A Level Edexcel Politics – USA/Comparative politics full
study notes, topics 1-5.
Topic 1: Constitution and federalism – page 1
Topic 2: Congress – page 23
Topic 3: The Presidency – page 49
Topic 4: The Supreme Court and Civil Rights – page 67
Topic 5: Democracy and participation - 90
Topic 1 – Constitution and Federalism
Introduction to American Politics
British Political system
Legislative – Parliament HoC
(elected) and HoL (appointed).
Executive – PM and Cabinet
Judiciary
Monarchy
Salisbury Convention
American Political system
,Pg 1-4 – the historical setting of the Constitution
The war of independence
- Colonies were obliged to pay tax to Britain, but had no representation in
British Parliament
- Bostonian patriot James Otis said: “Taxation without representation is
Tyranny!”.
- 1776: 13 colonies signed the declaration of Independence.
- British defeated in 1783.
Introduction to the USA Constitution
Constitution: a set of principles that are set to lay out the framework to run a
country. Lays out the separation of powers (judiciary, executive, legislative).
Will lay out fundamental rights for citizens of the country. Limits governmental
power, who can do what to whom. Outlines the relationship between the
governing and the governed. Ensures stability.
Codified: found in a single document
Uncodified: constitution is spread across several sources. Some will be written,
e.g. Acts of Parliament/statute law, whilst some will be unwritten such as
conventions.
Features of the US constitution
- Codified
- Federal
- Popular sovereignty
- Separation of powers
- Limited government
- Judicial review
Codified
“A document in which most of the rules concerning the government of the
nation are drawn together.”
The USA has a single document, running to no more than 7,000 words – under
20 printed pages – which contains most of the country’s constitutional
arrangements.
However, there are still parts which are uncodified; there is no mention of
important matters such as political parties, primary elections or congressional
committees.
Some acts of Congress (e.g. War Powers Act 1973) can be considered part of
the constitution, in addition to unwritten conventions (e.g. Washington setting
the precedent of a two-term presidency – only written down when FDR broke
convention in 1940 and 1944).
Federal
“Federalism is a system of government in which the powers of government
are divided between a central government and several local governments.”
After the disaster of the Articles of Confederation, there had to be a
compromise between a strong central government and states’ rights – this
was to be federalism.
,Out of the Articles of Confederation came the United States of America – e
pluribus unum – ‘out of many, one’.
But nowhere in the constitution is the word ‘federal’ or ‘federalism’
mentioned; it is written in the enumerated powers of the 3 branches of
government and the implied powers.
The Supreme Court was to be the umpire of all disagreements between
federal and state governments.
States have equal power to the central government.
Popular sovereignty
“Popular sovereignty asserts that the people are the source of any and all
government power, and government can exist only with the consent of the
governed.”
The framers of the constitution included the principle of Popular Sovereignty
in their design of the new government.
Simply explained, this means that the people rule this country.
The people elect public officials to represent them in free and frequent
elections.
The Constitution even begins with the words, “We the People…”.
Regular elections. Senate elections, chief prosecutor elections, judge
elections etc.
Separation of powers
“Separation of powers is the principle in which the executive, legislative, and
judicial branches of government are three independent and coequal
branches of government.”
A theory of government whereby political power is distributed among these
branches of government – the legislature, the executive and the judiciary –
acting both independently and interdependently.
As applied to the US government, the theory is better understood as one of
‘shared powers’. It is the institutions of government that are separate, while
the powers are shared through an elaborate series of checks and balances.
Limited government
“The principle of limited government states that government is restricted in
what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take
away.”
The Founding Fathers wanted ‘limited government’, whereby government
would only do what was essential, leaving the citizens’ fundamental rights
and freedoms as untouched as is possible in an organized and orderly
society.
The Founders wanted to move away from the tyranny of an absolute
monarch and ensure that no government would ignore the rights of
individuals.
The Bill of Rights is an example of how the Constitution limits the powers of the
government, by protecting certain inalienable rights of citizens.
Judicial review
, “The principle of judicial review consists of the power of a court to determine
the constitutionality of a governmental action.”
Judicial review is the power of the Supreme Court to declare acts of
Congress, or actions of the executive, or acts or actions of state governments
unconstitutional, and thereby null and void.
The power is not mentioned in the Constitution; it “just happened” in the case
of Marbury v Madison (1803) when, for the first time, the Supreme Court
declared an Act of Congress unconstitutional.
Judicial review means that the Supreme Court are the interpreters and
guardians of the constitution (e.g. the 1 st amendment protects free speech,
but the Supreme Court can interpret what is meant by “free speech”).
Pg 1-4 – the historical setting of the Constitution
The war of independence
- Colonies were obliged to pay tax to Britain, but had no representation in
British Parliament
- Bostonian patriot James Otis said: “Taxation without representation is
Tyranny!”.
- 1776: 13 colonies signed the declaration of Independence.
- British defeated in 1783
The Origins of the Constitution
The Confederacy
- Confederacy: a leage/loose collections of independent states in which the
national government lacks significant powers.
- Articles of confederation March 1781: agreed confederacy of the 13 states.
- This confederation had no judiciary, executive or legislative.
The Philadelphia Convention
- George Washington and Alexander Hamilton believed that a strong central
government was essential.
- 1787: 55 delegates representing 12/13 states met for the Philadelphia
Convention
- Delegates agreed that Confederacy was weak, but feared that a stronger
government would destroy citizen’s rights and liberties.
- The answer: a federal constitution, a bill of rights and a set of checks and
balances between the branches of government.
- There were disagreements over the 2 plans considered at the convention: The
New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan.
- The dead end was broken with the Connecticut Compromise.
- This devised a new form of government – a federal form of government
where some political power rests with the national government, but other
powers rest with the state governments.
Philadelphia Convention 1787.
55 delegates from 12 states meet to discuss
revising inadequate Articles of Convention.
