MINNESOTASTATEHEARINGQUESTIONS2014-2015

UnitOne:WhatArethePhilosophicalandHistoricalFoundationsofthe AmericanPolitical System?

  1. TheVirginiaDeclarationofRightswasthefirstwrittenenumerationoftherightsofcitizensandthe

fundamentalprinciplesofgovernmentinthenewlyindependentUnitedStates. Whatideasdrawn

fromthenaturalrightsphilosophywereincorporatedintotheVirginiaDeclarationofRights?

  • WhatideasdrawnfromclassicalrepublicanismareincludedintheVirginiaDeclarationofRights?
  • WhatrightsthatAmericansenjoytodayunderboththeirstate(Minnesota)andnationalbillsofrightswereincludedintheVirginiaDeclarationofRights? How are these rights protected or limited today?

2.Compareandcontrasttheessentialpoliticalideasofclassicalrepublicanismandnaturalrightsphilosophy.

  • Whatvaluesfromnaturalrightsphilosophyhadthemostinfluenceonthefoundinggeneration?Why?
  • Whatvaluesfromclassicalrepublicanismcontinuetohavewidespreadappealtoday?Why?

UnitTwo:HowDidtheFramersCreatetheConstitution?

1.“TheConstitutionwasordainedandestablishednotbytheStatesintheirsovereigncapacities,butemphatically,asthePreambleoftheConstitutiondeclares,bythepeopleoftheUnitedStates.”*Inwhatways,ifany,didthatmarkanimportantdeparturefromtheestablishmentoftheArticlesofConfederation?

  • InwhatwaysistheUnitedStatesConstitutiondifferentfromlegislativecodes,andwhyarethosedifferencesimportant?
  • Whatisthesignificanceofusingthewords“WethePeople”inthePreamble?

*McCullochv.Maryland,17U.S.316(1819)

2.“Nosociety,certainlynotalargeandheterogeneousone,canfailintimetoexplodeifitisdeprivedoftheartofcompromise,ifitknowsnowaysofmuddlingthrough.Nogoodsocietycanbeunprincipled;andnoviablesocietycanbeprinciple-ridden.”*Doyouagreeordisagreewiththisopinion?Why?Whatevidencecanyouoffertosupportyourresponse?

  • WhatcompromisesweremadeattheConstitutionalConventionof1787?Atwhatcosts?Forwhatbenefits?
  • Howwouldyoudistinguishbetweensomeonewhois“unprincipled”andsomeonewhois“principle-ridden”?Whatisthesignificanceofthosedifferences?

*AlexanderM.Bickel,TheLeastDangerousBranch,64,1962.QuotedinAmericanLegalQuotations.FredR.Shapiro,ed.1993.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,180.

UnitThree:HowHastheConstitutionBeenChangedtoFurthertheIdealsContainedintheDeclarationofIndependence?

1.“America’sfirstelevenamendmentshadallaimedtolimitthefederalgovernmentandtheTwelfthhadneitheraddednordetractedfromfederalauthority.BycontrasttheThirteenthexpandedthefederalgovernment’sroleinbroadlanguage.”*Doyouagreeordisagreewiththisscholar’sassertion?Whatevidencecanyouoffertosupportyourposition?

  • WhyandinwhatwayshasSection2oftheThirteenthAmendmentprovedtobeespeciallysignificant?
  • Inwhatways,ifany,didtheThirteenthAmendmentextendtolimitsonprivate,aswellaspublicactions.

*AkhilReid Amar.America’sConstitution:ABiography.NewYork:RandomHouse,2005,361.

2.InFederalist51,JamesMadisonclaimedthat“Thegovernmentmustbestructuredanddesignedsothatthethreeconstitutionalbranchesandtheirrelationshipswillhavetheabilitytokeepeachotherintheirproperplaces.”*Whatisjudicialreviewandhowdoesittrytokeeptheotherbranchesin“theirproperplaces”?

  • InwritingMarburyv.Madison(1803),whatwerethemajorargumentsChiefJusticeMarshallgavetojustifyjudicialreview?
  • Whyhasjudicialreviewremainedcontroversialtothepresentday?

*Federalist51inTheFederalistPapersinModernLanguage.MaryE.Webster,ed.Bellevue,Washington,1999.MerrillPress,210.

