THE CONSTITUTION 1- GENESIS

• first form of government

- articles of confederation

- bad- could not tax, could not enforce laws, no executive, ect

• Connecticut compromise- great compromise

- bicameral legislative

• foundations of constitution

- legislative branch is most powerful

- designed to be vague

-separation of powers

-checks and balances- president can veto, congress approves court appointments

• separation of powers- divide power between the branches

• checks and balances- allows one branch to stop another branch from gaining too much power

THE CONSTITUTION 2- POWERS

• enumerated powers- list of powers in article 1 section 8 of the constitution. powers given specifically to congress- declare war, regulate commerce, tax

• expressed powers- specifically granted to the federal government by the constitution- sometimes ties to enumerated powers

• implied powers- powers of the federal government that go beyond those directly stated in the constitution- often come form the elastic clause

• inherent powers- powers that grow out of the existence of government- executive order

• formal powers- powers directly written in the constitution

• informal powers- powers not directly written in the constitution

• reserved powers- powers not specifically granted to the national government or denied to the state government. powers held by the states through the 10th amendment

• police power- power of the state to enact laws promoting health, safety, and morals

THE CONSTITUTION 3- CLAUSES

• supremacy clause- establishes that the federal gov is supreme over states. the consti is the supreme law of the land

• necessary and proper clause- congress can grant congress any power that it deems necessary and proper

• commerce clause- congress can regulate all trade that crosses state lines

• due process clause-

-5th- no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

-14th- applies to states- no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

• equal protection clause- 14th- states must apply the law equally and can’t discriminate against ppl or groups of ppl

• free exercise clause- 1st- the gov cannot stop ppl from practicing or not practicing any religion. ppl are free to practice religion how they wish

• establishment clause- 1st- gov cant establish a national religion

THE CONSTITUTION 3

federalist and anti- federalists

• federalists

-favored weaker state govs and a strong central gov

-favored consti

-promised a bill or rights if consti was ratified

• anti federalists

-favored strong states and a weak central gov

-called for a bill of rights

-not in favor of const

• federalist papers

-fed papers- why the states should ratify the consti

-fed paper #10- factions are undesirable by inevitable and the consti can help limit the bad outcomes of faction

-fed paper #51- the structure of the consti will protect the country from one man or group getting too much power- sep of powers

• principles of gov

-limited gov- gov is preserved from doing things- cant punish you without a public trial

-natural/ unalienable rights- rights we are all born with- the foundation of the declaration of indi and bill of rights

-popular sovereignty- a gov of the ppl- the ppl select the gov and the ppl´s approval provide the mandate for the gov

-republicanism-

-having a republican form of gov

-protection minority from the majority

rule of law- no one is above the law- everyone subjects to the laws of the land- including the president

-judicial review- power of the indi judiciary to rule laws unconsti

-checks and balances- the ability for each branch of the fed gov to stop the other 2 branches -sep of powers

-sep of powers- division of powers between the 3 branches of gov- congress declares war but the pres is the leader of the military

founding docs

• declaration of indi

-foundation of civil liberties

-foundation of democracy in america

• articles of confederation

-first form of gov. promoted states over fed gov

-many weaknesses that required a change to the consti

• the consti

-all the good stuff in the consti

• fed #51- sep of powers will protect the country from tyranny

• fed #10- factions are bad, factions are inevitable. the consti will control factions

• fed #70- a single executive is good bc they can act swiftly and the consti will prevent a tyrannical executinve

• fed #78- the courts need judicial review. they dont have any enforcement power so the judiciary wont be that powerful

FEDERALISM 1

• constitutional arrangement in which power is distributed between a central gov and sub-divisional govs, called states in the US. the national and the sub-divisional govs both exercise direct authority over individuals

FEDERALISM 2

• dual federalism- layered cake- the national and state govs remain supreme within their own spheres- separate

• cooperative fed- marble cake- national and state gov work together to complete projects- mixed

• competitive fed- views that national gov, 50 states, and thousands of local govs are competing w each other over ways to put together packages of services and taxes

• fiscal fed- pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system

• devolution- passing of power down from the fed level to state/ local levels of gov

FEDERALISM 3- GRANTS

• categorical grants- made for specific, carefully defined purposes,

- give the federal gov more power bc states must comply w the regulations and block grants give states more flexibility w implementation bc of fewer restrictions

-ex- money spent to build interstate highways and wastewater plant

• project grants- fed grants given for specific purposes and awarded on the basis of the merits of applications. a type of categorical grants available to states and localities

• block grants- made for a broadly defined purposes. block grants give the states brad discretion in how the money will be spent

-ex- money given to the states for homeland security and community development

FEDERALISM 4- MANDATES

• fed mandate- rule telling states what they must do to comply w fed guidlines

-civil rights and environmental protection are the most common mandates

• unfunded mandate- requires state and local govs to provide services without providing resources for these services

-1986 handicapped children´s protection act required public schools to build access ramps and provide special buses, but the act did not provide fed funds to pay for these additions

FEDERALISM SUPREME COURT CASES

• marbury v madison- established judicial review- increased power of fed govs

• McMulloch v marland- increased the power of the fed gov over the states by strengthiening the supremacy clause- states cant tax fed

• gibbons v ogden- increased the power of the red gov to use the commerce clause

• United States v Lopez- restricted congress’ (fed gov) ability to use commerce clause