The Key concepts of the Constitution contained the following ideas :
A democracy and a republic aren't the same ! It is important to know the difference between the two because these notions are used in the Constitution even though many people consider they are synonymous. The difference between the two lies in the source of the powers :
Republic : Charter
Democracy : Power
Another key point : Organization of the government. It is divided into 3 branches : one that makes the laws, that carries out the laws and which interprets the laws. CHECK AND BALANCES !
Another key concept : Federalism
The Constitution itself provides very few precisions on how the government should be runned. But, we know how the powers are divided and how one can act on another one. Government is very important in the USA, It has been created ( the notion) by the four fathers....( knowledge...brit values). Americans consider that they all act for the good of the nation ( they are hard-workers), that's why they hate relationship with Government. As it evolved compared to the past, Americans expect now the federal government to solve every quotidian and individual problems : more social, financial...It's a necessary evolution. A lot of Americans now prefer the central power to be more powerful ! All of these points are in the Bill of Rights. Americans are less liary ( more trustful as ar as the government is concerned).
Bill of Rights – Sheet.
Constitution :
• Preamble.
- It provides the source of powers led out by the rest of the Constitution. Also common defense is mentioned. The preponderance of a strong union and those in favor of strong States agree on this point (on common defense). One of the main objectives of the union: defend the interests of Americans against invaders or former colonists (GB). The purpose of the Constitution is to promote general welfare. Finally, the US Supreme Court does not consider that the Preamble grants any particular authority to the federal government or that it prohibits any particular authority.
• Article 1: Legislative powers.
- It deals directly with the US legislative branch also known as Congress. It establishes a bicameral entity with a Senate (100 senators: 2/State) and a House of Representatives based on proportional representation: 435 representatives today.
Blacks were not free persons; they were counted as 3/5 of all other persons. These words are still appearing in the US Constitution. This part of this clause relating to the calculation of the number of people of each State was changed by the 14th amendment in 1868 and the equal protection clause.
• Section 8: as a legislative body, Congress has certain powers: enumerated powers: clause 117, section 8.
Clause 3: originally the commerce clause intended to stop the interferences of the States with trade. Through the 20th century, the federal Courts interpreted this clause as a mean of expending government power over the States. Today, the commerce clause is the basis of important peacetime powers of the national government as well as an important reference for judicial review of State action. It has so implied power.
Clause 18: the necessary and proper clause. Chief Justice John Marshall (Supreme Court) developed the notion of implied power in the 1819 case called McCulloch vs. Maryland. The issue in this case was the constitutionality of Congress establishment of a bank for the US. Chief justice Marshall admitted that the federal government was a government of limited powers: no specific mention in article 1 of any power to constitute a bank. But Chief Justice held that the grant of explicit enumerated powers necessarily implied the power to do what was appropriate to carry out those powers. Therefore, since Congress has explicit powers to lay and collect taxes, to borrow money and to regulate commerce and since a bank would clearly assist in carrying out these powers, therefore Congress had implied powers to create a bank.
• Section 9.
Clause 2: Habeas Corpus: it is a principle of both British and American democracies: an individual may not be replied of her or his freedom of movement without legal guarantees of due process of law (due process of law is guaranteed by the 5th amendment which is protection of government and the 14th amendment which is protection of the State).
Clause 3: a bill of attainder: it is a legislative measure which declares somebody guilty of a crime without a trial and sets punishment.
Expose facto law: after the fact law, it is prohibited to pass laws that criminalized actions
that were not unlawful when they were carried out.
• Section 10: these are articles denied to the State.
It deals with the US executive branch otherwise known as the presidency. The US was the
first country to create the office of the President as head of a modern republic.
- 43 Presidents have succeeded to the first President (George Washington). The President’s role and duties consist essentially in enforcing national law as presented in the Constitution and enacted by Congress. Executive power is vested in the President by the article 2 section 1 of the Constitution.
• Article 2.
- It deals with the executive powers.
• Section 1: sets election process with an electoral college.
• Section 2.
1/ The President has powers over external affairs. He is the Commander in Chief. Although lacking the power to declare or initiate war, the President has extensive powers on arm forces. In these cases the President does not need a congressional declaration of war. The last time USA declared war: 1941.
2/ Foreign relations: he has the power to receive ambassadors and make Treaties. The Treaty is made by the President by and with the advice of the Congress (2/3 of the senators).
3/ Internal affairs powers and duties: the President is powered to grant pardon for offences against the US except impeachment. This power applies before, during and after trial but only on criminal trials.
• Section 3: Speech: « State of the Union ». This address by the President not only reports on the condition of the Nations but also allows the President to outline his legislative agenda and national priorities to Congress. Originally the framers of the Constitution intended to specify various departments of the executive branch. Congress established the various departments of the executive branches. It has created 14 departments: agriculture, commerce, education, energy, housing and urban development, interior, labour, State defense, transportation, treasury, justice, veterans' affairs, health and human services. The heads of these departments are called Secretaries. They are appointed by the President and are referred collectively as the President Cabinet.
- Bills originate from several sources but mainly individual members of Congress. Bills might be brought by Congress by a constituent or by a group of constituents. Also, a bill can be submitted to a member by one or more State legislators or the President or his administration can suggest bill. A bill can be introduced in either house; a bill must be eventually passed both houses to become law. The exception is the bill for raising revenue must originate in the house and never in the senate.
- Committees.
