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US Politics Revision Document
USA Politics (Brampton Manor Academy)
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Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
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US Politics Revision Document:
1: US Constitution and Federalism:
- 1.1The nature of the US constitution
- 1.2The key features of the US constitution and an evaluation of their effectiveness today
2: US Congress
- 2.1 Structure of congress
- 2.2 functions of congress
- 2.3 interpretations and debates around Congress
3: US presidency
- 3.1: formal sources of presidential power as outlined in the constitution and their use
- 3.2 Informal sources of presidential power and their use
- 3.3 The presidency
4: US Supreme Court and civil rights
- 4.1The nature and role of the supreme court
- 4.3The supreme court and public policy
- 4.4 The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today
- 4.5 race and rights in contemporary US Politics
- 4.6 Interpretations and debates of the US Supreme Court and Civil rights
5: US democracy and participation
- 5.1 Electoral systems in the USA
- 5.2 Key ideas and principles of republican and democrat parties
- 5.3 interest groups in the USA and debates around their significance on the political structure
and democracy, resources, and tactics
- 5.4 Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation
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US CONSTITUTION AND FEDERALISM
- Vagueness of the document, codification, and entrenchment
- Constitutional framework and powers of the branches of government
- The amendment process, including advantages and disadvantages of the formal process
Vagueness of the document:
- Allows for growth and interpretations surrounding the constitution to be organic and change
- However, has led to the constitution being subject to interpretation, interpretation being
heavily influenced by the political leanings of an individual
For example, the second amendment, right to privacy under liberty of the 5th and 14th
amendments etc
- Arguably the biggest reason as to why the supreme court are so powerful is due to the
vagueness of the constitution, which can lead to the argument it is not fit for purpose, as the
documents give rise to unelected judges being the most powerful people in America.
Judgements are strongly guided by ideology- i.e. liberal leaning court in 1973 gave right to
abortion through Roe Vs Wade, only for a conservative leaning court to ignore a series of
precedents and previous court rulings for half a century and overturn Roe Vs Wade in 2022
through the case of Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organisation
Codification
- the process of drawing up a systematic and authoritative collection of rules, formally written
down
Entrenched
- requires a formal process to amend the constitution, requires a super majority of 2/3 vote in
both houses as well as ¾ of states to ratify
- entrenchment on one hand is good:
- ensures amendments are properly thought through, prevents ill thought out amendments.
- ensures that tyranny of the majority cannot occur- amendments must have broad support
- protects states and upholds federalism by being hard to amend
However:
- difficulty to amend outdates provisions.
- enhances the power of the unelected supreme court as they are able to interpret what is and
what is not constitutional.
- states’ rights could be argued to have trumped the majority’s interests.
Entrenchment facts, examples and debates:
- Despite 11,000 constitutional amendment proposals, just 27 amendments have been
successful. 10 of these came through the Bill of Rights, meaning there have actually been just
17 since 1791.
- In theory 2% of the total population could block an amendment- as the 13 smallest states
could block the will of 37 largest. In practice this has also occurred- over the Equal Rights
Amendment. The ERA was a widely popular amendment which provided legal sex equality
and prohibited discrimination. It passed congress in 1972 and despite over 75% of the
population represented by 60% of states wanting the amendment passed, confirmation did
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
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not occur after a religious right ‘stop ERA’ campaign was launched. To this day it still has not
been affirmed as part of the U.S. constitution.
- Entrenchment ensures that only sufficiently thought through amendments are passed- for
example, the Corwin Amendment (1861) was rejected, which would have allowed slavery to
be a states’ right.
- Lucas Miller proposed amendment 1893- ‘united states of the earth’- was rejected, in failing
to meet the strict criterion. This is arguably a good thing given the trouble that this would
have caused internationally.
- However, the notion that entrenchment prevents ill-thought-out amendments is arguably
questionable: the 18th amendment prohibited liquor and was ratified in 1919 but gave rise to
alcohol being sold illegally on the black market, through which the mafia became prominent.
It was subsequently repealed in 1933.
