American Government - Test 2

Why do states need their own constitution? What does Georgia’s state constitution do that the U.S. Constitution does not? Compare at least three aspects of Georgia’s constitution to the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing similarities and differences.

1. States need their own constitution to establish their self-governance, providing specific needs to the people living in each state.

2. The Georgia State Constitution governs specific local institutions and policies that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t mention. For example, the Georgia State Constitution doesn’t dictate the funding and management of public education or more unique rights like the freedom to hunt and fish.

3. Some similarities between these documents are that they both outline a three branch governing system, to amend either constitution there has to be a 2/3 supermajority vote in the legislature, and they have an executive position of leadership - Governor and President. Some differences are that the U.S. Constitution is really brief including only 7 articles while Georgia’s has 11, there has to be a ¾ majority vote from all the states to amend the U.S. Constitution, while the Georgia State constitution requires a mandatory popular vote from Georgia citizens.

Describe changes to Georgia’s state constitution since its beginning. Include the reasoning behind the major changes during and after the Civil War and during the 1980s. What year was Georgia's current constitution ratified? What is the process of amending Georgia's state constitution? How is this process connected to attenuated democracy?

1. The first Georgia State Constitution was made in 1777 after the U.S. declared independence from Britain. In 1865, the federal requirements were added into the Georgia State Constitution. This stated that all states must end slavery and they have the right repudiation of debt. The post war amendments were considered a second founding for the U.S. Georgia rejected the federal requirements, but eventually agreed to go through with it, starting a period of reconstruction.

2. The last time the Georgia Constitution was ratified was in 1983 and was done by a committee of UGA students. They promoted brevity, clarity, and flexibility.

3. To amend the Georgia Constitution, it has to be proposed in the legislature and then have a 2/3 supermajority vote in both chambers. Then, the amendment is placed in the ballot, passing if it gets over 50% acceptance.

4. This is connected to attenuated democracy because the people are represented by who they voted for in legislature, who will then propose the amendments, but the people don’t necessarily get a say on what they propose. Though, the people will get to vote in a popular vote if the proposed amendment gets passed through Congress.

What explains the design and function of the federal government? Your answer should include a description and explanation of the following: the lead-up to the creation of the U.S. government, the process of writing the U.S. Constitution, the goal of the founders in writing the U.S. Constitution, the safeguards they put in place, and some of the changes that have been made through the amendment process.

1. The federal government was formed because of the failure of previous attempts of creating a government after gaining independence from Great Britain. Before the U.S. became an independent country, the colonies were governed by Great Britain. But, the colonists weren’t happy because they believed they weren’t getting enough representation. This led to the American Revolution and the creation of the Declaration of Independence. The first form of government created was called the Articles of Confederation, but it had a very weak government that had difficulty maintaining order. Because of these problems, delegates from the states came together to rewrite the Articles of Confederation, but ended up throwing it out completely and making the Constitution.

2. The Constitution established a federal system where power was divided into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branch. There were two drafts of the Constitution: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. It took two years for the states to agree to the terms of the Constitution.

3. The founders goal was to create a government that was strong enough to maintain order and protect the country, but didn’t cause any abuse of power. Therefore, there are safeguards like checks and balances.

4. The amendment process allows the country to make changes to the Constitution when necessary. Some important amendments expanded on individual rights and political participation.13th, 14th, 15th, 26th, 19th amendments.

Describe the content of the U.S. Constitution by listing and explaining each article, detail about some of the sections, enumerated and implied powers, how amendments are made, the contributions of the Antifederalists, and the number and categories of amendments. Connect the content of the U.S Constitution to our attenuated democracy.

