US Constitution Exemption Exam

Democracy

“demos” = the people + “Kratia” = power or authority

a form of government that gives power to the people

• based on “rule of law”

• Direct Democracy: famous by Greeks, where all citizens meet to discuss all policy

Founding Founders put in “Representatives Democracy/Indirect Democracy” → Republic

• representatives are chosen by the people to make decisions for them

• representative body becomes a manageable size for doing the business of government

Influence of Enlightenment

American government rooted from 17-18th century Enlightenment in Europe

• a movement that questioned the traditional authority of monarch to rule

John Locke

• right to rule came from the “consent of the governed”

Montesquieu

• three branches of government and checks and balances

Rousseau

• communities were most justly governed by “general will”/majority rule

John Locke

17th century English philosopher who redefined the nature of government

• Second Treatise of Government

  • identification the basis of a legitimate government

  • right to rule came from the “consent of the governed”

  • duty of government to protact natural rights of the people

  • Life, Liberty, and Property

deeply influenced Thomas Jefferson as he drafted the Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and approved at the Second Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776

drafted primarily as a list of grievances against King George III

• took inspiration from John Locke’s Social Contract Theory

  • Life, Liberty, [Property] Pursuit of Happiness

Articles of Confederation

written in 1776, ratified until 1781

compact among 13 original states, was the new government put in during the American Revolution

loose “League of Friendship”

• gave states the most power

• central government was only legislature

• regardless of state population, only 1 vote in Congress

• colonists wanted to preserve their liberties but central government’s lack of power was ineffective

• no trade regulation

• no currency regulation

• no amendment power

• no military to enforce/protect

• no efficient war strategy/payment of war debt

Shay’s Rebellion

1786 - revolt by angry Massachusetts farmers who were in massive amounts of debt

• prompting a new solution and reframe for Articles of Confederation

1787 - Alexander Hamilton initiated the organization of convention (eventually the convention to throw Articles of Confederation and draft the Constitution)

U.S. Constitution

created at Constitutional Convention 1787, took 2 years for all 13 states to ratify it

Article 1: Legislation branch

structure and powers of Congress

• bicameral legislature

• set qualifications for holding offices in each house

• methods of selecting representatives and senators

• enumerated powers (i.e regulating interstate commerce and declaring wars)

Article 2: Executive branch

vested power to execute laws as president of U.S

• set president’s term at 4 years

• state qualifications fro office

• provided mechanism for removal of office

• presidential powers: include commander-in-chief of armed forces, negotiator of foreign treaties, appointer of ambassadors, judges, “officers of U.S”

Article 3: Judicial branch

• established a Supreme Court and jurisdiction definition

• judges appointment for life and forbid Congress to lower salaries while they hold office

Article 1

Legislation branch

structure and powers of Congress

• bicameral legislature

• set qualifications for holding offices in each house

• methods of selecting representatives and senators

• enumerated powers (i.e regulating interstate commerce and declaring wars)

Article 2

Executive branch

vested power to execute laws as president of U.S

• set president’s term at 4 years

• state qualifications fro office

• provided mechanism for removal of office

• presidential powers: include commander-in-chief of armed forces, negotiator of foreign treaties, appointer of ambassadors, judges, “officers of U.S”

Article 3

Judicial branch

• established a Supreme Court and jurisdiction definition

• judges appointment for life and forbid Congress to lower salaries while they hold office

Article 4

defined the relationship between the federal government and the states in a system of Federalism

• divides the power of government between national and state governments

• this system was to correct chaos of the country during the Articles of Confederation

Federalism

divides the power of government between national and state governments

defined in:

Article 4 (mostly)

Article1.10: forbids states to form alliances or enter foreign countries or coin with their own money

Article 1.8: Elastic clause/Necessary and Proper clause

• empowers Congress to make all laws "necessary and proper" for executing its enumerated powers, granting the federal government the flexibility to establish implied powers as society evolves

Article 6: Supreme clause

• the constitution was declared “the Supreme Law of the Land”

compromise of both Unitary and confederal governments

power is shared by national and state governments

Article 5

provides methods of amending the Constitution and outlines of how Constitution can me changed

2 step-approach

1. Proposal

   1. ways to propose:

      1. congressional vote = 2/3 majority in both houses → only one that has been used

      2. national convention = 2/3 (34) state legislature can petition Congress to call national constitutional convention

