A* AQA A-level US Government Notes covering all the Government part of paper 2. The topics covered in these notes include:
- The US Constitution
- The US Executive
- Congress
- The US Judiciary
, BACKGROUND ON US POLITICS
Birth of America:
1585-1775 – 13 Colonies start resenting British rule over taxation
1776 The Declaration of Independence
o Life, liberty and pursuit of
happiness
1775-1785 American War of
Independence
o Inspired by liberalism – revolutions
overthrowing monarchies
1789 US Constitution
o Own form of gov -> 7 articles
o Also date of French Revolution ->
‘liberty, equality, fraternity’
o Article II = all executive power to be vested in the President
1791 Bill of Rights
o 10 amendments -> life liberty + pursuit of happiness enabled by
BofR
CONSTITUTIONS:
GB = Uncodified (Parliament sovereign -> easy to amend constitution)
US = codified (Entrenched Bill of Rights – difficult to remove rights)
SUPREME COURT:
1803 got judicial review - decides if action = unconstitutional
o Amended 27 times but fundamental ideas same
o Amending needs support of 2/3 congress + ¾ of all states
Crucial in enforcing civil liberties
SEPARATION OF POEWRS + CHECKS & BALANCES:
‘limited government’ -> separation of powers + executive power limited
by Congress (1 chamber dominated by different party from P)
President checks Congress – can veto Bills + SC checks both by judicial
review
FEDERALISM:
State govs = significant in determining policy within state
E.g. despite federal gov being committed to ‘war on drugs’, Colorado,
Washington, Oregon + Alaska have legalised cannabis
ELECTIONS:
More elections than GB -> president + congress elected + large number
of state/local officials (preceded by primary contests)
Primary elections = people choose candidate for each party that will run in
election (in UK party members choose candidates)
More expensive in US
PARITES:
More candidate centred recently
Since 90s parties = more ideological -> Trump probs most extreme Repb
picked
THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF THE US GOVERNMENT
The Nature and Significance of the US Constitution
,- Influenced by Montesquieu -> French Philosopher
- Drawn up in 1787 in Philadelphia + ratified 1788 replacing weaker Articles of
Confederation
ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION:
Drawn up 1777 + ratified 1781 -> weak central gov + unsuited to new
nation
Designed to avoid tyranny especially by the leader
o Power is separated + overlapping between diff branches of gov
Each branch checks + balances the other
o Pres may veto an act of Congress but Congress can impeach the
Pres + override the veto
The main original document sets out the respective powers of each branch
of gov + aspects of the political process
o e.g. indirect elections of the Pres + representation rules for Congress
most aspects dealing with the protection of individual rights + freedoms
are found in the amendments starting with the Bill of Rights
o 1st 10 amendments to the USC passed 1791
The USC was essentially a compromise between:
Those who wanted a stronger central gov (Federalists e.g. Hamilton +
John Adams) + those that wanted most power to rest with the states
(Jefferson)
Large states e.g. Virginia + small e.g. Rhode Island
o Small states had equal representation in the Senate (2 senators
each) while the number of seats in the HoR is determined by
population
Slave + non-slave states
o Slave states allowed to count slaves as 3/5 of a free person for the
purpose of calculating the size of a state delegation in the HoR
THE NATURE OF THE USC AS ENVISAGED BY ITS FRAMERS
The diff branches would cooperate + make compromises with each
other
No one branch of gov would be too powerful
o avoid over-powerful ‘tyranny’ as many Americans perceived GB
monarchy to be
A suspicion of democracy which was associated with mob rule
o USC didn’t lay out the right of ‘one free man, one vote’ or for the
Pres or Senate to be elected directly
o Originally, senators were to be chosen by state govs; the Senate
switched to direct elections only in 1913 (17 th Amendment)
It would be permanent + long lasting
o Difficult to amend
KEY FEATURES OF THE US CONSTITUTION:
1. Codified
A full and authoritative set of rules written down in single text
Article IV ‘the ‘supremacy clause’ stating that treaties + federal laws ‘shall
be the supreme law of the land’ (i.e. a higher form of law)
It has 7 clauses
, 2. A blend of specificity and vagueness:
The Constitution is vague in many areas and so the Supreme Court is
used to umpire the Constitution. It decides whether actions/decision are
constitutional
Implied powers
o Powers of federal gov that the C doesn’t explicitly mention but are
reasonably implied from the delegated powers
o E.g. power to draft people into the armed forces may be
implied from Congress’s enumerated power to raise an army/navy
Article I, Section 8 – the necessary and proper clause (the ‘elastic
clause’)
o By it, the powers of the fed gov can be stretched beyond their
delegated/enumerated powers
3. Its provisions are entrenched:
It is difficult to amend
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