Unit 2 vocab and notes

Judicial Review

the passive power of the courts to nullify acts of government deemed to conflict with the constitution

sovereignty

upmost authority that maintains order

Parliamentary Government

the executive branch is made up of the prime minister

No checks and balances

Unitary Government

All powers held by the government belong to a single central agency

Federalism

divide of sovereignty

• the division of power among a central government and several regional governments

5 things that are the Declaration of Independence

1. A document declaring independence from Great Britain

2. Philosophical statement on the legitimacy of government based mostly on the ideas of John Locke; agency contract, consent of governed

3. A legal brief and a list of grievances

4. Declaration of war/ Classical republican contract

5. Somewhere between a persuasive essay and propaganda

Unicameral legislative

One chamber of legislation

How many states to pass a law?

9/13

How many states to create amendments?

13/13

3 maxims

1. “he who wears the shoe knows best where it pinches”

   • only the person experiencing a problem truly understands

   • Ex: the king not understanding the people

2. “Republics should be simple and in the hands at the people”

   • power should be in the hands of the people

3. “Where annual elections end, tyranny begins”

   • preventing a ruling class

   • a leader staying in their position too long

Comity

Equal jurisdictions develop traditions of respect

Ex: Siblings - you don’t mess with their stuffs, they wont mess with yours

Full faith & credit

Every state will respect the judgment and documentation of every other state

Privileges and immunities

Benefits and restrictions based on citizenship, citizen from one state is entitled to the privlege’s of another state while in that state

Extradition

Wanted persons must be returned to the state that wants them

Successes of the articles

• Won Revolutionary war

• gained a name and beginnings of a national identity

• Recognized as an independent member in the family of nations

• Northwest ordinances: land that we gained in treaty of Paris/ when we won the revolutionary war

Weaknesses of the articles

• Inability to levy taxes

  • congresses couldn’t collect from the states or the people

• No single executive

  • there was no president or executive to enforce any new laws

• Inability to settle disputes amongst the states

  • couldn’t fairly resolve conflicts

• Lack of national court system

  • no federal courts to interpret laws

• Inability to regulate interstate commerce

  • couldn’t control trade

• Lack of constitutional flexibility

  • they couldn’t change or improve

Why was gov’t in jeopardy

Businesses were larger than the states and were harder to regulate

Problems of articles

• Too much democracy

  • Debt forgiveness legislation

  • Detrimental competition for foreign trade

  • Abusive interstate commercial dealings

  • Currency famine: printing too much money

  • Mass inflation

  • Shays rebellion

Constitutional convention

Design for the various people of the state to create possible amendments to the articles

Who should go to the convention?

Thomas Jefferson (Wasn’t there)

• “An assembly of demigods”

  • A letter to John Adams

Maxx Farrand (Wasn’t there)

• “Some scholars and statemen, readied by experience for the task before them; others, clever scheming politicians, utterly unit. In essence a representative body such as would be found at any time or place

Charles Beard (Elitist)

Wrote : Economic Interpretation of the American Constitution

• Says that the wealthy were suffering under the articles; need a new constitution to stay wealthy

Richard Hofstadter ( Elitist)

Wrote : American political tradition

• Constitutor is about protecting negative liberties

  • Negative liberties: something the gov’t cant do

Woody Holton (pluralists)

Wrote : Unruly Founders

• The elites go to the convention but are driven by different types of people (regular citizens)

  • The regular people also needed a constitution, not just wealthy people

Gordon S wood

• Constitution pulls us back to republicanism

3 periods of history leading to the constitution

• Before French and Indian war: “hierarchical, monarchial”

  • War creates a form of republicanism

• Revolutionary war

• Democracy

  • Articles of confederation

  • Limited gov’t

  • “Ordered Liberty” - idea that democracy was mobbed rule ; we need enough consent with less chaos

Goals of the convention

• Fix the weakness of the articles

  • Taxing

  • Commerce: business or trade problem

  • Difficulty in passing and enforcing laws

  • Lack of cops

  • Combustibles: shays rebellion; “no taxations w/o representations”; big groups of riots

• Create a document that was ratifiable (agreeable)

  • delegates had to agree with it

  • Regular people had to agree with it

Big Debates

• Nationalist or federalists

  • Older delegates feared kings, new delegates feared chaos

• Big states vs. small states

  • Big states want representation based on caught population, small states want equal representation

• North vs. South

  • Battle over slave power

    • South grew economy w/ slavery, north didn’t

• Legislative supremacy or equal branches

Executive Article

Article II of the Constitution

inferior courts

the lower federal courts under the Supreme Court

Ratification

formal approval or final consent to the effectiveness of a constitutional amendment

formal amendment

changes or additions that become part of the written language of the Constitution itself

electoral college

the body that makes the formal selection of the nation’s President from what the framers intended into a “rubber stamp”

Combustible

a society about to explode

Ordered Liberty

Get us out of a democracy and into a republicanism

Why do we call for a convention?

