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9 MARKER – EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS (Paper 2 – US ONLY!)CONSTITUTION
Explain and analyse three key features of the nature of the US Constitution
Codified – one document that contains a preamble and seven articles that describe the way the
government is structured and how it operates
o Article I established Congress as the national legislature, defining its membership,
the qualifications and method of election of its members, as well as its powers.
Under Article I, Section 8, Congress was given specific powers such as those to ‘coin
money’ and ‘declare war’.
o Article II decided on a singular, rather than a plural, executive by vesting all
executive power in the hands of ‘a President’. The president would be chosen
indirectly by an Electoral College.
o Article III established the United States Supreme Court, though Congress quickly
added trial and appeal courts. Although not explicitly granted, the Court was to have
the role of umpire of the Constitution, implied in the supremacy clause of Article VI
and the provision in Article III itself that the Court’s judicial power applies to ‘all
Cases...arising under this Constitution’.
o The Court would make this more explicit in its landmark decision of Marbury v
Madison in 1803. These three Articles contain what are called the enumerated (or
delegated) powers granted to the federal government. The significance of this is that
the federal government does not possess unlimited power, but only such power as is
given it in the Constitution. For example, to law and collect taxes.
Separation of powers including checks and balances - 3 independent and coequal branches of
government, they act independently and interdependently
o The framework of government was put in place by the Founding Fathers because of
their fear of tyranny.
o The Founding Fathers had the idea that each of these three independent yet co-
equal branches should check the power of the others. It was decided that no person
could be in more than one branch of the federal government at the same time —
what we might call ‘the separation of personnel’. For example, in 2008, Senator
Barack Obama was elected president, he had to resign from the Senate, as did his
newly elected vice-president Senator Joe Biden.
o These checks and balances are exercised by each branch of the federal government
— the legislature, the executive and the judiciary — on the other two branches
o For example, the president has the power to veto bills passed by Congress and the
president nominates all federal judges — to the trial court, appeal court and
Supreme Court.
The amendment process
o The Founding Fathers, while realising the likely need to amend the Constitution,
wanted to make doing so a difficult process. Thus, it was to be a two-stage process
, requiring super-majorities of more than 50%, such as two-thirds or a three-quarters
majority (see Table 2.1). The process is laid out in Article V. Stage 1 is the proposal
and stage 2 is the ratification. Constitutional amendments can be proposed either by
Congress or by a national constitutional convention called by Congress at the
request of two-thirds of the state legislatures.
o A proposal to amend the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both houses
to be successful.
o During the presidency of George W. Bush (2001–09), there were six further attempts
to amend the Constitution. But only three of these six votes — the three in the
House of Representatives to ban the desecration of the American flag — received
the required two-thirds majority
o Of the 33 amendments passed to them for ratification by Congress, the states have
ratified 27
o Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, the first ten were proposed together by
Congress in September 1789 and were ratified together by threequarters of the
states by December 1791. Collectively, they are known as the Bill of Rights
Explain and analyse three ways that the Bill of Rights protects the rights of US citizens.
The Bill of Rights forms part of the US Constitution that represents the first ten constitutional
amendments to be ratified
o The Bill of Rights was drawn up by James Madison and the ten amendments were
ratified in 1791
o The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect
on December 15, 1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United
States and protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors in American
territory.
o The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep
and bear arms, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also
prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment and
compelled self-incrimination. Among the legal protections it affords, the Bill of
Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of religion
and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or
property without due process of law. In federal criminal cases it requires indictment
by a grand jury for any capital offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a speedy
public trial with an impartial jury in the district in which the crime occurred, and
prohibits double jeopardy.
the Bill of Rights and the concept of limited government - each individual has certain rights that
government cannot take away
o For example, amendment 1 is directed at Congress, amendments 2 to 4 are focused
on executive power, amendments 5 to 8 focus on judicial processes and the final
two, reserved powers to the people and the state
o The Bill of Rights prevents the federal and state governments from enacting laws
that infringe on rights.