1. Ratification

   1. 2 methods to ratify

      1. state legislatures = ¾ (38) state legislature vote to approve

      2. state convention= ¾ (38) of states approve amendment via specifically elected state ratifying conventions (only used ONCE => 21st Amendment)

limitations: No amendment can deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that state’s consent

27

How many amendments have been added to the Constitution since ratification in 1789?

checks and balances

system where each branch of government would be used to check on the powers of the other two branches

• legislature houses also check on each other

BALANCE

Legislation:

• Both houses must vote to enact laws

• Congress can override presidential vetoes

• Senate can refuse to confirm Justice nominees

• Congress can impeach and remove the president or a member of Supreme Court

Executive:

• president can veto legislation

• president nominates Supreme Court justices

Judicial:

• Supreme Court can rule laws unconstitutional

Founding Fathers

• George Washington: Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and America's first President.

• Thomas Jefferson: Primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. President.

• John Adams: Diplomat, signer of the Declaration, and the second U.S. President.

• James Madison: Known as the "Father of the Constitution" and the fourth U.S. President.

• Alexander Hamilton: First Treasury Secretary who established the nation's financial system.

• Benjamin Franklin: Diplomat, scientist, and the oldest signer of the Constitutional Convention.

• John Jay: Key author of the Federalist Papers and the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

George Washington

• Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and America's first President

Thomas Jefferson

Primary author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. President.

John Adams

Diplomat, signer of the Declaration, and the second U.S. President.

James Madison

Known as the "Father of the Constitution" and the fourth U.S. President

• mentor was Thomas Jefferson

• conceded that an executive was necessary but legislature was the preserver of liberty and important check on executive powers

• wrote Bill of Rights

Alexander Hamilton

First Treasury Secretary who established the nation's financial system

• valued order more than liberty and supported the creation of a very strong executive opposite of Madison

• wrote a lot of the Federalist Papers

Benjamin Franklin

Diplomat, scientist, and the oldest signer of the Constitutional Convention.

John Jay

Key author of the Federalist Papers and the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Bill of Rights

1789 written by James Madison and ratified in 1791

originally 12 but only 10 were ratified

1. freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, right to petition the government

2. right to keep and bear arms

3. prevents government from forcing citizens to house/quater soldiers in private homes during peacetime

4. unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrents to be supported by probable cause

5. right to grand jury, protects against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, due process and compensation for taken property

6. right to speedy trial and public trial by impartial jury, right to confront witnesses, right to legal counsel in criminal cases

7. right to jury trial in federal civil lawsuits

8. prohibits excessive bail and fines, cruel and unusual punishments

9. enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean people do not retain other unwritten rights

10. any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people

Amendment 1

freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, right to petition the government

Amendment 2

right to keep and bear arms

Amendment 3

prevents government from forcing citizens to house/quater soldiers in private homes during peacetime

Amendment 4

unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrents to be supported by probable cause

Amendment 5

right to grand jury, protects against self-incrimination, double jeopardy, due process and compensation for taken property

Amendment 6

right to speedy trial and public trial by impartial jury, right to confront witnesses, right to legal counsel in criminal cases

Amendment 7

right to jury trial in federal civil lawsuit

Amendment 8

prohibits excessive bail and fines, cruel and unusual punishments

Amendment 9

enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean people do not retain other unwritten rights

Amendment 10

any powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people

Federalists

supported the Constitution

supported a strong national government to preserve order

• Political Beliefs: believed the Union would fail without strong gov.

• Who should rule: elites were most fit to govern

• Trusting the people: distrusted rule by the people

• Who were they?: property owners, landed wealthy, well-to-do

Anti-federalists

opposed ratification of Constitution

favored strong state governments and believed national government created by Constitution was too strong

• Political Beliefs: wanted strong state governments (closer to the people)

• Who should rule: ordinary people should have great input in government

• Trusting the people: distrusted elites, corruption

• Who were they?: small farmers, shopkeepers, laborers, merchants

Federalist Papers

written by Hamilton, Madison, John Jay under “Publius”

85 arguments in favor of the ratification of Constitution

Note: probably more anti-federalists than federalists in America but federalists were more organized, controlled more newspapers, and in positions of greater power

Unitary government

one of the forms of government that Federalism tries to compromise between

Advantages: laws may be applied uniformly to all

Government: efforts seldom duplicate or contradict themselves

Decision-making: fast, efficient

Disadvantages: concentration of power can lead to tyranny, central officials may not always understand the need of citizens

