zehe fed gov test

articles of the constitution

articles of the constitution

1. Establishes the legislative branch

2. Establishes the executive branch

3. Establishes the judicial branch

4. States, citizenship, new states

5. Amendment process (an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures)

6. Supremacy clause (fed law is the supreme law of the land)

7. Ratification (Constitution is ratified when 9 states agree)

groups that supported federalism and why

• pro federalists

• James Madison

• tiny states (wanted protection that they cannot provide themselves via military like RI cant have a tiny army and expect it to be a good defense from outside forces)

groups that didn’t support federalism and why

• protestants

• big states (wanted their own economy and defense and little national interference)

• farmers (didn’t want both state and federal taxes)

• BOI supporters (worried the constitution would not protect civil rights)

• Brutus rhetoric & anti federalists

What is the constitutional convention?

• The meeting for drafting of the new constitution and to improve the articles, which rhode island did not show up! (AoC sucked that’s why this event happened)

• They met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May of 1787

Gibbons vs Ogden

Problem: states would require foreign (out-of-state) boats to pay substantial fees for navigation privileges, so Gibbons challenged the monopoly license granted by New York to Ogden

Background: Gibbons was a steamboat owner that did business between states (bro was mad cuz his work was EXPENSIVE cuzza the boats fees); Gibbons ran the business that required heavy fees

Question: Did the State of New York exercise authority in a realm reserved exclusively to Congress, namely, the regulation of interstate commerce?

Precedence: First case involving interstate commerce, which congress has power to regulate. 

Decision: Unanimous decision for Gibbons

Interstate vs Intrastate commerce

interstate is the trade of goods between states

(ex: Idaho shipping potato’s to Maryland)

Intrastate is trade of goods within one state (one CA company sells microchips to another CA company, both located and traveling in CA)

name of the rebellion that occurred in the peak of the crisis caused by the AoC

Shays Rebellion, a culminating event that determined how bad the AoC was

Leader? Daniel Shay

Why did the U.S. want to remove the articles?

• The U.S. did not have enough central government as they were not able to tax directly, regulate interstate commerce, pass laws without nine states, if there is  change in the articles all the states need to agree. They couldn’t do anything! 

• Even a whole rebellion happened because of the articles, known as the Shays rebellion. Shays rebellion

• They held a meeting called the constitutional convention to address the problems with the articles. 

• They wanted more central power 

• Main issue: fed gov needed power to tax the states or else the country would go bankrupt from war debts

• What is the term for power that is shared between states and the federal government?

• Concurrent Powers

• Definition of when the parts of government are dominant in their own spheres

• Dual Federalism

• a style of federalism in which the states and national government exercise exclusive authority in distinctly delineated spheres of jurisdiction (Separated- layered cake where each layer is diff)

• What case was where congress overrided smth with commerce

• US Vs Lopez 

• First case involving interstate commerce (first precedent) 

• Gibbons vs Ogden

• (first case about regulation of commerce) + (interstate v intrastate) 

• Precedent of Marbury v Madison

• Established a judicial review

• To amend the ratification, how did the constitutional convention have to conduct it?

• ⅔ state legislature had to amend the constitution, and for ratification nine out of 13 states had to agree.

• How were the states represented in the legislature during the AoC AND after the AoC (ratification of the Constitution)

During the AoC

• delegates were chosen to collect the votes and go to the conference, equal representation/1 delegate per state (no matter population)

• ALL 13 states had to agree to something for the Confederation to pass it (didn’t work cuz RI always disagreed)

After the AoC (ratification of the Constitution)

• Each state has 2 senators, and the # of HoR members depends on state population

During the AoC which state prevented other states from having the power to tax?

RI (bc they had a tiny population so they were afraid of being taxed to death)

• What 2 clauses determined stuff about slavery? 

⅗ compromise and late slave trade.

First truly important chief justice

John Marshall

• Collectively what were the names of the authors of the federalist papers

• John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton 

• Who didn't want Virginia to go to the Constitutional Conventions

• Patrick Henry 

• What is the total number of articles

• 7

• How many states needed to ratify the constitution

• 9 out of 14 (a change from how the AoC functioned where ALL states had to agree to something to pass it)

• Federalists 51 suggested what branch of government would be most powerful

• Legislative branch (congress has most power)

Marbury v Madison

• Issue: Did Marbury have the right to commission? If so, was he entitled to some remedy under the law? Was that remedy, in fact, a writ of mandamus from the SCOTUS?