, Boumediene v Bush (2008) – held Bush’s Military Commissions Act (2006) to
be unconstitutional as it infringed on habeas corpus.
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) – held that the District of Columbia’s
firearms ban was unconstitutional as it infringed on the 2 nd Amendment
(right to bear arms).
United States v. Windsor (2013) – held that the Defence of Marriage Act
(1996), which restricted marriage to being between one man and one
woman, was unconstitutional as it infringed on the Due Process clause of
the 5th Amendment.
The Supreme Court uses judicial review to protect the rights and liberties of Americans.
The Supreme Court protects rights by ruling based on constitutional rights.
The Supreme Court has established new rights by re-interpreting the Constitution.
o In the 2015 case of Obergefell v Hodges, the Court gave same-sex couples
the right to marry.
The Supreme Court has ruled in cases on the 1st Amendment freedom of religion.
o In the 2014 Town of Greece v Galloway case, the Court ruled that city and town
councils could start meetings with prayers.
The Supreme Court has ruled in cases on the First Amendment freedom of speech.
o In the 2011 Snyder v Phelps case, the court ruled that the Westboro Baptist
Church had the right to carry out anti-gay protests at the funerals of soldiers.
The Supreme Court has ruled in cases on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
o The 2008 District of Columbia v Heller case ruled that a District of Columbia 1976
ruling, which banned handgun ownership and required shotguns and rifles to be
kept unloaded, was unconstitutional.
o This ruling upheld the right to bear arms as an individual right to own guns.
Explain and analyse three ways that the concept of federalism influences US government.
In federalism, there are variations in rules, unlike a unitary system, such as the UK, where laws
apply across the whole of the country, which gives states more power.
o 24 states with death penalty
o In 34 states, voters can cast absentee ballots without specifying a reason.
o In seven states, voters still need a reason to vote absentee.
o ID laws in some states
o Some states have used their flexibility to introduce divergent policies but in ways
that social conservatives would surely approve as they have the tendency to limit
women's access to abortion
, o Restrictions include requirement for women to obtain parental permission, or to
seek the approval of the father
o 32 states fund abortions only in those cases where a pregnancy endangers the life of
the mother
o Some have argued that the federal system in this regard allows states to confound
or prevent a national policy, and that too loose a structure of decision-making is
incompatible with the protection of fundamental rights, just as it was with civil
liberties until Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
It is a form of power sharing between the branches
o system of government where powers of government are divided between a central
government and several local governments, Supreme court is umpire of all
disagreements between federal and state governments
o 'reserved powers'- 10th A (federalist clause) e.g. state powers- regulating states tax,
controlling voting, local policing, education to an extent, roads
Federal government can use block grants to help states
o March 2020 Trump signed the largest US financial stimulus package (2 trillion) -
distributed to states to support struggling businesses
o Under Bush, Federal government spending grew by 33% in first term-->impact of
9/11
o Federal grants almost doubled from 1998-2008 reaching 461 billion
Explain & analyse three features of the relationship between federal government & states
The states and the federal government have both exclusive and concurrent powers, which help to
explain the negotiation over the balance of power between them.
o Only the federal government can coin money, regulate the mail, declare war, or
conduct foreign affairs. These powers make a lot of sense: imagine if Wyoming could
declare war on Canada, or Michigan could coin the Michigan Dollar.
o The exclusive powers of the federal government help the nation operate as a unified
whole.
o The states retain a lot of power, however. States conduct all elections, even
presidential elections, and must ratify constitutional amendments. So long as their
laws do not contradict national laws, state governments can prescribe policies on
commerce, taxation, healthcare, education, and many other issues within their
state.
The federal government can encourage the adoption of policies at the state-level through federal
aid programs.
o One way that the federal government can influence the states is through the
distribution of grants, incentives, and aid. State and local governments are eager to
obtain federal dollars, but many of those dollars come with strings
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