Colonialism/Articles of Confederation
What were two acts that made the colonists angry?
The Stamp act, the Tea act
Describe the structure of the bicameral congress.
House- 435 members based on state population
Senate- 100 members, 2 per state
What is the supremacy clause?
States that federal law is the supreme law of the land
What is the difference between civil liberties and civil rights?
Civil Liberties- basic freedoms
Civil rights- equal protection under the law
What is longer, the US constitution or the state constitutions? What problems do we see with the length of the US constitution?
States are longer, US is short and hard to interpret
How many branches were in the articles of confederation? What branches were there?
1, legislative
What are the 3 branches of government the constitution establishes?
Legislative (congress), Law making branch
Executive (president), enforces law/implements programs
Judicial (supreme court), applies law to specific cases
What is federalism?
A system of government in which two or more levels of government have independent authority
Is the bill of rights a list of civil liberties or civil rights?
Civil Liberties
How is the MO constitution similar to the US constitution?
3 branches of gov (mo general assembly as legislative, exec and MO supreme court)
Bill of Rights
Name two problems with the Articles of Confederation.
-No power to enforce laws
-No power to impose taxes
How does one go about amending the constitution? How many amendments to the constitution are there?
2 step process:
Proposed by 2/3 of congress
Approved by 3/4 of state legislatures
27 amendments (10 are the bill of rights)
ALTERNATIVE:
Petition to form a constitutional convention
Congress can require use of state ratification conventions
Describe the two types of grants that can be given to states.
Categorical grants- States must spend the money in a certain way (ex: medicaid)
Block grants- States have more discretion over spending
What are the rights given in the 14th amendment?
US citizenship, equal protection clause. No state shall deny any person equal protection of the law
What are the 3 historical eras of American Government, and what years did they run through?
Colonial govt- 1607-1776
Articles of Confederation 1781-1788
Constitution 1789-present
What happened at the 2nd continental congress?
The declaration of independence was issued
Describe the ratification process of the constitution with federalists vs anti-federalists.
Had to be ratified by 9/13 states
Anti-federalists didn't want to ratify, they felt like they were missing civil liberties. Federalists disagrees
Federalists agreed to the bill of rights
What are the 2 periods of federalism, and what major events happened in each?
1. Dual Federalism (1789-1936)
More state power, Great depression/New Deal, Changed interpretation of commerce clause
2. Cooperative Federalism (1937-present)
More federal activity, especially economic regulation
What did the 1954 case Brown v. Board of education overturn? Is this a civil liberties or a civil rights case?
Separate but equal, civil rights
Can the MO constitution be amended? If so, how?
1. Amendment proposed by majority of MO general assembly
2. Approved by a majority of voters in the next election
What were the 3 principles of government emphasized in the declaration of independence?
Consent of the governed
Separation of powers
Civil liberties
What were the two main political debates when creating the constitution, and how were they solved?
VA plan, proportional representation (lg states) vs NJ plan, all states represented = (small states)
Connecticut/Great compromise created a Bicameral congress
Northern vs Southern states
Do slaves count as population?
3/5 compromise
List 5 powers of federal governments and 5 powers of state governments. What is the difference between enumerated and implied powers? How does the 10th amendment come into play here?
Federal:
-Regulate interstate commerce
-Regulate international trade
-Immigration
-Monetary Policy
-Foreign Relations
-National Defense
Enumerated vs implied?
State Governments:
-Education
-Most social welfare programs
-Most criminal + civil legal codes
-Commerce within states
-Elections
10th amendment...
List the 10 amendments in the bill of rights
1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition
2. Bear arms
3. Quartering of troops
4. Search + seizure
5. Rights in criminal cases
6. Speedy + public trial
7. Right to a trial by jury
8. Cruel + unusual punishment
9. Rights retained by the people
10. Powers retained by the states and the people
Discuss some of the major current events we reviewed in class.
- Brexit
- Oil in Saudi Arabia
- Climate Change, Brazil Fires
- Democratic Presidential candidates