US Examples
Government and Politics of the USA:
The US Constitution and federalism
● The nature of the US Consitution
● The key features of the US Constitution
US Congress
● The structure of Congress
● The functions of Congress
● Interpretations and debates around Congress
US Presidency
● Formal sources of presidential power
● Informal sources of presidential power
● The Presidency
US Supreme Court and civil rights
● The nature and role of the Supreme Court
● The Supreme Court and public policy
● The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today
● Race and rights in the US today
● Race and rights in contemporary US politics
US democracy and participation
● Electoral systems in the USA
● The key ideas and principles of the Democratic and Republican parties
● Interest groups in the USA – their significance, resources, tactics and debates about
their impact on democracy
● Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation
Comparative approaches
● Theoretical approaches – understanding of the rational, cultural and structural
approaches and the different ways they explain similarities and differences between
the government and politics of different countries
● Similarities and differences in the UK and USA. Compare and debate the following
aspects and the resulting impact on politics and government:
● UK and US legislative branches
● UK and US executive branches
● Rational, cultural and structural approaches
● UK and US democracy and participation
,The US Constitution and federalism
Nature of the US Constitution
Bad
- The last amendment to the Constitution was the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992.
- The most common way of passing an amendment is that ⅔ of both houses of
Congress need to agree to the proposed amendment and ¾ of state legislatures
need to ratify it.
- Despite a broad belief regarding women’s rights, an equal rights amendment has
failed to be passed. It progressed through congress in 1972 however not enough
states supported it.
- Cited as an example of the tyranny of minority: 13 states, which
represented just 24% of the US population at the time, were able to
prevent an amendment that the majority wanted
- Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 gives Congress the power to declare wars, a power
that Congress hasn’t used since 1941 to declare war on a nation.
- Electoral college has elected two presidents who lost the popular in the last 20 years
- Figures in 2010 shows an individual citizen in Wyoming having triple the weight in
electoral votes than an individual in California.
- 116th Congress only passed 344 laws, making one of the least productive
Congresses in the last 50 years
- Three presidents have been through impeachment and all were found ‘not guilty’ -
Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1997) and Donald Trump (2019 and 2021).
- Judiciary involvement in interpreting the constitution and their politicisation can lead
to political leanings in decisions: Epinoza v. Montana 2020 where the court ruled 5-4
that there could be no discrimination towards religious schools.Dissenters were all
liberals and this shows that in cases where the constitution does not have a specific
answer, the judges must vote using their political compass.
- 18th Amendment prohibiting alcohol was passed in 1918
-
Good
- CARES Act 2020
- Citizens rights are protected, even when they are controversial, such as the ‘right to
bear arms’ being upheld despite mass shootings such as the Orlando Nightclub in
2016 and Sandy Hook in 2012
- Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours. under
Article II, Section IV. For a person to be found guilty and be removed from office a ⅔
majority vote is needed.
- Rights have been established in the US through the Supreme Court using
interpretative amendments such as the establishment of same-sex marriage in
Obergefell v Hodges 2015 under the Equal Protection Clause.
- If in the constitution, the SC cannot vote against it: Snyder vs Phelps. In this case the
Westboro Baptist church picketed a soldier's funeral and gave hateful speeches, the
family brought a case to the supreme court. The court ruled 8-1 that the first
, amendment meant the First Amendment prohibited the imposition of civil liability
upon a church and its members.
- Supermajority requirement within the amendment process ensures that there is
genuine consensus before the constitution is amended: For liberals, repealing the
second amendment (the right to bear arms) might seem a good example for
repealing an archaic part of the constitution. However, in a YouGov poll in 2018 only
around 1/5 of Americans supported this
Key features of the US constitution
Key features hinder Constitution
- The 117th Congress went down in as being the most polarised in 5 decades
- The system of checks and balances has allowed for consistent gridlock to a point
where 2020 was the least productive legislative year in at least half a century.
- The Obama administration set out their aims in 2009 to achieve comprehensive
immigration reform, legislating this was hindered due to a range of congressional
powers. This led to legislation being slow and failing, as seen from the DREAM Act
being filibustered to death in 2010 and the Gang of 8 bill being killed off by the House
Speaker.
- The Patriot Act, which allowed mass surveillance of internet and phone
communications, was arguably an infringement upon American’s citizens ' right to
privacy – an established right under Griswold v. Connecticut.
- The legislature’s attempts at renewing the law in 2019 is a clear indication of
how checks and balances can lead to civil liberties being eroded.
- Obama’s Race to the top initiative contained within the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act 2009, allowed the federal government to compel the states to
adopt standardised testing and centralised educational reforms or face spending
cuts. This meant that the federal government was effectively blackmailing states in
order to hand over control of education.
- When the Democrats took control of the house in 2018, causing a divided
government, Trump’s policies hit a wall. The Democrats consistently opposed the
majority of his policies such as those on tax reform, immigration and health care.
- Even judicial review can infringe upon states rights as illustrated by the 2012
Sebelius case which ruled that Obamacare was in fact constitutional, whilst those on
the right still argue its an infringement of states rights.
Key features strengthen Constitution
- In contrast to the argument that US v Texas unfairly meant Obama couldn’t carry out
his electoral aims, it can be argued instead that this ruling protected the rights of
states to have different laws and practices.
