise’?

A

Congress has two chambers with one based on state population (house of representatives) and one based on equal representation (senate).

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9
Q

What are the Founding Father principles?

A

Checks and balances
Separation of powers
Federalism - shared sovereignty
Limited gov
Bi partisanship

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10
Q

What are the two main concepts of a limited government?

A
  • Separation of powers
  • Checks and balances
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11
Q

How is the separation of powers established?

A
  • Separation of the president, congress and SC
    -The ‘ineligibility clause’ of article I to prevent one person from controlling more than one branch at a time.
    (Constitution is also codified and entrenched)
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12
Q

How are checks and balances established?

A

Powers of each branch directly prevent the action of another branch.

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13
Q

What is the aim of a limited gov?

A

To prevent a branch from gaining too much power and becoming tyrannous.

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14
Q

Define Bipartisanship.

A

Two parties working together to achieve a super majority.

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15
Q

How is a Super majority achieved?

A

38/50 states agree
2/3 congress

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16
Q

Define federalism.

A
  • A system of shared sovereignty.
  • Federal gov have control over some aspects of police’s life while states would remain sovereign over others.
17
Q

What is the 10th Amendment?

A

The powers that weren’t given to the president/congress in the constitution are given to the states.

18
Q

What are the Bill of Rights?

A

The first ten amendments to the constitution. It sets out the rules of due process law and reserves all powers not delegated to the federal gov to the people/states.

19
Q

What is the first amendment?

A

Freedom of speech, expression, and protest.

20
Q

What is the second amendment?

A

Right to keep and bear arms.

21
Q

What is the fourth amendment?

A

Bars the gov from unreasonable searches of an individual or their private property.

22
Q

What is the fifth amendment?

A

Provides protection for those accused of a crime. All entitled to a fair trial.

23
Q

What is the sixth amendment?

A

Right to a public trial with an impartial jury.

24
Q

What is the eighth amendment?

A

Bars excessive cruel and unusual punishment.

25
Q

What three ways is the constitution described?

A
  • Authoritative: higher than ordinary laws.
  • Entrenched: hard to change.
  • Judicable: other laws can be judged against it.
26
Q

What is Article I section 8?

A
  • ‘Congress has the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper’
  • Known as the elastic clause used to extend powers of congress over time.
27
Q

How is the constitution vague?

A
  • It fails to regulate political practice.
  • SC could become too powerful.
  • Some powers are enumerated, some are implied.
28
Q

What court case established the Supreme Court?

A

Marbury v Madison 1803

29
Q

What is Marbury v Madison 1803?

A
  • It established the modern judiciary.
  • It was unclear what branch had the final say so judges determine whether laws are unconstitutional (judicial review).
30
Q

What do federal courts have the power to review?

A
  • Congressional laws
  • State actions
  • Federal bureaucratic agencies
  • Presidential action
31
Q

How does the constitution uphold the principle of liberal democracy?

A
  • The Bill of Rights ensures individual rights are upheld. (Snyder v Phelps 2011, right to free speech of the Westboro Baptist church)
  • Independence of the SC protects rights.
  • Checks and balances limit the government (Obama and Trump both failed to achieve all their goals e.g., gun control, the repeal and replacement of Obamacare)
32
Q

How does the constitution uphold the principles of representative democracy?

A

The House of Representatives:
- All appropriation bills begin here.
- Two-year election cycle.
- Ensures proportionality.

  • Amendments have extended eligible voters.(15th,19th)
33
Q

How has the constitution undermined the principle of liberal democracy?

A
  • Checks and balances can limit the gov so much that it ceases to be effective. 14 gov shutdowns since 1981
  • Electoral college undermines ‘free and fair’ elections with the loser of the popular vote winning the presidential election twice in the last five elections.
  • Not all rights have been protected well.(Guantanamo Bay)
34
Q

How has the constitution undermined the principle of representative democracy?

A
  • SC holds vast amounts of power. Can overrule elected branches whilst being unrepresentative and unaccountable.
  • Senate represents not population size.
  • Supermajority leads to tyranny of the minority.

Politics Paper 3🖤 (18 decks)

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