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Summary US Politics Revision Pack
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In depth summary of every chapter in the US A level course tested in Paper 3.
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USA Politics Revision PackThe Constitution
Representation of the states – House of Representatives has representation equal to
the population of the states, whilst the Senate has 2 for each state, regardless of size
The nature of the constitution
o Codified, some is specific, and some is vague, its provisions are entrenched
(makes it difficult to amend/abolish)
Codified constitution – single document – when the new constitution was written the
first 3 Articles set out how the three branches would work
Specificity vs vagueness
o Power to collect taxes, power to coin money – Article I
o Power for Congress to provide for the common defence and general welfare of
the US
o Vagueness allows the evolution of the constitution – with a check from the SC
Implied Powers – power under the federal government – from the constitution e.g.
power to draft people in the armed forces
Reserved Powers – powers reserved for the people e.g. marriage and divorce laws
differ between states
Concurrent Powers – powers possessed by both federal and state governments e.g.
highway management
Amending the constitutional
o 2/3 House and Senate, ¾ of the States – 26 times – Founding Fathers made it
deliberately difficult
o Advantages: supermajorities ensure against a small majority imposing on a
large majority, makes it unlikely to be amended temporarily, both federal and
state governments favour the approval, voice to the smaller states
o Disadvantages: overly difficult so some outdated provisions e.g. Electoral
College still exist, a small, possibly unrepresentative minority may impose on
a larger majority, voice of small states too much
Bill of Rights
o Freedom of religion, right to bear arms, undelegated powers reserved to the
people or states
o Later amendments – slavery, two-term limit for the president, voting age 18
Yes, the US Constitution still works: federalism is an excellent compromise, the text
is adaptable, rights and liberties protected, SC power of judicial review –
interpretative amendment
No, the US Constitution does not still work – amendment process to difficult, SC
power too much, gives too much power to those who oppose change
Principles of the Constitution: separation of powers, checks, and balances, federalism,
bipartisanship, limited government
Separation of powers – legislature (congress), judiciary (headed by the Supreme
Court) and executive (presidency) – separated institutions, sharing powers
Checks and Balances
o President on Congress – veto a bill e.g. Trump’s Iran War Powers Resolution
o Congress on President – override veto e.g. National Defence Authorization Act
for 2021
o Federal courts on the President – declaring unconstitutional e.g. Trump’s
subpoena
, o Congress has the power of the purse and must agree the money the President
needs
Federalism – political power divided between national and sub-national layers
o Obama – economic stimulus package, S-CHIP, Medicaid expanded,
Obamacare
o Trump – trying to end state lockdowns during COVID, policies towards illegal
immigrants and sanctuary cities, use of national guard and federal troops
during BLM protests
o Consequences – variations in state laws e.g. alcohol and death penalty,
different policies on immigration, affirmative action and environmental
protection, political parties are decentralised, state-based parties, federal
grants, complex tax system levied by state and federal govt, differing cultures
Bipartisanship
o Separation of powers and checks and balances, especially between the
executive and the judiciary, mean that parties have to work together
Limited government – government prevented from being all-powerful as limits are set
in the constitution
Is the USA a federal nation?
o Yes – all citizens pay federal income tax, healthcare is dependent on federal
funding, federal government has mandated parts of education, Homeland
security responds to threats, states depend on the federal government e.g.
COVID, SC favours federal government over the states
o No – laws vary across states e.g. drugs, death penalty, alcohol, states control
medical insurance, electoral practices differ by states, some states have
sanctuary cities, state governors favour their own states during COVID for
example, SC has favoured the states though e.g. Texan flag burning
Comparing the US and UK constitutions
o US – liberty, individualism, equality, representative government (free from an
all-powerful ruler/state) – codified but makes no mention of primary elections,
congressional committees, or the president’s cabinet, entrenched, separation of
powers, federalism (but tends to be more rigid whereas devolution can be
changed through a simple law change)
o UK – autocratic monarchy, power of landed aristocracy, established church,
lack of social mobility (evolved over centuries) – uncodified but much of it is
written down e.g. acts of parliament, common law, and the works of Erskine
May, not entrenched, fused powers especially between the executive and
legislative, devolution (Westminster is sovereign, assemblies e.g. NI can be
suspended on the say-so of central government)
, Congress
Congress is bicameral (two houses), House is directly elected serving on two-year
terms, whilst senators serve 6-year terms with 1/3 elected ever 2yrs – therefore there
are midterm elections which provide an indication of the popularity of the president -
they also change control of the House/Senate or both
Incumbency is important – automatic advantage over rivals as there are better
fundraising opportunities, experience, name recognition, mean that incumbents almost
always win
Female and minority ethnic representation
o 1980s – almost all white men
o 2021 – 142 women in Congress - 26% women
o 11% black American, 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian – in the country it is: 15% black
American, 18% Hispanic, 6% Asian
Party dominance – 2001-2022 Democrats had 8yrs and Republicans 14yrs
Functions and powers of Congress
o Law making
Both houses have equal power, all bills must pass through both, neither
can override, both must agree, all money bills begin in the House
o Overseeing the executive branch
Implied power of the constitution, Congress has oversight of executive
– it controls budgets through standing and select committees
o Confirming appointments
Senate only, confirms the president’s federal judiciary and executive
appointments, simple majority, rarely rejected
o Overriding the President’ veto
2/3 majority, difficult, Obama had 1 overridden, Trump had 1
o Ratifying treaties
Senate only, 2/3 majority, rarely rejected
Distribution of powers within Congress – often thought that the Senate is more
powerful because it has the power to confirm appointments, treaties and represents the
entire state, and has a longer term, there are only 100, more likely to chair a
committee, seen as a recruiting pool for Presidents and VPs
o BUT are equal in passing legislation, conducting oversight of the executive
and their level of salaries
o Serving and former senators who ran as presidential candidates – Kamala
Harris, Cory Booker
The committee system and oversight – standing committees, House Rules
committees, Conference committees, Select committees
Standing committees – in both houses, conduct committee stages of bills, conduct
investigations, begin the process of confirming appointments
o They scrutinise bills, hold hearings on the bills, call witnesses, have the power
to amend
o Investigate issues within their policy areas, oversee departments, high profile
and influential
o Hold hearing on executive branch appointments and vote no it e.g. Lloyd
Austin for Secretary of Defence
House Rules Committee – prioritising bills, gives a ‘rule’ to a bill whilst it is debated,
highly influential – ‘legislative gatekeeper’ of the House
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