The Constitutional Framework of US Government | AQA A-Level Politics (7152)

The Constitutional Framework of US Government

73 questions
6 subtopics
Paper 2: government and politics of the USA
Paper 2

A codified, entrenched constitution and what follows from it: the separation of powers and the checks each branch holds, the federal division of authority, and how the document changes..

It covers the Nature of the US Constitution, checks and Balances and Constitutional Principles, federalism and the Division of Powers, coercive Federalism and Federal-State Disputes, amending the Constitution and informal Constitutional Change and the Rights Amendments.

Sample questions from The Constitutional Framework of US Government

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The Nature of the US Constitution

Explain why the US Constitution is described as entrenched.

Show the answer
It can only be altered by a deliberately demanding amendment process, so it is protected against change by an ordinary legislative majority.
The Nature of the US Constitution

State what each of the first three Articles of the Constitution establishes.

Show the answer
Article I establishes the legislature, Article II the executive presidency and Article III the judiciary.
Checks and Balances and Constitutional Principles

What is the Bill of Rights, and when was it added?

Show the answer
It is the first ten amendments, ratified in 1791, setting out fundamental liberties protected against government.
Checks and Balances and Constitutional Principles

Why do the Constitution's principles tend to make US government slow and prone to deadlock?

Show the answer
Separated institutions must agree before anything of substance happens, so a determined minority in any one of them can block action.
Federalism and the Division of Powers

Describe dual federalism.

Show the answer
Federal and state governments operate in largely separate spheres with distinct responsibilities, an arrangement often pictured as a layer cake.
Federalism and the Division of Powers

What is an unfunded mandate?

Show the answer
It is a federal requirement imposed on states without the money to implement it, leaving them to meet the cost themselves.
Coercive Federalism and Federal-State Disputes

A state legalises a drug that federal law still prohibits. What is the constitutional position?

Show the answer
Federal law prevails under the supremacy clause, although in practice the outcome depends on whether federal authorities choose to enforce it.
Coercive Federalism and Federal-State Disputes

Give two further advantages of federalism.

Show the answer
It disperses power as a further guard against tyranny, and it allows government to be tailored to local needs and opinion.

The 6 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The Nature of the US Constitution	Recall questions on when and where it was written, what makes it codified and entrenched, and where sovereignty ultimately rests.	8
Checks and Balances and Constitutional Principles	Recall questions on the checks each branch holds over the others, enumerated and implied powers, the supremacy clause and limited government, and whether the Constitution's principles strengthen or weaken US government.	17
Federalism and the Division of Powers	Recall questions on federalism and the Tenth Amendment, reserved and concurrent powers, dual, cooperative and New Federalism, grants and unfunded mandates, and how the commerce clause has expanded federal power.	12
Coercive Federalism and Federal-State Disputes	Recall questions on coercive federalism, the effect of the Fourteenth Amendment and who settles the boundary between federal and state authority.	11
Amending the Constitution	Recall questions on the Article that governs amendment, the two routes to proposal, the two routes to ratification and the number of states needed.	11
Informal Constitutional Change and the Rights Amendments	Recall questions on how constitutional meaning changes without amendment, the rights protected by the Bill of Rights and later amendments, the doctrine of incorporation, and whether the Constitution still serves the United States well.	14

The Constitutional Framework of US Government is 73 of the 2,215 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.