Both Houses of Congress, the House and the Senate, are divided into large groups called committees with most committees which are divided into subcommittees. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee. Then a bill is scheduled to have hearing at which time witnesses may be called to testify as to why a bill is needed and subcommittees’ members ask questions to determine the need or validity of the bill. If the bill is defeated in the committee vote, it dies. If it passes, a committee report is attached to the bill and the bill is sent to the floor of the house. (How a bill becomes law – document). Either the President signs the approved bill by the Congress or the President has 10 days except Sunday to exercise his veto power. If he doesn’t respect that time, the bill becomes law if Congress is still in cession or the bill is automatically vetoed if Congress is not in session (it is the pocket veto). Veto power allows the President only to approve or reject a bill in total earning that he cannot cancel a part of a bill and approve another part (the line item veto). The President's veto power doesn’t authorize him to amend or repeal parts of the bill passed by Congress. Line time veto is unconstitutional.
Also, under article 1 section 7: Congress may override the President's veto by 2 thirds vote of each House. Non germane amendment: bill not related to the purpose of the bill.
Article deals with the Article 3: judicial branch of the US government.
• Article 3.
- Section 1.
The judiciary possesses the inherent power to interpret the law. It is called also the judicial review and it was implemented for the first time in the decision Marbury vs. Madison (US Supreme Court decision that conferred that upon the same Court the possibility to declare constitutional or unconstitutional all laws and acts emanating from the Federal government). It was a precedent and then there was Fletcher vs. Peck: 1810.
It established a ground from federal jurisdictions, also guarantees trial by jury in all criminal cases, it defines the crime of treason and confers upon Congress the duty to provide a punishment for treason. Also, it defines and describes the Court system including a US Supreme Court on which only one may exist at the federal level (one Supreme Court). This article confers upon Congress the power at its discretion to create lower Courts whose judgments and orders are reviewable by the US Supreme Court.
• Article 4.
- Section 2 clause 1: it guarantees a Republican form of government under its section 4. It provides for the admission of new States as well as the government of territories. The relation between the State providing that full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts. This full credit prohibits any State from discriminating against citizens of other States…
Art 5 : How the Constitution can be amended and what should be done and in what order
Art 6 : Establishes that the Constitution in all acts or laws is the supreme law of the land.
Art 7 : Ratification process.
The framers of the US Constitution were aiming to have a better union, a union that would respect and protect the rights of the citizens. The Constitution has to have a constant interpretation and it is based on the American culture and history. The concept of power and political influence have both changed through the centuries. This allows Americans oppotunity to experience wining and loosing in the political batterfiled specially a batterfieled of compromises, money and connections. The mix of all of this produces a specific status of the USA in the political instiutions. When we talk American federalism, it is in the liberal sense. Traditionnally, federalism has been defined as the separation of powers between a central government and its states. Many stated that American federalism was different as it had a strong belief in the " original local diversity". In spite of diversity, Americans managed to build a united nation. As said Alexis Tocqueville in Democracy in America, Americans have been allowed to maintain a diversity in the poeple thanks to their mind and culture. They maintained sovereignty of people by using Constitution and existing law. USA consisted a federalist system but this word is never used. In the Constitution, any authority not specifically quote can be reserved to the individual state. Art 1 section 8 : Congress will provide for the welfare of the citizens. Admendment 10 : Powers for the states. Some elementory characteristicsof the American federal system:
Distinctive visions between the state and the national government. Sometimes, there are overlaps.
National government has the final say on dealing with foreign affairs
There are positive exhcanges between the national government and te state's government : Education, Highway constructions, social security ( only retirement system)...
Supreme court Acts are superior compared to the other acts.
Citizens of the USA live in two teared types of government : state and national. Americans take advantage from this political system
There are many definitions of federalism :
Duel federalism : Each entity has a different role to play. Nobody can go against the State'srights, it is protected by the 10th admendment. Boundaries have to be respected.
Cooperative federalism: Denotes that powers are shared and responsabilities overlapped.
Example : Law enforcement. Around the nation, drug cartels : Collective actions of the different polices.
The ensensive federalism : Exist since the Founding Fathers. Overtime, the power given to the national government was shadowed for the state's government. 1824 ( gibbons,ogden).Commerce clause. Throughout the 19th centuries, the US Supreme court was reserved to favouring and expending the national's government power, a lot of people were liary to give central government too much power. In the 1930's, Roosevelt administration and Suoreme curt were working on new liberties and civil rights because there was an economic depression but also a moral one in the population, the country was in a bad shape with the crises of 1929 ==> Creation of 14th admendament due process law.....The Supreme court used several interpretations for federal government to be stroinger and for the country to go back on its feet. State goves money to the states regarding the number of inhabitants. The national government has to comply with all the states.Regulatory federalism.
Nature of federalism has changed. Johnson was vice president and he believed in heavy public programmes to help the under privileged. He wanted to better citizens' life. He shft power to the national level. 1965 Medicare Act...many acts that changed many things, Congress' vision changed too. He pushed many programmes to congress as far as health or other programmes are concerned ( social programmes). Niwxon stepped in to programmes and he tried to reverse this tendance of powerful national fovernment. This tendancy has been named " new federalism". Example : in order to make the national government smaller, he did a revenue sharing. A percentage of the tax would to the states for them to act in any fields. Under the 1980's, many things changed and he thought that new federalism was good. He encouraged the states to take over certain programmes ( Reagan). He was loved by people as he was a good social president and he was a good orator. Other programmes : food stamp
Bill Clinton : Reduced social welfare, was pushing for more power to be given back to the state and also he wanted to reduce intervention of state at the economic level.
Issue of secutity with eterrorism. Security Act 2001 telephone calls emails can be watched.
Federalism
sheet about cases
