US Constitution

Question 1

what is the nature of the US constitution?

Answer 1

codified, entrenched and federal

Question 2

what does it mean by specificity and vagueness?

Answer 2

there are specific aspects of the constitution that clearly set out powers, also has areas not so clear which can be interpreted differently

Question 3

what do the first three articles of the constitution set out?

Answer 3

the powers of the legislature, executive and judiciary

Question 4

what is the supremacy clause?

Answer 4

states that the constitution is the supreme law of the land

Question 5

what are enumerated (delegated) powers?

Answer 5

powers given to the federal government, under the constitution.

Question 6

what are implied powers?

Answer 6

powers possessed by federal government which are inferred from delegated powers

Question 7

what is an example of an implied power?

Answer 7

the power to draft people into the army, comes from the delegated power to raise an army and navy

Question 8

what are reserved powers?

Answer 8

powers not delegated to federal government, and are delegated to the states

Question 9

What examples are there of concurrent powers?

Answer 9

Concurrent powers include the right to levy taxes, building roads and maintaining courts.

Question 10

how can constitutional amendments be proposed and passed?

Answer 10

can be proposed by congress or by national constitutional convention, have to be approved by 2/3 majority in congress

Question 11

How many amendments to the constitution was proposed during the presidency of Bill Clinton? How many of these were successful?

Answer 11

17 constitutional amendments were proposed during the presidency of Bill Clinton. None of these were successful.

Question 12

How many amendments were proposed during the presidency of George W Bush? How many were successful?

Answer 12

6 amendments were proposed to the constitution during George W Bush’s presidency, although none were successful.

Question 13

How many amendments to the constitution have been ratified since 1788?

Answer 13

Since 1788, 27 amendments to the constitution have been ratified.

Question 14

what are the advantages of the amendment progress?

Answer 14

• super majorities ensure small majorities can’t impose their will
• lengthy process means it won’t be changed on a whim
• magnifies voices of smaller states

Question 15

what are the disadvantages of amendment process?

Answer 15

• difficult process leads to outdated provisions
• voice of small states over-represented
• the difficulty of formal amendment enhances power of unelected Supreme Court

Question 16

how many total amendments passed?

Answer 16

27

Question 17

what is the bill of rights?

Answer 17

the first 10 amendments

Question 18

what are the 1st and 2nd amendments?

Answer 18

1: freedom of speech, religion, the press
2: right to bear arms

Question 19

what are the arguments for the strength of the constitution?

Answer 19

• it protects citizens rights and makes them hard to overturn
• prevents the the whim of a president from changing it

Question 20

what are the arguments for the weakness of the Constitution?

Answer 20

• difficult amendment process allows outdated amendments to remain
• super majorities prevent amendments from being passed
• the will of the people is ignored
• can’t be changed in times of emergency

Question 21

What % of constitutional amendments have successfully been passed and ratified?

Answer 21

Only 0.2%

Question 22

What arguments are there that the separation of powers is a strength of the constitution?

Answer 22

The separation of powers has created largely independent and autonomous state governments that are free of federal interference, checks and balances prevent government tyranny, requires that bipartisan cooperation takes place across branches of government in order to legislate at times of divided government (increasing consensus and compromise).

Question 23

What arguments are there that the separation of powers is a weakness of the constitution?

Answer 23

The federal government now has excessive control over the states, the President has excessive power over foreign policy, bipartisanship has faltered and given way to polarisation and partisanship (making it difficult to legislate), united government creates weaker scrutiny, government shutdowns have occurred when Congress and Executive have failed to agree budgets.

Question 24

what are checks and balances?

Answer 24

a system in which each branch can partially control the power of the other branches

Question 25

how does the president check congress?

Answer 25

state of union address- speech lays out what legislation the president wants done. e.g 2010 Obama used it to lay out Obamacare
2021 biden: build back better

Question 26

how does the president check federal courts?

Answer 26

the president nominates all federal judges, will do so based on ideology e.g trump nominated 3 conservative judges

power of pardon- Obama pardoned 142 people during final 3 weeks in office. trump pardoned 73 people

Question 27

how does congress check the president?

Answer 27

*legislation- congress can block/reject legislation e.g obamas immigration reform bill blocked 2010
*overriding veto- needs 2/3 majority, Obama only 1 veto overridden and trump 1
*power of the purse- congress has to approve money for policy
*foreign policy- in theory congress declares war, in reality the president does.
congress has to ratify treaties, e.g didn’t ratify treaty of versailles 1919
*confirmation of appointments
*investigation
*impeachment

Question 28

what is an example of a presidents nomination being rejected?

Answer 28

2016 Obama wanted to appoint merrick garland but was rejected by congress as he had to wait for election

Question 29

what are examples of presidential impeachment?

Answer 29

1974 Nixon resigned before being impeached

Bill Clinton 2x for perjury and obstruction of justice

Trump 2x abuse of power and incitement of insurrection

Question 30

how does congress check federal courts?

Answer 30

impeachment- 2010 porteous for corruption

constitutional amendments- attempts to overturn decisions on flag burning and prayer in school and roe v wade

Question 31

how do federal courts check the president?

Answer 31

judicial review- court made Nixon hand over white house tapes

Question 32

how do federal courts check congress?

Answer 32

judicial review- declaring act of congress unconstitutional e.g 2013 defence of marriage act unconstitutional, allowing gay marriage

Question 33

what is federalism?

Answer 33

political divided between a national government and state governments, each having own jurisdiction. power cannot be taken back

Question 34

what does it mean by limited government?

Answer 34

scope of federal government should be limited to that which is necessary for the common good.

Question 35

what are some of the factors which led to the expansion of federalism?

Answer 35

• growth of population
• industrialisation
• improvements in communication
• the Great Depression
• foreign policy
• Supreme Court decisions
• constitutional amendments

Question 36

what is new federalism?

Answer 36

an approach characterised by a return of certain powers and responsibilities from federal government to the states

Question 37

What are positive and negative impacts of elections under the US constitution?

Answer 37

Positive - frequent elections encourage high levels of accountability, short terms and a separation of powers can produce accountability and consensus driven government.
Negative - electoral college may produce a result which goes against the popular vote result.

Question 38

What are positive and negative impacts of rights protection under the US constitution?

Answer 38

Positive - checks and balances ensure that no branch can create outright tyranny by exceeding powers, Supreme Court power ensures protection of rights.
Negative - Supreme Court judgements are politically charged rather than directly influenced by law. May offset rights or make it difficult for a government to carry out policy.

Question 39

What are positive and negative impacts of states’ rights under the constitution?

Answer 39

Positive - states are well protected and have the majority of powers reserved to them.
Negative - federal government largely dominates policy making and has been known to infringe on the rights of the states.

Question 40

What are positives and negatives of preventing government power under the constitution?

Answer 40

Positives - checks and balances prevent one single aspect of government from exceeding the powers of another.
Negatives - governments can find it extremely difficult to amend the constitution, preventing necessary change and failing to adapt to modern times.

Question 41

What positives and negatives are there of government effectiveness under the constitution?

Answer 41

Positives - constitutional vaguness allows the government to operate effectively by allowing policy decisions to adapt to modern society within the constitution’s provisions.
Negatives - loopholes may be exploited due to constitutional vagueness, with Executive orders an example of this (allowing the Exec. to dominate other branches), gridlock created by a constitution built on bipartisanship, limiting the effectiveness of policy making.