UnitFour:HowHavetheValuesandPrinciplesEmbodiedintheConstitutionShapedAmericanInstitutionsandPractices?

1.ArticleOneSection8hasbeencalled“oneofthemostimportantsectionsoftheConstitution.”*Doyouagreeordisagree?Why?

  • WhathistoricalexperiencesledtothelengthandthespecificityofArticleOneSection8?
  • Howwouldyouexplain“thenecessaryandproperclause”includedinArticleISection8?WhydoyouthinkitwasaddedtotheothermorespecificpowersgrantedtoCongress?

*EdwardS.Corwin.TheConstitutionandWhatItMeansToday.RevisedbyHaroldW.ChaseandCraigR.Ducat.1978,Princeton,NewJersey;PrincetonUniversityPress,38.

2.SincethepresidencyofFranklinRoosevelttherehasbeenanincreasingusebypresidentsofexecutiveordersandsigningstatementstoestablishnationalpolicy.Towhatextent,ifany,doesthispracticeviolatetheprincipleofseparationofpowerscontainedwithintheConstitution?

  • Whataretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesoftheuseofexecutiveordersandsigningstatements?
  • Shouldthepresidentbeabletorefusetocarryoutalawhe/shebelievestobeunconstitutional? Whyorwhynot?

UnitFive:WhatRightsDoestheBillofRightsProtect?

  1. TherightsdeclaredintheFourthAmendment“arenotmeresecondclassrightsbutbelongin the

catalogueofindispensablefreedoms.”*Doyouagreeordisagree?What evidence can you offer to supportyourresponse?

  • WhathistoricalexperiencesledtotheadoptionoftheFourthAmendment?
  • Unrestrictedsearchandseizurehasbeencalled“oneofthefirstandmosteffectiveweaponsinthearsenalofeveryarbitrarygovernment.”**Doyouagreeordisagree?Whatevidencecanyouoffertosupportyourresponse?

*RobertH.Jackson.BrinegarvU.S.,338US160,180-81(1949)(dissenting).

**RobertH.Jackson.BrinegarvU.S.,338US160,180-81(1949)(dissenting).

2.“Thejurysummedup–indeedembodied–theidealsoffederalism,populismandcivicvirtuethatweretheessenceoftheoriginalBillofRights.”*Doyouagreeordisagreewiththisopinion?Whatevidencecanyouofferinsupportofyourresponse?

  • Whatpurposesareservedbytherighttobetriedbyajuryofyourpeers?
  • EvaluatetheAnti-Federalists’claimthat“judgesunencumbered(unrestrained)byjurieshavebeen,everfoundmuchbetterfriendstogovernmentthantothepeople.”

*AkhilAmarandLesAdams,TheBillofRightsPrimer.NewYork:SkyhorsePublishing.2013,134

UnitSix:WhatChallengesMightFaceAmericanConstitutionalDemocracyintheTwenty-firstCentury?

1.“Fourdecadesofhighvolumeimmigrationfromvirtuallyeverycountry,risingintermarriageandpersistingfertilitydifferentialshavetransformedtheUnitedStatesintothemostdemographicallycomplexsocietyintheworld.”*Onbalance,doesincreasingthediversityenrichthenation’seconomyandcultureoraretherelimitstohowmuchdiversitythecountrycanabsorb?

  • Whyhasimmigrationreformbecomewhatsomescholarscalla“politicalminefield”?
  • Evaluatetheargumentthatbecausethefederalgovernmenthasfailedtoregulateimmigration,thatpowershouldbegiventothestates.

*MariaTienda.“DemographyandtheSocialContract”inPrincetonReadingsinAmericanPolitics.RichardM.Vallely,ed.Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,2009.409.

2.“AmericanrightsandAmericanfreedomwerenotagiftofthecountry’s‘foundingfathers.’Theyareandhavealwaysbeenaworkinprogress.”*Doyouagreeordisagreewiththisstatement?Why?Whatevidencecanyouoffertosupportyourresponse?

  • WhathasbeentheroleofCongressandstatelegislaturesintheestablishmentandexpansionofindividualrights?
  • WhatdoyouthinkarethemajorchallengestotherightsofAmericanstodayandwhatshouldbedonetoaddressthosechallenges?

*PaulineMaier.Ratification:ThePeopleDebatetheConstitution.1787-1788.(NewYork:SimonandSchuster,2010),467.