Exam 2: The Constitution

Why is an independent judiciary critical for a healthy democracy?

What was Shays's Rebellion? Explain how Shays's Rebellion illustrates a collective action problem among the states under the Articles of Confederation. What remedies to the collective action problem at work during Shays's Rebellion are incorporated into the U.S. Constitution?

When the United States was founded, slavery was legally protected and many groups did not vote. Why have changes been possible?

Which constitutional provision states that Congress may create whatever laws are "necessary and proper" in order to execute other enumerated powers?

In 1987, President Reagan nominated Robert Bork to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate voted against Bork's nomination, 42-58, preventing him from serving as a justice on the Court. This interaction demonstrates the system of ________.

Which three cleavages presented the most difficult challenges at the Constitutional Convention?

Which is NOT a major feature of the Constitution adopted by the Philadelphia Convention in 1787?

What are the "separation of powers" and "checks and balances"? How are these sets of institutional arrangements related? How are they distinct? How are the separation of powers and checks and balances put into effect in the U.S. Constitution?

Which type of document organizes the formal institutions of government and lays out how government may legitimately use its powers?

Which of the following has most encouraged popular participation in government?

In the 2010 case U.S. v. Comstock, the Supreme Court ruled that a congressional law allowing the continued detention of sexual offenders who posed a threat after serving their prison terms was constitutional. The Court said the creation of this law was within the rights of Congress, even though the Constitution does not explicitly mention sexual offences. This is an example of the Court acknowledging the ________.

Which constitutional provision declares the federal constitution to be the "supreme law of the land"?

Compared to either the Virginia Plan or the Connecticut Compromise, what did the New Jersey Plan propose?

Which term denotes an institutional arrangement in which specific governmental powers are divided among distinct branches of government?

When deciding what policy areas Congress is allowed to act on, twentieth-century courts have primarily used ________ as a guide, because they interpret it to mean that ________.

What major disagreements faced the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia? How did the delegates choose to compromise in order to resolve these important differences? What major features of the Constitution reflect these compromises?

Why was the Constitutional Convention called?

Two neighbors have a dispute about the placement of their mailboxes. Which federal institution is designed to handle such a conflict?

The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution has been ________.

Judicial review, the presidential veto, and requirements of senatorial "advice and consent" are examples of ________.