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Summary Edexcel A Level Politics US Constitution revision notes
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Pre-chewed Politics revision notes on the US Constitution for A Level Paper 3 comparative politics
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What are the origins of the US Constitution?- Europeans started to arrive in the US in the 1600s; English settlers founded their 1st
permanent settlement (in Jamestown Virginia) in 1607
- Many sought a better quality of life
- Religious ‘Puritans’ sought religious freedom (+ to avoid persecution by Charles I)
- Spanish colonised Florida + the South-West
- French colonised Canada + the North-West
- Dutch colonised East coast
- Russia colonised Alaska
- From 1607-1733 British settlers formed 13 colonies along the Atlantic (East) coast; these all
developed their own separate govts but over time started to cooperate
- 1774: sent delegates to the first national ‘Continental Congress’
- Began to cooperate more b/c were collectively growing resentful towards George III +
the taxes Britain was imposing on them (e.g. 1764 Sugar Act introduced a tax on
sugar, 1765 Quartering Act required the colonies to house + feed British soldiers)
- Idea of ‘no taxation without representation’ developed
- 1767 Townshend Acts: many new taxes on imported goods e.g. lead/glass/tea; tax
revenue was used to fund royal officials stationed in the colonies
- 1773 Tea Act: removed tax on tea entering Britain but left a similar tax on tea entering
the colonies
- Boston Tea Party: “Sons of Liberty” (= political organisation that sought rights for
colonists) boarded ships + destroyed shipments of tea
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783): colonies defeated the British army (most powerful
in the world)
- Declaration of Independence (4th July 1776): announced the 13 colonies considered
themselves independent, sovereign states
- Articles of Confederation (1781): colonies’ 1st constitution; officially recognised
Continental Congress + gave it power to lead the war against Britain/conduct
diplomacy/manage territorial issues
Federalism = power is divided between regional + federal govts
- Colonies wanted to create a confederacy: majority of power would be exercised by the
sovereign states + the rest would be reserved for the Continental Congress; several issues w/
this:
- Congress had no power to regulate trade between states/with other countries; this
meant each state had their own trade policies which often conflicted (states treated
each other somewhat like foreign countries e.g. by charging tariffs on goods that
crossed state lines)
- Each state could print their own money so there was many different kinds of printed
notes (which were often rejected in other states)
- Congress had no power to collect taxes + could only ask states for money; states
often didn’t provide sufficient money (so Congress often lacked funds; tried to print
more money but this caused inflation)
- Lack of leadership: no executive branch to provide leadership/represent the states in
conducting foreign affairs
- Lack of a judicial branch: states could ignore federal govt b/c Congress couldn’t
enforce its laws
- Each state had 1 vote at Congress but populations varied hugely so states w/ smaller
populations had undue influence
- 9 votes needed to pass laws (very difficult)
- 13 votes (unanimous vote) needed to amend the constitution (never
happened)
,Shay’s Rebellion (1787):
- Jan. 25th 1787: 1.5K men attempted to capture weapons at an armoury in Springfield
Massachusetts (in opposition to high taxes imposed by the state to pay off war debts)
- Rebellion defeated but it caused many to question the Articles of Confederation (i.e whether a
stronger federal govt was needed)
- Led to Philadelphia Convention (1787): 55 delegates (“Founding Fathers”) met to produce a
new constitution for the states (this is the codified constitution still used today)
The US Constitution:
- Article I: creates legislative branch + explains powers of Congress
- Article II: creates executive branch + explains power of the presidency
- Article III: creates judicial branch + explains its powers
- Article IV: outlines relationship between the states + federal govt
- Article V: explains how constitution can be amended
- Article VI: confirms Constitution + any compatible (federal) laws as supreme
- Article VII: explains how Constitution is to be ratified by the states
Opposing views of the Founding Fathers:
- Federalists: wanted stronger federal govt
- Anti-federalists: wanted stronger state govts
- Two diff. plans put forward for the Constitution:
- New Jersey Plan: keep Articles of Confederation but strengthen Congress; supported
by smaller states w/ smaller populations
- Virginia Plan: base representation on population size; supported by larger states w/
larger populations
- Connecticut Compromise: Congress would be a bicameral legislature
- House of Representatives: states represented based on population size (currently
435 seats)
- Senate: states represented equally (2 seats per state so currently 100 seats)
- Congress would have much greater power than under Articles of Confederation:
could impose + collect taxes, (exclusively) coin money, regulate interstate commerce
, Why did the Founding Fathers draft a Bill of Rights?
- Constitutional Convention adjourned 17th September 1787; Constitution then sent to the
states to be ratified
- Each state held its own state convention; voters chose delegates to represent their
views
- 2 states rejected it the 1st time (both eventually ratified it): Rhode Island (March 1788:
237 for – 2,708 against) + New Hampshire (August 1788: convention ended w/o a
vote); shows strength of anti-federalism + fears about a strengthened Congress
- Constitution didn’t reference powers/rights of the people (only of govt); during Philadelphia
Convention the delegates debated including a Bill of Rights but the proposal was defeated
- Founding Fathers wanted to make the process of amendment easier (a unanimous vote was
so difficult to achieve that it never happened) but still difficult enough that changes required
widespread support from across the country
How the Constitution can be amended (2 options):
- ⅔ supermajority vote in both the House of Representatives + the Senate
- ⅔ of state legislatures call for a national convention to propose amendments (this method has
never been used)
- Once this has happened, amendment must then be ratified by at least ¾ of state legislatures
or ¾ of state ratification conventions
Bill of Rights:
- After Constitution completed, James Madison (Founding Father) proposed 20 amendments to
Congress
- Congress approved 12 of them (1789), the states ratified 10; these became the Bill of
Rights
- First Amendment: freedom of religion, speech, assembly, petition
- Texas v. Johnson (1989): SC ruled 5-4 that burning the American flag was protected
as ‘free speech’ (Johnson had been charged w/ violating Texas law)
- Second Amendment: after Constitution first created, taken to mean that citizens had a
collective right to form a militia (to counterbalance the power of federal govt/national army);
from 1960s onwards argument that it referred to an individual right to own weapons became
more popular
- United States v. Miller (1939): SC upheld National Firearms Act (required registration
of sawed-off shotguns)l argued that b/c these aren’t ordinary military equipment,
they’re not protected by the 2nd Amendment
- DC v. Heller (2008): SC ruled 5-4 that a law banning handguns in Washington D.C.
was unconstitutional under the 2nd Amendment
- Third Amendment: soldiers can’t be quartered in people’s homes w/o permission
- Included b/c of pre-Revolutionary War laws which required this but largely irrelevant
now (hasn’t been the centre of any SC decisions)
- Fourth Amendment: requires proof of ‘probable cause’ + a warrant before searches/seizures
of property
- Katz v. United States (1967): Katz was convicted of illegal gambling after FBI
recorded his conversations from a public phone booth; SC ruled that this evidence
violated 4th Amendment b/c FBI didn’t have a warrant beforehand
- Fifth Amendment: protects rights of those accused of a crime; ‘Grand Juries’ (made up of
civilians) must decide if an individual should be indicted for a crime before they can be tried in
court; people can’t be deprived of ‘life liberty or property’ w/o due process of law (i.e. fair
treatment throughout the judicial system); individual can’t be forced to testify against yourself;
individual can’t be tried for the same crime twice
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