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Longman PoliticalScience Interactive

Longman PoliticalScience Interactive. Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 2 The Living Constitution. The Living Constitution. The U.S. Constitution is the oldest in the world

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Longman PoliticalScience Interactive

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  1. LongmanPoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 2 The Living Constitution

  2. The Living Constitution • The U.S. Constitution is the oldest in the world • Still, the brevity and ambiguity of many constitutional provisions have spurred a great deal of additional debate High school students pray outside their school before classes begin for the day. Although this type of prayer has been upheld by the courts, the Supreme Court struck down student-led prayer broadcasted over a stadium loudspeaker before a high school football game.

  3. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances

  4. Modifications of Checks and Balances • The rise of national political parties • Expansion of the electorate and the move toward more direct democracy • Establishment of agencies deliberately designed to exercise legislative, executive, and judicial functions • Changes in technology • The growth of presidential power

  5. Modifications of Checks and Balances Direct Primary Election in which voters choose party nominees Initiative Procedure whereby a certain number of voters may, by petition, propose a law or constitutional amendment and have it submitted to the voters Recall Procedure for submitting to popular vote the removal of officers from office before the end of their term Referendum Procedure for submitting to popular vote measures passed by the legislature or proposed amendments to a state constitution

  6. Origins of Judicial Review Whether the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 intended to give the courts the power of judicial review is a long debated question

  7. Marbury versus Madison • John Marshall sworn in as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court through a “midnight appointment” of President Adams in 1801 • Jefferson refuses to deliver other commissions • Marbury v. Madison • Constitution is the supreme and binding law

  8. The Unwritten Constitution Constitutional elaboration: -Congressional action to provide the details not laid out in the Constitution -e.g.: Impeachment Two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Nixon resigned before impeachment.

  9. Presidential Practices Executive Order Executive Privilege Impoundment

  10. The Amending Power and How it Has Been Used

  11. Proposing Amendments

  12. Ratifying Amendments The Time for Ratification of the 27 Amendments to the Constitution

  13. Ratification Politics: The ERA • “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” • First introduced in 1923 • Passed by Congress in 1972, and referred to the states for ratification • Fell three states short of the 38 needed for ratification • Demonstrates the difficulty of amending the Constitution

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