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Summary USA AQA A level politics notes full
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A* standard USA AQA A level politics notes. Follows the specification in detail with many relevant examples to use in essays.
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USAHistory
- October 12th 1492 Christopher Columbus (an Italian explorer) set foot in the
America’s, claiming the land for Spain
- There were already native Americans there that had walked across the Berign land
bridge (now the Bering straits) from Asia, as sea levels were previously far lower
than they are today, around 15,000 yrs ago (original settlers known as Clovis people)
- Europeans increasingly moved to the America’s
- The 13 original British colonies strung out along the Eastern seaboard, each colony
had a governor (executive), legislature and judiciary, with only white men with
property qualifications being able to vote
- Colonialists were obliged to pay tax but had no representation in British parliament,
James Otis (from Boston) declared ‘’Taxation without representation is tyranny’’
- Britain tried to tighten its grip on economic affairs in the 1770’s, increasing tensions
- 1775 the war of independence began
- 1776 declaration of independence written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin
etc in Pennsylvania.
The declaration of independence states that;
- ‘’all men are created equal’’ (this does not just refer to males as the word used to be
used for females too, the declaration also uses the word men and ‘’people’’
interchangeably
- Expresses natural rights of its citizens ‘’life, liberty and pursuit of happiness’’,
however these can be limited by law eg; preventing murder
- France formed an alliance with the America’s in 1778
- Spain declared war on Britain in 1779, de facto forming an alliance with the
America’s
- Articles of Confederation were ratified 1781, setting up a confederacy (a loose
connection of independent states)
- Treaty of Paris signed 1783 formally ending the war
,The US constitution:
A constitution= a set of fundamental principles as to how a country should be governed,
outlining the relationships between the different branches of government as well as the
people and the government.
Articles of the constitution (drafted in 1787)
I= legislative powers should come from congress (house of rep and the senate)
II= executive power should come from the President
III= judicial power should come from the supreme court
IV= Federal state relations
V= Amendment procedures
VI= Miscellaneous provisions, including the ‘’supremacy clause’’ (states that federal
laws should be the supreme laws of the land)
VII= Ratification procedure
Philadelphia:
55 delegates (the founding fathers) met in Philadelphia in 1787 to update the articles of
confederation, however ended up writing a new constitution, they dis-agreed on various
issues;
- It was discussed at how the states should be run, smaller states favoured the New
Jersey Plan (equal representation, single chamber legislature, weak executive and
limited nature of the judiciary), larger states favoured the Virginia plan
(representation based on size, two chamber legislature, strong executive), however
the Connecticut compromise was eventually used, where states in the house of
representatives would be represented proportionally to their population size, whilst
the states in the Senate would be represented equally, regardless of their population
size
- There was also discussion as to if a slave can be counted as a person, as this would
make Southern states with higher slave populations have greater representation. It
was eventually decided that a slave should be counted as 3/5ths of a person, this is
known as the ‘’Three fifths compromise’’ for tax and representation purposes
The constitution facts:
- The US constitution officially came into force in 1789, replacing the articles of
confederation
- It’s written on four sides of parchment (since then it has been amended 27 times)
- 55 delegates took part in writing the constitution, from 12/13 of the states (Rhode
Island didn’t participate)
- It aimed to create a strong government to prevent invasion from Britain
- Codified (codified constitutions are usually as a result of a revolution, whereas un-
codified constitutions normally develop
- The first ten amendments are collectively known as the bill of rights, starting as ‘’We
the people’’, reflecting that the US government stands to serve its people
- It has constitutional authority (ultimate power, not the legislature like the UK)
- Designed to avoid tyranny, so power is split between the executive (presidency),
legislature (congress) and judiciary (supreme court)
,Was essentially a compromise between Federalists eg; Alexandra Hamilton and Anti-
federalists eg; Thomas Jefferson
However, there were still dis-agreements between federalists and anti-federalists
- Federalist; wanted a strong federal gov and were against a bill of rights as it was
fixed and not flexible
- Anti-federalists; argued the constitution gave the new federal gov too much power,
arguing in favour of the bill of rights to reinforce individual rights and enforce checks
and balances
Madison compromise was adopted (James Madison), accepted the Bill of Rights 1791 with
amendment 9 ‘’rights to rights that are not yet written down’’
The Bill of rights:
- Comprises the first 10 amendments of the constitution, ratified in 1791
- 1st amendment= freedoms of religion, speech etc
- 2nd amendment= the right to bear arms
- 4th amendment= no one’s house can be searched or seize without good cause
- 5th amendment= no one should be charged for a crime without being presented in
front of a grand jury, nor shall anyone be deprived of the right to ‘’life, liberty and
property’’ without the due process of law
- 8th amendment= cruel of unusual punishment should not be inflicted
- 10th amendment= all powers of government not delegated to the federal
government belong to the states
Enumerated rights= rights that are set out in the constitution (entrenched) eg; rights to
rights not yet written down (amendment 9) isn’t enumerated
The due process clause= means shouldn’t be charged without a fair legal process eg; trial,
evidence, jury etc (5th amendment)
,Amendments
- To amend the constitution a 2/3rds approval in the House of rep and Senate is
needed as well as a 3/4s approval by all state legislatures
- There are only 27 formal amendments to the US constitution, the last one was in
1971 which lowered the voting age to 18
Pos
- Prevents super majorities imposing large amounts of power
- Long process prevents frivolous change (18th amendment 1919 prohibition is an
example of frivolous change and was later overturned in 1932 through the 21st
amendment)
- Ensures both federal and state govs favour a proposal
Neg
- Smaller population states have a magnified role, due to the need for senate
agreement (could be un-representative)
- Difficult to pass, eg; Equal rights amendment (ensuring gender equality) failed to
secure ratification in 1982
Examples of previous amendments;
- 1st amendment= freedoms of religion, speech etc
- 2nd amendment= the right to bear arms
- 5th amendment= no one can be charged with a serious trial without a trial, and no
one can be deprived of the right to ‘’life, liberty and property’’ without the due
process of law
- 8th amendment= cruel of unusual punishment should not be inflicted
- 10th amendment= all powers of government not delegated to the federal
government belong to the states
- 19th amendment= prevented states forbidding citizens to vote based on their sex
There have been nearly 1200 proposed amendments, however most have died (90% in
committee)
Eg;
- The Equal Rights Amendment approved by congress in 1972 was given a 7-year time
limit for its ratification and by the end it only had 35 ratifications (needed 38), so
didn’t pass. The deadline was extended to 10 years however still did not manage to
gain ratification.
