US PEv

    Cards (143)

    • Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was signed by 56 delegates on July 4, 1776
    • The "Great Compromise" the split of Congress into two chambers so that each state would have fair representation - 16th July 1787
    • US Constitution - written in Philidelphia on 17th September 1787, ratified in 1789
    • The 13 colonies first used the Articles of Confederation which did not secure much power in a central government and by 1786 they were unable to quell the uprisings, so they needed a Constitution
    • Marbury v Madison - 1803 - The Supreme Court ruled that the Judicial Branch could declare a law unconstitutional and thus veto it
    • McCulloch v Maryland - 1819 - The Supreme Court ruled that states cannot tax federal institutions (e.g. banks)
    • Plessy v Ferguson - 1896 - The Supreme Court ruled that segregation is constitutional as long as facilities are equal
    • The Bill of Rights - 1791 - established the first 10 amendments, all of which were required by 5 of the other states if they were to sign onto the constitution, only 17 more amendments have been made since
    • The Reconstruction Amendments - 13th, ending slavery (1865); 14th, African American citizenship (1868); 15th, African American vote (1870); all created in response to the civil war
    • 22nd amendment - only 2 terms for each president
    • 25th amendment - if the president is seen to be unfit by 2/3 of congress they can be removed
    • 26th amendment - 18-21 year olds can vote
    • 19th amendment - gave women the right to vote
    • only 2% of all suggested amendments between 1791 and 2019 were adopted
    • in 2013 the Supreme Court overturned the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, allowing gay marriage
    • 1974 - US v Nixon - Supreme Court used judicial review to examine the constitutionality of the president's actions
    • Biden used bipartisanship to get through his infrastructure bill in 2021
    • George W Bush used bipartisanship to increase funding for schools in 2001
    • when the country was young there was need for unification of the 13 states because they were still under threat from britain
    • E Pluribus Unum - Out of many, one
    • 10th amendment - states have the right to make their own laws, essentially the federalism amendment, does not clearly set out where the balance of power sits between states and federal government
    • The Confederate State Alliance lasted from 1861 to 1865.
    • "The Constitution is what the judges say it is" - Chief Justice Hughes, 1907
    • "It was the 13th, the first amendment in the nation's history to expand the power of the federal government rather than restraining it, that initiated a redefinition of federalism" - Eric Forner, political writer, The Second Founding
    • Nixon's "New Federalism" was a policy that gave more power to the states by giving out block grants for states to use at their own discretion
    • "When the legislative, executive and judicial branches are united in the same person there can be no liberty" - Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws
    • There are 37 trifecta states in the USA, 23 are Republican and 14 are democratic
    • The British tried to regain the USA in 1812
    • 74% of Americans did not like the idea of a female president in 1960
    • 74% of Americans did not like Congress in 2019. At the same time only 83% disliked Afganistan
    • Women make up only 27% of Congress but 51% of the population
    • Hispanic Americans make up only 9% of Congress but 18% of the population
    • 99% of Congress people have been to university as opposed to 35% of the population
    • The average age of Congress people is 59 years but the average age in the country is 35
    • Atheists make up only 0.2% of Congress but 23% of the population
    • In 1992, the year of the woman, the number of women elected doubled
    • A person in Wyoming has 68X the influence in the senate than a person in California
    • Christians make up 89% of Congress but 71% of the population
    • Amtrak Joe - name for Joe Biden because he travelled by train to campaign in 2020
    • Dennis Chavez was the first Hispanic American to be elected into the senate in 1974. The next two were in 2005