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Essay Plans - Government and Politics of the US
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9 markers & 25 markers essay plans for topics listed in AQA Government and Politics A-level Paper 2
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Legislative - RevisionExplain and analyze 3 functions of the legislative. (9)
P – representative function.
Ex – congress is ‘men’s club,’ Return of AA members linked to pop. Diversity, elderly, look like pop.
Ev – 17 states never female s, EMILY’S list, Arkansas & Kentucky no AA yet high pop, 1990 majority-
minority districts help AA into house.
An – does not rep, slow improvement, not imp. consider best interests of their constituents.
P – legislative function
Ex – law-making, concurrent several stages from 1 st reading to president action, 3-5% pass, difficult.
Ev – no child left behind act, senate = $14.4 billion & $181 billion SN, house = $4.6 billion & $0 SN.
An – partisanship = gridlock, Obama & healthcare yes united gov, strong legis on climate change no.
P – scrutiny function.
Ex – power of the purse (ability to spend and tax public money) confirm appointments.
Ev – deadlock, Trump’s stand-off over wall funding risk of shutdown, Kavanaugh allegations
An – exec leverage and circumvents senate, effective, different parties Garland v. (R) senate.
Explain and analyze 3 reasons/roles why committees are effective in the legislative process. (9)
P – confirmation process of presidential appointments.
Ex – senate committees, begin process, most sig senate judiciary committee to appointments to SC.
Ev – significant in blocking appointments, Bork & Reagan in 1987 but also tie, Betsy Devos, VP.
An – effective, congress v. exec, all rejections of presidential nominations, Obama & Garland
P – scrutiny role.
Ex – standing committee, conduct investigations into committee policy area w perceived problems.
Ev – 2006, waterboarding, torture and illegal detention of terrorist suspects brought up.
An – key role, no question time equivalent, exec accounted but stonewalling during Mueller Inq.
P – reconcile differences role.
Ex – conference committees, craft final reading, rare either defeat, if only one then kill bill, avoided
Ev – Obamacare, house adopts senate, pass amendments in recon bill, BUT partial gov shutdown
over debt ceiling 2013.
An – opaque/undemocratic ‘no man’s land’ effective as after reconciliation no amendments made.
Explain and analyze 3 reasons why the senate is better than the house. (9)
P – career paths.
Ex – natural career progression, traffic from H to S one way, aspire to presidency or vice-presidency.
, Legislative - Revision
Ev – only one person opposite approach, Pepper senator for Florida 1937-1950 but house in 1962-
1989
An – salaries are the same, yet senator terms are longer acquiring to higher job security.
P – exclusive powers.
Ex – senate make appts, block certain appts to the supreme court, and can ratify treaties Article 2 SII.
Ev – blocking of Obama’s appointment of Garland or Bork and Raegan. Versailles PT, rejected.
An – scrutiny same in both houses, use of exec orders and recess appointments circumvents senate.
P – arithmetic.
Ex – house 1/435 senator 1/100. same leadership, senate on committees, higher influence and
better representation.
Ev – house immediate, 2010 H (D) feared backlash to healthcare reform, against it, no senator did.
An – all money bills start in house, democratic, power capped, only allowed to vote for new taxes.
Explain and analyse 3 ways structural theory could be used to study legislatives in UK or US. (9)
P – power dynamics.
Ex – diff groups within legis, exercise influence over decision making, in US separation, UK fusion.
Ev – UK, MPs in exec branch like cabinet members, May MP & homes sec 2010-2016, US, Schwarz.
An – different roles and separations, payroll vote & VP vote, some fusion, largely not in US, only tie.
P – federalism/devolution.
Ex – diff ways in how power retained & dispersed from main legis bodies in both, US fed UK devo.
Ev – US, gun control laws vary, for some checks, others licensed, UK, reserved power, WM, FP.
An – US congress not only political, UK, WM dominates, Indyref decreases WM power, does fail.
P – institutional design.
Ex – rules, procedures & norms of legis institutions shape behaviour and outcomes, L v S, H v S.
Ev – HoC elected, HoL inherit seats, no-one inherits in either senate or house, no equivalent body.
An – HoC dominant, not a thing in the US, however, S better than H, 1/435 v 1/100.
Explain and analyse 3 ways cultural theory could be used to study legislatives in UK or US. (9)
P – existence of traditions.
Ex – symbolic practices of legis bodies, language, ceremony, and ritual, exist in both.
Ev – UK, Black Rod ceremony cultural values of hierarchy, Congress traditions SoU address.
An – UK more US, due to monarchy, uphold archaic structure of language & practices, US still does.
P – political culture.
Ex – exploring the values, beliefs and attitudes that shape it. UK adversarial US is too.
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