Comprehensive revision notes for Edexcel A-Level Politics - American Politics. Includes essay plans and revision notes for: Congress; the Constitution; Elections; Presidency; Pressure groups and the Supreme Court.
Codified Constitution: A constitution that consists of a full and authoritative set of rules
written down in a single text – consists of seven articles
I. All legislative powers are vested in Congress – which consists of a Senate and House
of Representatives (HoR)
II. Executive power is vested in a President
III. The judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court
IV. Federal – state relationships
V. Amendment procedures
VI. Miscellaneous provisions including the “supremacy clause” – states that the
Constitution, treaties and federal laws shall be the supreme law of the land – also
states that any legitimate national law automatically supersedes any conflicting state
law
VII. Ratification procedure
Articles contain enumerated powers granted to the federal government – powers delegated
to the federal govn under the constitution
- This has significance as the federal govn does not have unlimited power only power
given to it within the constitution – but it does have many unspecified powers
Blend of specificity and vagueness: implied powers – powers possessed by federal govn by
inference form the powers delegated to it in the constitution – for example the power to
draft people into the army may be implied from Congress’s enumerated power of the ability
to raise an army
- Many of these implied powers come from Article 1, Section 8 “the necessary and
proper cause” – elastic clause as the powers of the federal govn can be stretched
beyond specifically enumerated ones
- vague parts of the Constitution allowed to adapt to circumstances that the nation
faces – much adaptation is done by the Supreme Court
Reserved powers: powers reserved to states or the people – found in the tenth Amendment
states that “all powers not delegated to the federal govn are reserved to the state or the
people”
Concurrent powers are powers shared – such as taxes, building roads and maintaining
courts
Provisions are entrenched: application of extra legal safeguards to a constitutional provision
to make it more difficult to amend or abolish it – “protected from enemy attack”
- In the USA entrenchment is applied through a complicated amendment process
,Amendments to the constitution:
The amendment process: It is a two stage process requiring super majorities
- Amendments can be proposed either by Congress or by a national constitutional
convention called by Congress at the request of 2/3 of state legislatures
Proposed by Ratified by Used?
Two thirds of House and Senate Three quarters of state 26 times
legislatures (minimum 38)
Two thirds of House and Senate Ratifying conventions in Once (21st
three quarters of the amendment)
states
Legislatures in two thirds of states Three quarters of state Never
calling for a national constitutional legislatures
convention
Legislatures in two thirds of states Ratifying conventions in Never
calling for a national constitutional three quarters of the
convention states
Advantages:
- Super majorities ensure against a small majority being able to impose its will on a
large majority
- The lengthy and complicated process makes it less likely that the Constitution will be
amended on a temporal issue
- Ensures that both federal and state govn favour the proposal
- Provision for a constitutional convention called by the states ensures against a veto
being operated by Congress
Disadvantages:
- It makes it overly difficult for the Constitution to be amended, thereby perpetuating
what some see as outdated provisions – e.g Electoral College
- The lengthy and complicated process nonetheless allowed the Prohibition
amendment to be passed (1918)
- The difficulty of formal amendment enhances the power of the Supreme Court, who
are unelected, to make interpretative amendments
- The voice of small-population states is over represented
Selected Amendments to the Constitution:
The Bill of Rights (1791):
I. Freedom of religion, speech, the press and assembly
II. Right to keep and bear arms
III. No quartering of troops in private homes
IV. Unreasonable searches and seizures prohibited (must have a warrant)
V. Rights of accused persons
VI. Rights of trial
, VII. Common-law suits
VIII. Excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishments prohibited
IX. Un-enumerated rights protected
X. Un-delegated powers reserved to the states or the people
Some later amendments:
XIII: Slavery prohibited (1865)
XVI: Federal govn granted power to impose income tax (1913)
XVII: Direct election of the Senate (1913)
XXII: Two term limit for the President
XXVI: Voting age lowered to 18 (1971)
Why has the Constitution been amended so rarely:
- The Founding Fathers created deliberately difficult process – the need for both
Congress+states to agree and the need for super-majorities make amendments
difficult
- The Founding Fathers created a document that was unspecific and vague – has
allowed for the document to evolve without formal amendment
- The S.C’s power of judicial review – allows it to interpret the Constitution and change
the meanings of the words – make “interpretative amendments”
Constitutional Rights:
The constitution guarantees certain fundamental constitutional rights – these are rights
guaranteed by the Constitution
- The government must ensure these rights are effectively protected
- All three branches of government play a role in ensuring these rights are effective for
ALL American citizens
The principles of the Constitution
The constitution is based upon three key principles – the separation of powers, checks and
balances, federalism
Separation of powers: This is a theory government whereby political power is distributed
among three branches – the legislature, executive and judiciary – this theory was put in
place because of the FF’s fear of tyranny
- They had an idea that each independent yet co-equal branches should check the
powers of the others
- The executive members cannot be members of the legislature
Checks and balance: This is a system of govn that gives each branch the means to partially
control the power exercised by the other branches – means each branch can partially
control the power of the other branches
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