Gibbon vs. Ogden 1824
Supreme Court decision that established that states could not interfere with the power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. The state of New York had authorized a monopoly on steamboat operation in its waters, an action upheld by a state chancery court, but the Supreme Court ruled that competing steamboat operators were protected by the terms of a federal license to engage in trade along a coast. The decision, an important development in the interpretation of the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, freed all navigation from monopoly control.
Impeachment
A formal accusation issued by a legislature against a public official charged with crime or other serious misconduct. In the United States impeachment of public officials is provided for in the federal government and in most states. In federal matters the U.S. Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power to impeach civil officers of the United States, including the President and Vice President, but not including members of Congress. Impeachments are tried by the Senate, with the concurrence of two thirds of the members present needed for conviction. The sole penalties on conviction are removal from office and disqualification from holding other federal office; however, the convicted party is liable to subsequent criminal trial and punishment for the same offence. There have been 16 impeachments tried by the Senate and seven convictions. Three of the best-known cases, which did not result in conviction, were those of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, President Andrew Johnson, and President Bill Clinton. In 1974 the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives voted to bring impeachment charges against President Richard Nixon, but Nixon resigned before the House took action.
Implied Powers
Powers not given to the government directly through the constitution, but are implied. These powers fall under the Elastic Clause in Section 8 of Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution. This document lets the government create “necessary and proper” programs/laws and retain them, such as creating the Air Force. The Air Force is an implied power because the constitution did not give the power of the Air Force to the federal government, because airplanes didn’t even exist.
Judicial Review
Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority, such as the terms of a written constitution. Judicial review is an example of the functioning of separation of powers in the US. In the United States, both federal and state courts are generally able to review the constitutionality of legislation that is relevant to any case properly within their jurisdiction. In American legal language, "judicial review" refers primarily to the adjudication of constitutionality of statutes, especially by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Horizontal Separation of Powers
Separation of powers between the different branches of the federal government.
Line item veto
A special form of in which the chief executive has the right to prevent particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislative assembly from becoming law without having to kill all the other parts of the bill at the same time. Many state governors in the United States have line-item veto power with respect to at least some kinds of legislative enactment. Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton have all endorsed the idea of granting the President line-item veto powers over appropriations bills as a means of controlling the budget deficit problem, but the President of the United States has only recently acquired a very limited line-item veto power through certain changes in the rules of the House of Representatives and Senate. In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that even this limited form of line-item veto enacted by a simple Congressional majority was unconstitutional.
Marbury vs. Madison, 1803
A in . It formed the basis for the exercise of under of the . This case resulted from a petition to the by , who had been appointed by President as in the but whose was not subsequently delivered. Marbury petitioned the Supreme Court to force Secretary of State to deliver the documents, but the court, with as Chief Justice, denied Marbury's petition, holding that the statute upon which he based his claim, the , was unconstitutional. Marbury v. Madison was the first time the declared something "," and established the concept of in the U.S. (the idea that courts may oversee and nullify the actions of another ). The landmark decision helped define the "" of the .
McCulloch vs. Maryland, 1819
The state of had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the by imposing a on all of banks not chartered in Maryland. Though the law, by its language, was generally applicable, the U.S. Bank was the only out-of-state bank then existing in Maryland, and the law is generally recognized as having specifically targeted the U.S. Bank. The Court invoked the in the , which allowed the Federal government to pass laws not expressly provided for in the Constitution's list of express powers as long as those laws are in useful furtherance of the express powers.
This fundamental case established the following two principles:
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The Constitution grants to Congress for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
- State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government.
New Jersey Plan
A proposal for the structure of the proposed by at the . The plan was created in response to the 's call for two houses of Congress, both elected with . The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body. This was a compromise for the issue of the houses. When the was constructed, the New Jersey Plan's legislative body was used as the model for the . Ultimately, the New Jersey Plan was rejected as a basis for a new constitution. The Virginia Plan was used, but some ideas from the New Jersey plan were added. In the Senate each state would be represented equally while the House of Representatives votes would be distributed according to population.
Pocket Veto
The President can indirectly veto a bill. The requires the President to sign or veto any legislation placed on his desk within ten days the is in session. If the President does not sign the bill within the required time period, the bill becomes law by default. However, the exception to this rule is if Congress before the ten days have passed and the President has not yet signed the bill. In such a case, the bill does not become law; it is effectively, if not actually, vetoed. Since Congress cannot vote while in , a pocket veto cannot be overridden. James Madison was the first president to use the pocket veto in 1812.
Social Contract
Describes a broad class of theories that try to explain the ways in which people form and/or maintain . The notion of the social contract implies that the people give up some rights to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order.
Supremacy Clause
The clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "the supreme law of the land". The text establishes these as the highest form of law in the legal system, mandating that state judges uphold them, even if state laws or constitutions conflict.
Vertical Separation of Powers
Separation of powers between federal and state governments.
Veto
If the approves of the , he signs it. If he does not approve, he must return the , unsigned, within ten days, excluding , to the house of the in which it originated, while the Congress is . The President is constitutionally required to state his objections to the legislation in writing, and the Congress is constitutionally required to consider them, and to reconsider the legislation. This action, in effect, is a veto. If the Congress the veto by a in each house, it becomes law without the President's signature. Otherwise, the bill fails to become law unless it is presented to the President again and he chooses to sign it.
Virginia Plan
States with a large population, like Virginia (which was the most populous state at the time), would have more representatives than smaller states. Large states supported this plan, while smaller states, which feared losing substantial power in the national government, generally opposed it, preferring an alternative put forward by the delegation on June 15. The proposed a single-chamber legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation. In the end, the convention settled on the , creating a apportioned by population and a in which each state is equally represented.
Three-fifths Compromise
Compromise between and reached during the of 1787 in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the of the members of the . Delegates opposed to generally wished to count only the free inhabitants of each state. Delegates supportive of slavery, on the other hand, generally wanted to count slaves in their actual numbers. Since slaves could not vote, slaveholders would thus have the benefit of increased representation in the and the ; taxation was only a secondary issue. The final compromise of counting "all other persons" as only three-fifths of their actual numbers reduced the power of the slave states relative to the original southern proposals, but increased it over the northern position.