Confederal government

one of the forms of government that Federalism tries to compromise between

Advantages: laws may be made to suit individual needs of the staes

Government: tyranny can be avoided more easily

Decision-making: government is closer to the people

Disadvantages: state governments are susceptible to quarrel and split apart, sub-gov may lack resources a central gov has

3 types of power of national government

1. delegated (expressed/enumerated): specifically granted to federal government (1.8)

   1. includes power to coin money, regulate commerce, declare war, raise and maintain armed forces, establish Post Office (27 powers to federal gov)

2. implied: not specifically stated in Constitution but may be inferred from elastic clause (1.8), courts are often left to decide what constitutes an implied power

3. inherent: not specifically listed in the Constitutio, but grow out of national government

   1. i.e U.S has power to acquire territory by exploration/occupancy, because most gvernments claim that right generally anyways

reserved powers

Constitution set aside powers for the states

guaranteed by the 10th Amendment

• regulating trade within a state, establishing local government, conducting elections

prohibited powers

powers that are denied to either national government, state govenrment, or both (1.9)

i.e national government cannot exercise its powers in a way to interfere with states’ abilities to perform their responsibilities

states cannot tax imports or exports or can give owned coin money or issue bills of credit

full faith and credit

provision each state has responsibility to each other to public acts, records, civil judicial proceeding of every other state (i.e marriage, extradition)

political parties

Washington warned to not form these…

roles:

• running candidates for political office

• checking the other party → preventing partisanship (strong, often uncritical loyalty to a political party, cause, or viewpoint)

• informing the public

• organizing the government

two party system

• consensus of values (liberty, equality, and individualis,

• historical influence: nation began with two parties (Federalists and Democratic-Republicans)

• winner-take-all system:

  • winner in American elections is the one with the largest number of votes

  • does not need to have more than 50%, but only 1 more vote than his/her opponents

  • a third party receives 15% of the vote fro every contested Senate seat, that party wins zero seasts in the Senate

  • one of the two major partyies almost always wins: plurality and third parties are completely shut out of national offices

types of elections

• Primaries: all all party members to vote and choose the party’s candidate for the general election → held in the spring before general election in the fall

  • Closed primaries: only registered party members may vote for their party’s nomination

  • Open primaries: any voters to choose the party primary in which they want to vote on primary election day

• General: election held to choose which candidate will hold office, most positions 50% of the vote is required but candidates need to win more votes than anyone else in general

Campaigning

can be simple or complex, mostly requiring money

Presidential:

• exploratory committees - involve extensive polling and fund-raising activities allowing them to campaign for primaries (held in NH in feb)

• party activists gather at party conventions held in summer to nominate candidates formally

• debates held in Ocotober

Interest groups

organization that pressured elected officials to enact legislation favorable to its causes

types:

• Public-interest groups:

  • animal rights activitss (PETA) & environmental (Greenpeace)

• Underpaid professional workers groups:

  • American Bar Associate, American Medical Association, National Education Association/American Federation of Teachers

  • Labor unions: AFL-CIO, Teamsters’ union

• Buisness, corporations, and trade association groups (most common)

  • i.e tobacco and oil industries

send representatives to state capitals to put pressure on members of Congress and policymakers

engage in lobbying - organized process of influencing legislation or policy (congressional hearings

they give Americans an opportunity to have better access to their government

Powers of Congress

created in 1789

created to be bicameral (as a system of check and balances)

powers are both:

• constitutional

  • authority to make laws

    • bill is a proposed law and becomes a law AFTER BOTH HofR and Senate have approved it in the same form

    • Both houses share powers (1.8): power to declare war, coin money, raise an army/navy, regulate commerce, establish rules of immigration and naturalization, establish courts and their jurisdictions

      • HofR exclusive: revenue bills must originate (blurred now), impeachment power

      • Senate exclusive: major presidential appointments must be confirmed by Senate (advice and consent), treaties have to have 2/3s approval, impeachment trial occurs in Senate

• evolutionary

  • “elastic/implied powers”

  • oversight of the budget, congress reviews and restricts the annual budget prepared by the executive branch

    • can only set appropriations (the actual amount available in a fiscal year) for each program that it has authorized

  • investigation - may investigate both issues that warrant study and wrongdoings by public officials through committee hearings

    • most famous examples: Whitewater and Clinton-Lewinsky hearings

constitutional differences between House and Senate

House:

• initiates all revenue bills

• initiates impeachment procedures and passes articles of impeachment

• 2-year terms

• 435 members (apportioned by population

Senate

• must confirm many major presidential appointments

• tries impeachment officials

• 6-year terms (1/3 up for re-elections every 2 years)