Goals of the Constitution Convention

1.) Fix weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation

2.) Create a Document that was ratifyable

Delegates

people with authority to represent others at a conference or convention

How does the 3 maxims show up in the Articles of Confederation

Power must be used for the benefit of the people

• weak central government

• they didn’t want a king or parliament

2.) Power must be limited

• the national government had very limited power on purpose

3.) Rule of law must be applied to everyone

• each state had one vote

• treat all states equally under the law

Unity and respect were important in both before independence (colonies wanted fair treatment from Britain) and after independence (the new states needed to work together to survive)

Why is comity in both the declaration of independence and the Articles of confederation?

Constitutionalism

government must be conducted according to constitutional principles

Separation of Powers

basic powers are separated among three distinct and independent branches of the government

Checks and Balances

interdependency

each branch is subject to a number of constitutional checks

Unconstitutional

declare illegal, null action and void of no force and effect

a governmental action found to violate some provision in the Constitution

Amendment

a change in or addition to a constitution or law

• must be proposed by a 2/3 vote of the house of Congress

• AND ratified by ¾ of the State legislatures OR by conventions in ¾ of the states

Formal amendment

changes or additions that become part of the written language of the Constitution itself

Executive Agreement

a pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state

Senatorial Courtesy

amounts to an unwritten rule that is closely followed in the Senate

Delegated powers (national powers)

those powers, expressed, implied, or inherent, granted to the National Government by the Constitution

Expressed powers

those delegated powers of the National Government that are spelled out, expressly, in the Constitution

• also called enumerated powers

Implied Power

reasonable suggested, implied, by the expressed powers

Reserved powers

powers that the Constitution not grant to the Nation Government and does not deny to the States

Inherent Powers

those powers that belong to the National Government because it is the National government of a sovereign state in the world community

Exclusive powers

they can be exercised only by the National government and no by the States under any circumstances

Concurrent powers

they are powers that BOTH the National Government and the States possess and exercise

Supremacy Clause

provisions of the U.S Constitution that states that the Constitution, federal law, ad treaties of the United Sates are the “Supreme Law of the Land”

Law of the Land- the constitution

Enabling Act

an act directing the people of the territory to frame a proposed state Constitution

Act of admission

an act creating the new state

Grants-in-aid-programs

grants of federal money or other resources of the States and their local unites, countries, cities.

Categorical grants

made fro some specific, closely defined, purpose

ex: for school lunches, construction of airports, wastewater plants, senior centers, etc

Block grants

made more broadly defined purposes

Ex: social services, Transportation, Education

Project grants

made to the states, localities and sometimes private agencies that apply for grants

Ex: research into diabetes treatments, implementation of an innovative educational program, etc

Interstate compacts

agreements among themselves and with foreign states

6 goals of the preamble

• Form a more perfect union

• Establish justice

• Ensure domestic tranquility

• provide for common defense

• Promote general welfare

• secure blessings of liberty to ourselves/ prosperity

Article I [LEGSLATVE]

Sections 1,2,3 of Article 1 are vested clauses

3 main functions of Congress

1. Legislative function: proposing amendments

2. Congressional overcite: ensure that a law is being implemented as intended; hearings, congressional field trips, impeachments, senate approvals

3. Information and education: makes information available to do our job

A1: Section 1

All legislative power that is listed here (herein granted) is vested in congress

A1: Section 2 clause 1

• House of Rep are chose every 2 years

  • At least 25 yrs old

  • 7 years citizen

A1: Section 2 clause 3

• Every 10 years, the actual Enumeration happens ; we count EVERYONE as representatives

  • Each state can’t exceed 1 representative for every 30K people

  • Each state w/ at least 1 representative

A1: Section 2 clause 5

HOR has sole power of impeachment of federal officials

A1: Section 3

• Senate will have 2 senators from each state (chosen by legislature)

  • Serve for 6 years

  • 30 yrs old

  • 9 yrs citizen

A1: Section 4 clause 1

Congress assembles once every year (1st Monday of Dec.)

