Summary
US Edexcel Politics a level summary
- Module
- US Politics
- Institution
- PEARSON (PEARSON)
includes all topics needed for the Edexcel a level course excluding Supreme Court (coming soon) :)) Summary is very detailed
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US politics revision:Table of Contents
Constitution:.............................................................................................1
Congress:..............................................................................................2
The President:.......................................................................................5
US democracy and participation:........................................................12
Constitution:
History:
- It was made in 1788 (original version)
- There were 13 original states involved
- It was made to form a “friendship”
- Philadelphia is where version 2 of the constitution was made
- Made by 55 men
- 3/5 law where “other people” only counted as 3/5 of a white
person
- The articles include enumerated powers and implied powers
o Specific and explicit powers held by different groups or
people
o Powers that aren’t specifically stated in the constitution
Amendments:
- Culture has changed including advancements in technology
(guns & ai), changing perspective on ethnic groups
- Amendments are proposed either by: 2/3 vote in each house of
congress or a national convention with 2/3 of state legislatures
- They are ratified by: ¾ of state legislatures or ¾ of state
conventions
- There have only ever been 27 amendments since the writing of
the constitution
- Examples include: 18th & 21st amendments prohibited then
regranted the ability to manufacture and distribute alcohol,
counteracting each-other; 19th amendment gave women the right
to vote; 22nd amendment allowed Presidents to only run for 2
terms
Principles:
- Federalism, Separation of powers, Bipartisanship, Limited
government
o The central government & is where power is centralised
1
, o Federalism- the decentralisation of power from the center
to the states (article 4)
-
National government State government
Print money Issue licences
Regulate interstate & Regulate state businesses
international trade Conduct elections
Make treaties & conduct foreign Establish local governments
policy Ratify amendments to the constitution
Declare war Take measures for public health and
Provide army & navy safety
Establish post offices Exert powers that the constitution
Make laws doesn’t give to the national
government or state governments
Powers of both the national and state governments:
- Collect taxes
- Build roads
- Borrow money
- Establish courts
- Make and enforce laws
- Charter banks and corporations
- Spend money for the general welfare
- Take private property for public purposes
Strengths of federalism Weaknesses of federalism
Protect against tyranny Its history involves protecting
Diffusing power slavery & segregation
Increasing citizen participation Allows for inequalities between
Efficiency states
Conflict management Blocking nationalist policies can
Innovation in law & policy occur
encouraged Competition between the states
State governments can be more
responsive to citizens needs
Congress:
Representation:
- The house is re-elected every 2 years using the presidential
election and the mid-term elections to do this
- Both the mid-term and presidential elections use FPTP but the
results are close due to there only being Democrats and
Republicans with no strong 3rd party
- 1/3 of the Senate is also re-elected every 2 years-serving a 6
year term
2
, - The mid-terms can act as a review of the President
Feature of US elections Strengths Weaknesses
No time to enact
Helps democracy
2 yearly elections change & campaigning
(frequency)
takes time
3 party candidates
rd
Winning candidate has can negatively impact
FPTP
majority vote & leads to narrow
victories
Boost or limit People will still vote for
Mid-terms President & increases President and not
democracy congress
- Gerrymandering can have an impact on
elections
o Can fundamentally impact how
“effectively” the candidate wins by
redrawing district lines within states
to favour a specific party
- In 2022 the Democrats won with 55% of
the vote but won with 14/17 districts (over
55%)
- Gerrymandering is an unfair advantage of
the incumbent that allows for the district
lines to be re-drawn every 10 years
o The current holder of a particular
position/ office
- The incumbent has the power to:
Use the resources available from being in office
Use their popularity to gain votes
Use pork barrel legislation 2022 Illinois districts
o When congresspeople promise
legislation that will benefit a specific demographic of their
voting base to make them likely to vote them again
Gerrymandering
Safe seats
Financial advantage
- Pork barrel spending can be seen in the Alaskan “bridge to
nowhere” as the representative and senator pushed for funding
of a bridge to an island to replace a ferry—> Ted Stevens the
Senator at the time came under heavy criticism and from the
bridge proposal in 2005, he stayed in office until he lost re-
election in 2007
3
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