• 100 members (2 from each state)

• approves treaties

majority

the party that wins the most representatives

• holds the most significant leadership positions (i.e Speaker of the House)

caucas

Democrats term for special meeting to talk party policy and themes to select their leaders by majority vote

conference

Republican term for special meeting to talk party policy and themes to select their leaders by majority vote

minority

the party that has less of the representatives

Beginning of New Congress

• each party meets (democrats = caucus // republicans = conference) and choose their leaders by majority vote

• first session: congressional leaders, Speaker fo the House (HofR), and Makority leader (senate) are selected

House leadership

has 435 members, House leaders tend to have more power ocer their membership than senate leaders do

• Speaker of the House:

  • most powerful member of House

  • influential single legislator in both houses

  • always a member of the majority party

  • presides over proceeding on House floor

  • influences which bills goes to which committees

  • influences committee assignments for new members

  • appoints the party’s other leaders

  • rules on questions of parliamentary procedure

• Majority leader:

  • 2nd ranking member of majority party, party leader on floor

  • hand-picked by Speaker, helps plan party-s legislative program

  • many Speakers were majority leaders first

• Minority leader

  • heads and organizes the minority party

  • less voting power = limited influence

  • if minoriy party succeeds in the next congressional election, minority leader could be the next Speaker

Speaker of the House:

• most powerful member of House

• influential single legislator in both houses

• always a member of the majority party

• presides over proceeding on House floor

• influences which bills goes to which committees

• influences committee assignments for new members

• appoints the party’s other leaders

• rules on questions of parliamentary procedure

Majority leader:

• 2nd ranking member of majority party, party leader on floor

• hand-picked by Speaker, helps plan party-s legislative program

• many Speakers were majority leaders first

Minority leader

• heads and organizes the minority party

• less voting power = limited influence

• if minority party succeeds in the next congressional election, minority leader could be the next Speaker

Senate Leadership

characterized by its highest positions with little power

• president of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States

  • can only cast a vote IN CASE OF TIE

  • rarely sits with the Senate…

• President Pro Tempore

  • selected to take the VP place in the Senate (ceremonial tole, so often a junior senator)

• Floor leaders are the real leaders in the Senate

  • Majority leader - most influential person in Senate

    • beginning debates on legislation

    • influences choices for committee assignments

    • shares power with minority leader

Committees

bills begin and end their lives in committees, help organize the most important work of Congress

less than 10% of bills (8,000 go annually) make it to the floor

types:

• Standing: most important type because these have shaped majority of proposed laws

  • continue from one Congress to the next

  • can be combined, discontinued, but most have stayed for years

  • can also investigate (i.e Clinton’s Whitewater investments)

• select: temporarily formed for specific purposes, to study particular issue

  • do not draft legislation

  • some select committees have become standing committees (i.e Select committee of Aging &/or Indian Affairs)

• joint: similar purpose as select, but made up of House and Senate members

  • to conduct business between the house and focus public attention on major issues

  • i.e. supervising Congress

• conference: specially created with House and Senate need to reconcile different versions of the same bill

  • once group reaches compromise, revised bill is returned to both hoses for approval

committee assignments

after congressional election, parties assign newly elected Reps and Senators to standing committees

• most Reps only serve on 1 or 2 (due to 435 members)

• Senators serve on several committees and subcommittees

requirements for a Representative and Senator?

Representative: be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and an inhabitant of the state they represent at the time of the election

Term limit: 2 year terms, unlimited

Senator: be at least 30 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years, and be an inhabitant of the state they represent at the time they are elected

term limit: 6 year terms, unlimited

President qualifications

explained in Article 2

Must be: at least 35 years old, just have resided in the U.S for no fewer than 14 years, natural born citizen

• paid a compensations that cannot be increased/decreased during a term (Congress determines the salary $400,000)

serves 4 year-term, cannot be eleved more than twice/nor serve for a total of 10 years

Powers:

• military power (commander in chief)

• diplomatic power - given power to sign treats with foreign nations but not without advice and consent of Senate (2/3 must agree)

• appointment power - ambassadors, public ministers, consuls, judges of supreme court and other officers, Senate must approve through majority voting

• legislative power - veto legislation, but congress can override vote with 2/3 majority from each house

habeas corpus

right to an appearance in court

(suspended by Lincoln) as he jailed people suspected out of disloyalty

Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, FDR

Which presidents strengthened the executive branch over the years?