- Even if they have got to congress many have failed eg; in 2018 the house failed to
get a 2/3rds majority on a balanced budget amendment to the constitution
Due to it being so problematic to amend formally, informal amendments take place,
normally through supreme court cases eg;
- Roe vs Wade legalized abortion which allowed American women to access abortion
through the ‘’due process clause’’ of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1973
,Informal amendments to the constitution
Informal amendments= the process by which changes in the implication of the constitution
have occurred without changes in the constitutions written words, this can take place in 5
ways;
- Congress passing legislation
- Presidential actions
- Supreme court decisions
- Activities of political parties
- Conventions
Congress
- Has added to the way in which it uses its powers eg; congress has the power to
regulate foreign and interstate commerce (Article I, section 8, clause 3)
Presidential actions
- Although the constitution states that only congress can declare war (Article I, section
8, clause 11) due to the constitution also stating that the president is commander in
chief of the armed forces (Article II, section 2, clause 1) the last war to be declared
by congress was WW2, every war since has been a presidential war
Supreme court
- Marbury vs Madison 1803
Political parties
- Not mentioned in the constitution however have impacted the way politics has
developed in the US eg; the US constitution does not provide for political parties
choosing the presidential candidate however since 1830 the major parties have held
national conventions to nominate the presidential candidate
Conventions
- Have sometimes had the effect of law eg; despite the 25th amendment being
adopted in 1967 stating that if the president died in office the VP would take over,
this practice has been taking place as a convention for hundreds of years, most
recently before in 1963 when JFK died and LBJ took over
year-to-year experiences of gonder the
,POS and NEG of the US constitution
Provides stability and continuity as amendment’s are difficult
- Too difficult to amend eg; 1200 amendments rejected and since 1789 only 27
amendments have taken place. This prevents amendments being made which are
regretted eg; in 1919 the 18th amendment was ratified introducing prohibition
however was later backtracked by the 21st amendment which repealed it, although
this took place it is the only amendment to have ever been backtracked
- Informal amendments can be made eg; supreme court decisions such as Marbury vs
Madison
Wording is vague eg; ‘’the necessary and proper clause’’ in Article 1 section A saying that
congress has the power to do what is necessary and proper for the US, this is referred to as
the ‘’elastic clause’’ due to the federal government being able to change it to what they
want. Anti-federalist (supporters of the 10th amendment) could see big presidential initiated
schemes such as the ‘’No Child left behind’’ an example of the abuse of the necessary and
proper clause
- On the other hand, it is argued to enable interpretations to adjust for changing times
eg; Carpenter vs United States 2018 ruled on privacy concerning mobile phones (not
something relevant to when the constitution was written)
Outdated clauses eg; 2nd amendment allowing the ‘’bearing of arms’’
- Politicians are able to amend the constitution, however they choose not to, has been
amended before eg; 21st amendment repealed the 18th amendment
Too much power is given to the un-elected supreme court
- However, they are elected by the president and Senate which are elected by the
people therefore are by default elected by its citizens
, How well does the US constitution protect civil liberties and rights of US citizens?
Yes
- The bill of rights is entrenched rights eg; the freedom of expression, it can be
amended however this is difficult
- The supreme court has extended these rights eg; came from Dredd Scott vs Sanford
1857 legalized slavery however eventually have ended segregation (Brown vs Topeka
1954). Same sex relationship moved from Bowers vs Hardwick 1986 upheld a
Georgia state law stating that ‘’consensual sodomy was illegal’’ (banning gay sex)
however this was overturned by Lawrence vs Texas 2003 legalising gay sex and
eventually legalizing same sex marriage (Obergefell vs Hodges 2015)
- As rights and liberties are in one document they are easy to access and understand
- Difficult amendment process has process has prevented discriminatory rights passing
eg; Anti-miscegenation amendment aimed to forbid inter-racial marriages however
not passed
No
- Difficult to amend and adjust rights for modern times
- Rights are not granted on an equal basis, eg; Trump announced military ban for
transgenders
- The Supreme court can change its opinion for example Roe vs Wade 1973 legalised
abortion however planned parenthood vs Casey 1992 upheld Pennsylvania’s
abortion control act (said states could uphold abortion controls in the first trimester
of pregnancy) as well as Gonzalles vs Carhart that upheld the partial birth abortion
ban act in 2003 therefore many rights are not permanent and entrenched but are at
the mercy of the supreme court which is un-elected and un-accountable to the
people
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