• Precedence: Established the power of the Supreme Court by demonstrating judicial review (power of the Supreme court to declare a law made by Congress as unconstitutional)

Marbury: 

• His commission was valid because the president ordered it

• Madison was legally required to deliver the commission, so the SC can use writs of mandamus to force him to do it

Madison: 

• Marbury’s commission was not valid because it was not delivered before the expiration of Adam’s presidency

• The issue is political, not judicial, so the SC should not be involved

• Should be tried in lower courts

Decision: Marbury did have the right to his commission, but the courts could not force Madison to deliver it because the case did not involve ambassadors, public ministers, etc. that are required for original jurisdiction. 

writ of mandamus

• command by a superior court to a public official or lower court to carry out a special duty

• Appellate jurisdiction

• the SC has the power to review decisions of lower courts

• Original jurisdiction

• the SC is the first and only court to hear a case

Clauses

• Supremacy- the Constitution and Federal laws take priority in all cases no matter what, over state law and legislation

• Necessary and Proper (Elastic)- Congress can make all laws deemed necessary and proper to carry out the federal governments enumerated powers, the powers given by the Constitution

Constitutional convention

Consisted of people 27-81 in age.

President of convention: George Washington

Father of the Constitution: James Madison 

Purpose- to amend the articles to address essential dysfunction of national government

Voting to ratify the Constitution- by state delegation, one vote per state

Secrecy- no press in the chamber, delegates kept vow of secrecy

Second Continental Conference

secret meeting of the Colonies delegates to plot a breakup with the British

Unicameral Legislature

A government with one legislative house (Nebraska is the only current state)

Bicameral Legislature

Defines the essence of Congress-

2 houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate

• What were the competing interests in the convention

• Large states (agreed in The Great Compromise) v. Small states (agreed bc wanted national security and equal rep in gov which was given by equal # of senators by state)

• State sovereignty v. national sovereignty

• Support v. against slavery (Constitution did not make slavery illegal, which upsetted Protestants)

• Wealthy v. common folks

Brutus 1 Anti Federalist rhetoric

Weak gov with less power

Weak central gov

Handing too much power to rulers isn't always the safest

Clause inconsistency and state interventions not needed

Free republic won't last long and morphing all thirteen states into one wont work

States know their people better than gov does

Government should speak their way in a smaller way, collective factions, because in a large republic more ideas are being oppressed over each other.

Federalists 51

Strong central gov

Powerful central gov

Factions are good because more opinions are being shown which is less oppression. This is more efficient in helping the government because more views are presented.

Gov helps people and creates opportunities

Defends and justifies the Checks and Balances as a system to limit gov power and stop the tyranny of factions

Representative number is based on the population of the state.

revenue grant

• how the national government appropriates money (revenue) to the states, how the state government appropriates state money to locally governments

block grant

• federal aid grants that allow recipients some power in how funds will be spent, gives FLEXIBILITY to recipients (states funded by fed or local govs funded by states) in deciding how to use the money

• block grants r usually used to fund programs locally instead of by a central government

McCulloch v Maryland

• Issue: Maryland was taxing the national government

• Precedence: Congress had power to establish a national bank and states cannot tax federal monetary institutions

• Clauses used by SCOTUS: Necessary and Proper Clause (was necessary and proper for the National government to establish a national bank); Supremacy Clause makes National gov superior and state gov inferior so states do not have the right to tax the Nat gov

• Decision: Unanimous decision in favor of McCulloch (establishing a national bank and not allowing states to tax the national gov), written by Justice Marshall

What is the supreme law of the land?

the Constitution is the bible of the USA, always to be followed

How are SCOTUS cases titled?

petitioner vs respondent (year of issue)

Federalists 10

• Made by James Madison

• states that one of the strongest reasons to favor the Constitution is the fact that it establishes a government capable of controlling the destructiveness of factions

• Separation of Powers

• the dividing of the government into three distinct branches with different powers, exists to avoid the concentration of power in one branch and enable the Checks and Balances to ensure one branch does not interfere with another branch

Cooperative federalism

• a part of federalism in which both levels of government coordinate their actions to solve national problems, (Incorporated, marble cake finds a synergy in its pattern as the levels of government find synergy to solve problems good for the nations well being)

Delegated Powers vs Reserved Powers

• Delegated powers:

  also called expressed powers, powers given to the national government

• Reserved powers:

  powers given to the states

Alexander Hamilton

• one of the Founding Fathers

• writer of a lot of Federalist papers

• big influence in the ratification of the constitution

James Madison

• one of the Founding Fathers

• the father of the constitution who proposed the Virginia plan

• The Great Compromise

• Decided what is now the Bicameral Legislature aka the 2 houses of Congress and how they work

• A compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey Plan. (bicameral legislature, proportional/equal representation, House of Representatives: "Lower house", "people's house", popular vote, 2 year term. Senate: "Upper house", "State's house", elected by states, 6 year term)

• Persuaded some states, especially larger states, to ratify the Constitution