succession to the presidency

1. president

2. Vice president

3. Speaker of the House

4. President of Senate Pro Tempore (becomes VP when speaker becomes president)

5. secretary of state

6. state of treasury

7. secretary of defense

8. attorney general

9. etc. - remaining Cabinet Secretaries

determined by 25th amendment

vice president

President has almost total control over VP

constitutional duty is to preside over the Senate

• workload is determined by president

very hard to be president after being VP

iron triangle

mutually beneficial, three-way alliance between a congressional committee, a bureaucratic agency, and an interest group

• work together to create and control policy in a specific area, trading favors like funding, friendly legislation, and electoral support

committees/subcommittees: provide funding and friendly legislation for the beaurcracy and receive electoral support and campaign contributions form interest groups

agencies: execute and implement friendly regulations for the interest groups in return, receive budget support and politcal backing rom congress

interest groups: provide campaign donations, votes, and lobbying support to congressional committees

judicial review

a power of the courts to overturn a law, authority to interpret the constitution

created by John Marshall (3rd chief justice of Supreme Court)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• established the practice of judicial review

writ

a written curt order requiring a party to perform or cease to perfom a given act

writ of mandamus - Marshall claimed it unconstitutional

congress’s power with courts

Congress creates courts, reorganizes and dismantles courst systems

Judiciary Act of 1789 - establishes courts → constitutional courts in Article 3 (inferior courts)

• Constitutional courts

  • mentioned in Article 3 (inferior courts)

  • judge preside over these cours are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate

  • serve lifetime as long as they exhibit “good behavior”

• Legislative courts

  • i.e early 1900s congress set up U.S territorial courts to hear federal courts

  • appointed by president and confirmed by Senate, serve fixed, limited terms

Judicial circuits

12 geographic circuits

• circuit 1: New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachussetts

• circuit 9: 7 states in far west

as population grew, a total of 94 district courts exist, staffed by 600+ judges

• each circuit only has ONE court of appeals

district court

cases that deal with federal questions or offenses begin here, always granted original jurisdiction

• hear appeal cases only in rare case of a constitutional question that may arise in state courts

• 80% federal cases are heard and most of them end here as well

court of appeals

12 + 1 (13th for Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) courts

hears cases that deal with patents, contracts, financial claims against federal government

• have no juries, and panels of judges decide the cases

• decisions are almost always final, can be appealed only to Supreme Court

Supreme Court

9 justices

• choose 90% of 100-120 cases by writ of certaiorari (order to send up a case record from a lower court)

• Rule fo Four governs choices: if 4 justice vote to hear a case, all 9 agree to do it

Famous Examples:

Broad v. Board of Education of Topeka

• ruled that separate but equal was unconstitutional (overturning Plessy v Ferguson

Judge selection

nomination process:

• federal judges and justices to the president

• nominations needs to be Senate confirmed

• reliance on reccomendations from Dept. of Justice, FBI, Congress members, sitting judges and jsutices, American Bar Association

  • senatorial courtesy: senators from the state in which the vacnacy ccurs, actually make the decision

    • senator of the same politcal party as the President sends a nomination to the president, who almsot always follows the recommendation

• seelction criteria

  • experience

  • political ideology

  • party + personal loyalties

  • ethinicty and gender

federal judges and Supreme Court justices serve for life, so it defines a president’s legacy

civil liberties

protections against government actions

i.e government cannot interfere citizens right to practice whatever religion they please

2 broad categories:

freedoms and rights guaranteed in 1st Amendment

freedoms and rights associated with crime and due process

civil rights

positive actions of government should take to create equal conditions for all Americans

i.e often associated with the protection of Minority groups

protected by the 14th Amendment which protects violation of rights and liberties by state governments

New York Times Co. v. United States 1971

Pentagon papers: the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Nixon Administration could not constitutionally block the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing a classified, top-secret Defense Department study regarding the history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam

14th Amendment

1868 (Lincoln’s time)

that guarantees birthright citizenship, prohibits states from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and guarantees equal protection under the law to all citizens

Civil Rights Act of 1964

prohibited racial discrimination in public facilities (school, workplace, accommodations)

ended de jure segregation (separation by law)

Voting Rights Act of 1965

committed the federal government to provide federal examiners in counties with histories of discrimination

ended de jure segregation (separation by law)

NAACP

interest group that argued Plessy v. Ferguson

19th Amendment

right to vote for women