1. Article 1 - legislative branch. Creates congress, makes laws, enumerated powers

2. Article 2 - executive branch. Establishes president and federal bureaucracy, enforces laws

3. Article 3 - judicial branch. Establishes Supreme Court and federal court system, interpret laws

4. Article 4 - states. Relationship between states

5. Article 5 - amendments. Explains how the Constitution can be changed, 2/3 of Congress approval

6. Article 6 - supremacy clause. Federal law is the law of the land

7. Article 7 - ratification - Explains the process of ratifying the Constitution

8. Enumerated power are listed, implied powers are not but are listed through Necessary and Proper Clause

9. Amendments are made by proposal (2/3 vote in chambers) and ratification (3/4 of states)

10. Antifederalists opposed the Constitution because they feared a strong national government could threaten individual liberties. 27 amendments, categories are individual rights, voting rights, government structure, and changes to government procedure.

11. Senate, Electoral College, federal courts, and checks & balances can limit direct majority rule, which connects to America’s attenuated democracy.

Describe the type and make-up of the government created by the Articles of Confederation. How long were the Articles of Confederation in effect? Why did the Articles of Confederation fail (that is, how were they attenuated)? What was done to fix the problems with the Articles of Confederation (and by whom)?

1. The Articles of Confederation created a confederation, where states had most of the power with a weak national government. It was a one branch government made up of Congress, each state having one vote. This was in effect from 1781-1789.

2. The Articles of Confederation failed because the national government was too weak. The country couldn’t properly tax tax citizens, regulate commerce, make an army, enforce laws, and had no executive or judicial branch.

3. The problems were fixed by creating a three part government with check and balances and federalism.

What major decisions did the founders have to make when writing the U.S. Constitution? What problems were they trying to solve? How does the U.S. Constitution address those problems? What decisions made by the founders contribute to our current attenuated democracy?

1. Major decisions and problems: strong vs. weak government, separation of powers (the branches), checks and balances, federalism (power divided between federal government and states), representation (great compromise), and presidential elections (electoral college).

2. These problems were addressed by giving Congress the power to tax, regulate commerce, raise your army, and make laws, making the national government stronger. Checks and balances, federalism, and individual rights helped to limit government power.

3. Connection to attenuated democracy: The people have political power, but that power is filtered through representatives and other institutions.

What connections are there between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists and our modern political parties? What beliefs make the groups similar, and what beliefs make them different? Include compromises made between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists that either create or fix attenuated democracy.

1. Federalists support a stronger national government, while Anti-federalists wanted more power for the states and worried that a stronger federal government could threaten individual freedoms.

2. They aren’t the same as today’s political parties, they were debating between ratifying the Constitution, not functioning as modern political parties. But, both groups had their different opinions on how much power the federal government and states should have, and how much individual rights should be protected.

3. The Bill of Rights was created to help protect freedoms. Check and balances was made to ensure that there were limits on the power. Federalism was created to help divide the power between the national government and the states. These represent that citizens hove power, but it is limited through these institution, making the democracy attenuated.

Is federalism good or is it bad? Make a case for BOTH positions, and include specific information; federalism failing.

1. Good federalism - divides power, states can create laws to their specific needs, states can experiment with different policies, give citizen more opportunities to participate in government at state and local levels.

2. Bad federalism - states can have very different laws and rights, federal and state government can disagree who has authority, confusion and inconsistency, no one takes responsibility

Identify and describe the four types (periods) of federalism and how each type is a response to the previous type. What type of federalism are we in today? When did this period begin? What are some of the results of this type of federalism? Your answer should include references to course material, including the idea of attenuated democracy.

1. definitional federalism - the federal government has more power than the states (1789-1865)

2. dual federalism - very clear what powers belonged to the states and federal government, “layered cake” (1865-1932)

3. cooperative federalism - states and federal government are working together, social security, “marble cake” (1903’s-late 1960’s)

4. new federalism - turn toward state power vs. the federal government (late 1960’s-now)

Describe, in detail, the differences between the federal government and state governments. Which powers does each level of government have? How do the governments interact? What conflicts can occur between federal and state governments? How does federalism contribute to or fix attenuated democracy?

1. Federal government