This is an evidence document for the US Constitution topic of the new US politics spec. This has put me on track for a comfortable A* in the 2023 exams (recent essays have scored 27+/30)
The Amendment Process
- From a 2018 YouGov poll only ⅕ of Americans supported repealing the Second Amendment
showing that without bipartisan support amending the constitution is impossible
- Despite the electoral college electing two presidents (Bush and Trump) who lost the popular vote,
congress still hasn’t been able to amend it
- There is bipartisan support for equal rights amendments, but congress hasn’t been able to pass a
constitutional amendment yet
- Only 13 out of 50 states have to oppose an amendment for it to fail. This happened in 1972 when an
equal rights amendment passed through congress but not the states
- The unelected Supreme Court has increased power to interpret the constitution and their decisions can
only be overturned by a constitutional amendment
- There have only been 17 amendments, with the first 10 being the Bill of Rights
Checks and Balances and the Separation of Powers
- Obama pardoned 142 people in his final 3 weeks
- In 1974, President Ford pardoned President Nixon
- In 2021, Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaker vote that passed a budget resolution, meaning Biden could
pass his $1.9 trillion Covid relief package
- The VP casting the tiebreaker vote is the only situation in which someone can be in two
branches of government
Checks on the President Checks on Congress
Congress overrode 1/12 of Obama’s vetoes. He vetoed the Justice Against Bush vetoed 12 times
Sponsors of Terrorism Act.
Obama vetoed 12 times
Congress overrode 4/12 of Bush’s vetoes
Trump vetoed 10 times
Congress overrode 1/10 of Trump’s vetoes. He vetoed the defence Spending Bill.
In 2013, the Defense of
Bush gained authorisation from Congress to send troops to Iraq in 2002 Marriage Act 1996 was declared
unconstitutional. United States
In 2010, the Senate ratified the new START treaty with Russia v Windsor declared that the act
violated the 5th amendment
In 2012, 7 committees were set up to investigate Hillary Clinton's involvement in
Benghazi If the senate refuses to ratify a
treaty, the President can sign an
In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the Obamacare provisions, deeming them in executive order, bypassing them.
line with the constitution Obama did this in 2015, when he
signed the Joint
In 2014, in National Labour Relations Board v Noel Canning, the Supreme Court Comprehensive Plan of Action
ruled that Obama had acted unconstitutionally in appointing board members without (JCPOA) with Iran
the Senate’s approval
In 2016, the Senate rejected Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to the
Supreme Court
In 2017, in Washington v Donald Trump, the Supreme Court placed a temporary
restraining order on Trump's executive order that prevented Muslims from 7
countries from entering the US
Congress has overridden less than 5% of presidential vetoes
In 2020, the Senate passed the Iran War Powers resolution, which prevented
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