Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System: A Historical Overview

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the roots of the U.S. Constitution, the Continental Congresses, the Declaration of Independence, and the structure of the federal government.

Law

A body of rules promulgated to support the norms of a society and enforced through legal means, specifically punishment.

Constitution

A system of basic laws and principles that establish the nature, functions, and limits of a government or other institution.

Pluralism

A society in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups coexist within one nation, with each group contributing to the society as a whole.

Three Coexisting Groups in $1775$

The three main groups in the land that would become the United States were American Indians, African Slaves, and Colonists; history tends to ignore American Indians and African Slaves.

Stamp Act of $1765$

A British law that required stamps for certain documents and commodities, contributing to colonial unrest.

Quartering Act

A requirement that colonists provide food and shelter for British troops.

Boston Tea Party

A $1773$ act of defiance where colonists boarded three British ships and dumped their cargos of tea overboard.

First Continental Congress

A $1774$ meeting of $55$ delegates from $12$ colonies in Philadelphia that resulted in the first written agreement to stand together in resistance against Britain.

Second Continental Congress

A meeting that established the Continental Army, named George Washington its commander, and prepared the colonies for war with Britain.

Declaration of Independence

The document signed on $July\,4,\,1776$, that formally severed the American colonies’ ties with Great Britain.

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document that pledged states to a "firm league of friendship," which ultimately failed due to an inadequate balance of power between states and the central government.

Magna Carta

A historical document that provided a stable framework for the U.S. Constitution and represented a step away from total rule by a single individual.

Legislative Branch (Article $1$)

The branch of government that may pass laws but cannot enforce or interpret them; it includes the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Great Compromise

An agreement that created a bicameral legislature with a Senate ($2$ senators per state) and a House of Representatives (membership based on population).

McCulloch v. Maryland ($1819$)

A Supreme Court case ruling that Congress has power under the Necessary and Proper clause to incorporate a bank and that states cannot tax such federal institutions.

Elastic Clause

The "Necessary and Proper" clause in Article $1$, Section $8$, which gives Congress a reserve of power to pass laws necessary for the nation.

Executive Branch (Article $2$)

The branch created to carry out the law, handle foreign policy, and provide a Commander in Chief for the military.

Judicial Branch (Article $3$)

The branch that vests power in the U.S. Supreme Court to interpret laws; judges are appointed for life.

Checks and Balances

A system to prevent one individual or section of government from having complete power, such as the President's veto power and the Legislative branch's power to override it with a $\frac{2}{3}$ majority vote.

Supremacy Clause

A provision in Article $6$ stating that federal law will reign supreme over conflicting state law.

Federalists

A group during the ratification process that favored a strong central government.

Anti-Federalists

A group that favored a weaker central government and refused to ratify the Constitution without a bill of rights guaranteeing individual liberties.

Bill of Rights

The first $10$ amendments to the Constitution, ratified on $December\,15,\,1791$, which balance individual and state rights against the powers of the central government.

$7^{th}$ Amendment

The amendment that guarantees the right to a trial by jury in common law cases where the value exceeds $\$20$.

Glaring Omission in the Constitution

The failure to abolish slavery, a contradiction to the Declaration of Independence that was later addressed by the $14^{th}$ Amendment.