Blog Assignment #2

1. Why is the United States Constitution stronger than the Articles of Confederation?  How would the history of the United States have been different if the country still operated under the Articles?

The Constitution is more united in that it gives a more equalized approach to Federal and State government. The Articles of Confederation didn't have a checks-and-balances system to keep one from overpowering the others, so revolts and chaos ensued when the federal government would attempt to govern the states.

2. The first three articles of the Constitution establish/define the three branches of government - read these articles.  What did you learn that you didn't already know about our government?

I did not know that the Supreme Court had the power of judicial review, in other words, the power to remove a law that would break the rights presented in the Constitution. I always wondered why it seemed that judges were ruling against bills that the people and congress had passed such as Proposition 8 in California to retain the marriage definition as between a man and woman. It makes more sense as to why a Court judge can call something 'unconstitutional' and change it.

3. How important is the Supreme Court ruling in Marbury v. Madison and why?

The importance of the ruling in this case was that it further established the rule that even Supreme Court was subject to rules and regulations of the Constitution. It showed that they couldn't judge on cases outside their jurisdiction, and further affirmed that they could not abridge the Constitution's guidelines. This paved the way to judicial review to prevent Congress from passing laws that gained power over the Constitution, thus proving the Constitution had supreme power over the law. This is important even today because it is one of the checks-and-balances that keeps the three branches of government equal in power.

4. Looking at the United States government today, is it more like what the Federalists or the Anti-Federalists envisioned and why?
I think it's more of what the Federalists envisioned because there is a lot more dependency and focus on the federal government's involvement in public interest, rather than state dependency. Slowly, I think that the Federal government is becoming the focal power of the American people rather than the State power due to government dependency and how the Constitution is interpreted today.

Bloggers I commented on: Dylan Thevenard, Stephanie Steele, and Donna Fox