- Supreme Court’s check of judicial review on the legislature enables them to continue
protecting civil rights as illustrated by their ruling four times against aspects of
guantanamo bay relating to rights of fair trial and against cruel and unusual
punishment, such as in Rasul v Bush in 2004
Government and Politics of the USA:
The US Constitution and federalism
● The nature of the US Consitution
● The key features of the US Constitution
US Congress
● The structure of Congress
● The functions of Congress
● Interpretations and debates around Congress
US Presidency
● Formal sources of presidential power
● Informal sources of presidential power
● The Presidency
US Supreme Court and civil rights
● The nature and role of the Supreme Court
● The Supreme Court and public policy
● The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today
● Race and rights in the US today
● Race and rights in contemporary US politics
US democracy and participation
● Electoral systems in the USA
● The key ideas and principles of the Democratic and Republican parties
● Interest groups in the USA – their significance, resources, tactics and debates about
their impact on democracy
● Interpretations and debates of US democracy and participation
Comparative approaches
● Theoretical approaches – understanding of the rational, cultural and structural
approaches and the different ways they explain similarities and differences between
the government and politics of different countries
● Similarities and differences in the UK and USA. Compare and debate the following
aspects and the resulting impact on politics and government:
● UK and US legislative branches
● UK and US executive branches
● Rational, cultural and structural approaches
● UK and US democracy and participation
,The US Constitution and federalism
Nature of the US Constitution
Bad
- The last amendment to the Constitution was the 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992.
- The most common way of passing an amendment is that ⅔ of both houses of
Congress need to agree to the proposed amendment and ¾ of state legislatures
need to ratify it.
- Despite a broad belief regarding women’s rights, an equal rights amendment has
failed to be passed. It progressed through congress in 1972 however not enough
states supported it.
- Cited as an example of the tyranny of minority: 13 states, which
represented just 24% of the US population at the time, were able to
prevent an amendment that the majority wanted
- Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 gives Congress the power to declare wars, a power
that Congress hasn’t used since 1941 to declare war on a nation.
- Electoral college has elected two presidents who lost the popular in the last 20 years
- Figures in 2010 shows an individual citizen in Wyoming having triple the weight in
electoral votes than an individual in California.
- 116th Congress only passed 344 laws, making one of the least productive
Congresses in the last 50 years
- Three presidents have been through impeachment and all were found ‘not guilty’ -
Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1997) and Donald Trump (2019 and 2021).
- Judiciary involvement in interpreting the constitution and their politicisation can lead
to political leanings in decisions: Epinoza v. Montana 2020 where the court ruled 5-4
that there could be no discrimination towards religious schools.Dissenters were all
liberals and this shows that in cases where the constitution does not have a specific
answer, the judges must vote using their political compass.
- 18th Amendment prohibiting alcohol was passed in 1918
-
Good
- CARES Act 2020
- Citizens rights are protected, even when they are controversial, such as the ‘right to
bear arms’ being upheld despite mass shootings such as the Orlando Nightclub in
2016 and Sandy Hook in 2012
- Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours. under
Article II, Section IV. For a person to be found guilty and be removed from office a ⅔
majority vote is needed.
- Rights have been established in the US through the Supreme Court using
interpretative amendments such as the establishment of same-sex marriage in
Obergefell v Hodges 2015 under the Equal Protection Clause.
- If in the constitution, the SC cannot vote against it: Snyder vs Phelps. In this case the
Westboro Baptist church picketed a soldier's funeral and gave hateful speeches, the
family brought a case to the supreme court. The court ruled 8-1 that the first
, amendment meant the First Amendment prohibited the imposition of civil liability
upon a church and its members.
- Supermajority requirement within the amendment process ensures that there is
genuine consensus before the constitution is amended: For liberals, repealing the
second amendment (the right to bear arms) might seem a good example for
repealing an archaic part of the constitution. However, in a YouGov poll in 2018 only
around 1/5 of Americans supported this
Key features of the US constitution
Key features hinder Constitution
- The 117th Congress went down in as being the most polarised in 5 decades
- The system of checks and balances has allowed for consistent gridlock to a point
where 2020 was the least productive legislative year in at least half a century.
- The Obama administration set out their aims in 2009 to achieve comprehensive
immigration reform, legislating this was hindered due to a range of congressional
powers. This led to legislation being slow and failing, as seen from the DREAM Act
being filibustered to death in 2010 and the Gang of 8 bill being killed off by the House
Speaker.
- The Patriot Act, which allowed mass surveillance of internet and phone
communications, was arguably an infringement upon American’s citizens ' right to
privacy – an established right under Griswold v. Connecticut.
- The legislature’s attempts at renewing the law in 2019 is a clear indication of
how checks and balances can lead to civil liberties being eroded.
- Obama’s Race to the top initiative contained within the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act 2009, allowed the federal government to compel the states to
adopt standardised testing and centralised educational reforms or face spending
cuts. This meant that the federal government was effectively blackmailing states in
order to hand over control of education.
- When the Democrats took control of the house in 2018, causing a divided
government, Trump’s policies hit a wall. The Democrats consistently opposed the
majority of his policies such as those on tax reform, immigration and health care.
- Even judicial review can infringe upon states rights as illustrated by the 2012
Sebelius case which ruled that Obamacare was in fact constitutional, whilst those on
the right still argue its an infringement of states rights.
Key features strengthen Constitution
- In contrast to the argument that US v Texas unfairly meant Obama couldn’t carry out
his electoral aims, it can be argued instead that this ruling protected the rights of
states to have different laws and practices.
- Supreme Court’s check of judicial review on the legislature enables them to continue
protecting civil rights as illustrated by their ruling four times against aspects of
guantanamo bay relating to rights of fair trial and against cruel and unusual
punishment, such as in Rasul v Bush in 2004
