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Summary Paper 3 Edexcel Politics USA. Notes on Interest Groups, Supreme Court, Affirmative Action, Congress,Campaign Finance, Divisions within parties$9.24
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Interest Groups notes:
● Interest Group: A group of like minded people who attempt to influence government
policy,particularly new legislation
● American Automobile Association(AAA): Over 50 million members and lobby for
highway funding and policies to support drivers
● Although they have 50 million members, many members joined because they get free
roadside assistance if they break down
● Sectional interest groups: Aim to protect interest of their members eg American
Teachers Federation
● Cause/Promotional Interest Groups: Promote issues and policies
● Examples of sectional interest groups: American Medical Association, National Farmers’
Union
● Eg The US Chamber of Commerce represents 300,000 businesses. Favour low taxes for
businesses and deregulation. They spent more than $300m on lobbying in 2009-10
● Cause groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA), Friends of the Earth
● Example of successful causal interest group: Eg the Women’s Christian Temperance
Union campaigned for the ban on alcohol and this led to the 18th Amendment (1920)
● Also the American Women Suffrage Association advocated for the vote for women which
led to the 19th Amendment(1920)
Civil Rights Notes:
● Ethnic minorities and women were excluded from particular well paid industries. This
leads them to live in poorer areas with more social problems
● Children go to poorer schools and few have the grades and money to go to university
● Brown v Board reversed Plessy v Ferguson
● Civil Rights Act 1964: Banned discrimination based on race,colour,religion,sex or
national origin
● Affirmative action calls for positive steps to end discrimination and create new
opportunities that were previously denied
● However, the term quickly became associated with quotas and favourable treatment on
unqualified candidates
● Eg Regents of the University of California v Bakke (1978). Allan Bakke was a white
student applicant who sued the university as 16 of the 100 places at medical school
were reserved for minority applicants. The S.C ruled that the use of quotas discriminated
against white applicants and violated the 14th Amendment
● Arguments For Affirmative Action:
● Supporters argue that a merit based system is most fair if everyone had an equal chance
of proving their merit in the first place
● Statistics show that affirmative action is working as the black middle class is growing and
wages for minority increased and increased the minority going to university
● Racial discrimination is still a serious factor so affirmative action is needed
, ● University applicants have decreased in states where affirmative action has been
banned, for example in California. In 1994, African American applicants were 8%,
compared to 2% in 2011
● Diversity is important for Americans to trust political and legal institutions
● Arguments Against Affirmative Action:
● Affirmative action undermines the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause
● Affirmative action action leads to reverse discrimination
● Affirmative action can lead to unequally qualified candidate
● Gallup Poll 2013 showed that university/job applicants should purely be based on merit
● Affirmative action can create the impression that minorities have not earned their
success
● Mismatch theory- When less qualified minority candidates are given places at top
universities, they may go on to struggle
Congress Representation Notes:
● Descriptive Representation: Congress should look like the American population
● Substantive Representation: Looks at how well members of Congress will act on behalf
of numerous groups in their constituency
● Advantages of Descriptive Representation:
● Influences how much Congress is trusted by voters
● Impact on political participation as voters will vote who will best represent them
● Influences the type of issues raised in Congress
● Diverse groups can be more effective at problem solving
● Women in Congress: 47 in the House in the 90s and this increased to 94 in the 114th
Congress
● 2 women in the Senate in the 90s and this increased to 20 in the 114th Congress
● Women make up 25% of legislators
● In a state like Wyoming, women make up less than 15% of state legislators
● African-Americans in Congress:
● 25 African-Americans in the House in the 90s and this increased to 43 in the 114th
Congress
● Only 2 African-American senators in 2016
● Hispanic-Americans in Congress:
● 34 in the 114th Congress and 3 in the Senate
● 20% of the Senate is made up of minorities in the House but this is only 6% in the
Senate
● Majority-minority districts: Districts where a majority of constituents are non-white
● 15 African-American majority districts and 9 Hispanic majority districts were created after
the 1990 census
● African-Americans make up 13.6% of the population but only 8.1% of state legislators
● Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans make up nearly 23% of the population but
only 5.1% of state legislators
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