A1: Section 7 clause 1

All Bills for raising revenue (taxes) originate in the HOR ; Senate may propose or concur w/ Amendments on other bills

Clause 2: How a Bill becomes a Law

A1: Section 7 Clause 3

Checks and balances between president and 2 chambers (HOR and senate) ; All bills passed by HOR and senate must be presented to the president for approval or veto

A1: Section 8 (Delegated Powers of Congress)

• “Power to tax is power to destroy”

  • Collect and lay taxes

• Regulate commerce w/ foreign nations and Indian tribes

• Coin money (set our own currency and printing money)

• Establishment of Post office and postal roads

• (Section 8 clause 11-14): Civilian control of military

  • Declare war

  • Raise and support armies

  • Provide a navy

  • Regulation of naval forces

• Calling the militia to execute laws

A1: Section 8 clause 18

Necessary and proper clause; congress has the power to carry out what’s necessary (herein granted)

A1: Section 9 clause 1

1808 clause: International slave trade ends after the year 1808

A1: Section 9

• Habeas corpus: detained person has the right to go before court and justify imprisonment

  • Bill of attainder (S9.3): Declares a person guilty of a crime w/o a judicial trial

  • Ex port facto: change of legal consequences of actions that were committed before laws enactment

A1: Section 9 clause 5

No tax shall be laid on articles from any state (helped regulate commerce)

A1: Section 10 clause 1-3 (helped regulate commerce)

• S10.1: No state can enter into treaties, alliances, or confederations

• S10.2: w/o consent of congress, sates can’t lay any import or duties on imports/ exports

• S10.3: States can’t keep troops or ships of war in time of peace w/o consent of congress

Article II [EXECUTIVE]

Isn’t long because Washington was trusted to be a good president

A2: Section 1 clause 1

• Executive power vested in a president

  • 4 yr terms

  • Have to be a natural born citizen

  • 14 yrs domicile( resident of the U.S. for at least 14 yrs)

  • 35 yrs old

A2: Section 2 clause 1

President is commander in chef of the army/navy/militia

A3: Section 3

Check and balances between president, and congress; President can suggest laws and call congress to session, but only congress can pass laws

A2: Section 4

President can be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes

Article III

[JUDICIAL]

A3: Section 1

• Judicial power is put into the supreme courts

  • People selected will stay in this position for life (during good behavior)

A3: Section 2 clause 3

Trial of all crimes except impeachment will be by jury

A3: Section 3 clause 1

• Treason: Aide or comfort to the enemy

  • Won’t be convicted of treason unless testimony of two witnesses or confession in open court

    • Corruption of blood: if family member committed treason, you aren’t punished

    • Forfeiture: Gov’t takes ownership of property that was used i illegal activities

Article 4

Is about comity: full faith in credit, privileges and immunities

Article V

[AMENDMENT PROCESS]

A5: Proposal

• 2/3 of both houses need to deem the proposal of amendments to the constitution

• 2/3 of several states can call a national constitutional convention for proposing amendments

A5: Ratification

• ¾ of legislature of the states need to ratify

• ¾ of ratification conventions of the states

Article VI (6)

• Clause 2: Supremacy clause

  • Laws of the U.S., and all treaties made under the U.S. is the supreme law of the land

  • Judges in every state are bound to the law

Article VI (6)

• Clause 3

  • Senate and representative from above, and all executive & judicial officers are bound by oath or affirmation but wont be required to take religious tests to be qualified to any office under the U.S.

Amendment XVI (16)

Congress has the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes w/o apportionment (the result of dividing something) among several states

Amendment XXII (22)

Secton1: A person can’t be elected more than twice and can’t hold office for more than 2 years of a term

Amendment XXVII (27)

Laws changing the salaries of senators/representatives wont take effect until after the next election of representatives

Spirit of 1787

Is complex and coercive national gov’t; law in order to be free

Comity isn’t federalism….

but a byproduct of federalism

2 things that define good gov’t (Thomas Jefferson)

• Natural rights

• Consent of the gov’t

6 Grievances in the constitution

1. Cut off trade

2. Tax without consent

3. Ravish shores and burn our coasts

4. Send mercenaries

5. Didn’t allow elections

6. Disobeyed rule of law