The designated powers to each branch of the US constitution: (enumerated powers)
Congress:
- collects taxes
- propose legislation, pass legislation
- initiate and pass constitutional amendments
- power to declare war
- power over passing budget, provide and oversee proper public expenditure
- ratification powers of treaties and appointments
- oversight and investigations
- impeachment powers over public officials
Key features of the US Constitution:
The separation of powers
- to avoid tyranny of one branch, the formal separation of powers is the case in the US, with
each branch having the ability to check one another and their power. No member of one
branch can be a member of another branch at the same time, with the only exception being
the Vice President who in the case of a tie has a vote in the senate, and is presiding officer of
the senate
CHECKS ON THE OTHER BRANCHES:
Checks and Balances of congress on the Executive Branch:
Amend/ delay/ reject legislative proposals
Examples by president
Biden
- Joe Biden: failed to pass the Build Back better legislation, as opposition from both
republicans and democrats were effective, even after compromise
- Joe Biden failed to pass voting rights and legislation that would remove the filibuster
- Joe Biden saw the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act pass after compromise between
Republican and Democratic Senators surrounding physical infrastructure and the IRS
proportion of funding, which was scrapped
TRUMP
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
US Politics Revision Document
USA Politics (Brampton Manor Academy)
Scan to open on Studocu
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
, lOMoARcPSD|53247578
US Politics Revision Document:
1: US Constitution and Federalism:
- 1.1The nature of the US constitution
- 1.2The key features of the US constitution and an evaluation of their effectiveness today
2: US Congress
- 2.1 Structure of congress
- 2.2 functions of congress
- 2.3 interpretations and debates around Congress
3: US presidency
- 3.1: formal sources of presidential power as outlined in the constitution and their use
- 3.2 Informal sources of presidential power and their use
- 3.3 The presidency
4: US Supreme Court and civil rights
- 4.1The nature and role of the supreme court
- 4.3The supreme court and public policy
- 4.4 The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today
- 4.5 race and rights in contemporary US Politics
- 4.6 Interpretations and debates of the US Supreme Court and Civil rights
5: US democracy and participation
- 5.1 Electoral systems in the USA
- 5.2 Key ideas and principles of republican and democrat parties
- 5.3 interest groups in the USA and debates around their significance on the political structure
and democracy, resources, and tactics
- 5.4 Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
, lOMoARcPSD|53247578
US CONSTITUTION AND FEDERALISM
- Vagueness of the document, codification, and entrenchment
- Constitutional framework and powers of the branches of government
- The amendment process, including advantages and disadvantages of the formal process
Vagueness of the document:
- Allows for growth and interpretations surrounding the constitution to be organic and change
- However, has led to the constitution being subject to interpretation, interpretation being
heavily influenced by the political leanings of an individual
For example, the second amendment, right to privacy under liberty of the 5th and 14th
amendments etc
- Arguably the biggest reason as to why the supreme court are so powerful is due to the
vagueness of the constitution, which can lead to the argument it is not fit for purpose, as the
documents give rise to unelected judges being the most powerful people in America.
Judgements are strongly guided by ideology- i.e. liberal leaning court in 1973 gave right to
abortion through Roe Vs Wade, only for a conservative leaning court to ignore a series of
precedents and previous court rulings for half a century and overturn Roe Vs Wade in 2022
through the case of Dobbs vs Jackson Women’s Health Organisation
Codification
- the process of drawing up a systematic and authoritative collection of rules, formally written
down
Entrenched
- requires a formal process to amend the constitution, requires a super majority of 2/3 vote in
both houses as well as ¾ of states to ratify
- entrenchment on one hand is good:
- ensures amendments are properly thought through, prevents ill thought out amendments.
- ensures that tyranny of the majority cannot occur- amendments must have broad support
- protects states and upholds federalism by being hard to amend
However:
- difficulty to amend outdates provisions.
- enhances the power of the unelected supreme court as they are able to interpret what is and
what is not constitutional.
- states’ rights could be argued to have trumped the majority’s interests.
Entrenchment facts, examples and debates:
- Despite 11,000 constitutional amendment proposals, just 27 amendments have been
successful. 10 of these came through the Bill of Rights, meaning there have actually been just
17 since 1791.
- In theory 2% of the total population could block an amendment- as the 13 smallest states
could block the will of 37 largest. In practice this has also occurred- over the Equal Rights
Amendment. The ERA was a widely popular amendment which provided legal sex equality
and prohibited discrimination. It passed congress in 1972 and despite over 75% of the
population represented by 60% of states wanting the amendment passed, confirmation did
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
, lOMoARcPSD|53247578
not occur after a religious right ‘stop ERA’ campaign was launched. To this day it still has not
been affirmed as part of the U.S. constitution.
- Entrenchment ensures that only sufficiently thought through amendments are passed- for
example, the Corwin Amendment (1861) was rejected, which would have allowed slavery to
be a states’ right.
- Lucas Miller proposed amendment 1893- ‘united states of the earth’- was rejected, in failing
to meet the strict criterion. This is arguably a good thing given the trouble that this would
have caused internationally.
- However, the notion that entrenchment prevents ill-thought-out amendments is arguably
questionable: the 18th amendment prohibited liquor and was ratified in 1919 but gave rise to
alcohol being sold illegally on the black market, through which the mafia became prominent.
It was subsequently repealed in 1933.
The designated powers to each branch of the US constitution: (enumerated powers)
Congress:
- collects taxes
- propose legislation, pass legislation
- initiate and pass constitutional amendments
- power to declare war
- power over passing budget, provide and oversee proper public expenditure
- ratification powers of treaties and appointments
- oversight and investigations
- impeachment powers over public officials
Key features of the US Constitution:
The separation of powers
- to avoid tyranny of one branch, the formal separation of powers is the case in the US, with
each branch having the ability to check one another and their power. No member of one
branch can be a member of another branch at the same time, with the only exception being
the Vice President who in the case of a tie has a vote in the senate, and is presiding officer of
the senate
CHECKS ON THE OTHER BRANCHES:
Checks and Balances of congress on the Executive Branch:
Amend/ delay/ reject legislative proposals
Examples by president
Biden
- Joe Biden: failed to pass the Build Back better legislation, as opposition from both
republicans and democrats were effective, even after compromise
- Joe Biden failed to pass voting rights and legislation that would remove the filibuster
- Joe Biden saw the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act pass after compromise between
Republican and Democratic Senators surrounding physical infrastructure and the IRS
proportion of funding, which was scrapped
TRUMP
Downloaded by Minshad Ahmed ()
