Essay Plans Flashcards
1
Q
Evaluate the extent to which the US constitution upholds democracy. [30]
Introduction
A
- Define: Democracy refers to the process in which power is exercised to the people
- Define: The US constitution is codified, entrenched and federal in nature
- Define: A codified constitution means that all of the contents are contained within a single document - These contents contain laws, rules and ideologies used to govern a nation
- Discuss: Free and fair elections, checks and balances and finally protection of human rights
- Direction: It is fair to say the US constitution attempts to be democratic. However, in this essay, I will be exploring whether this power is exercised and empowering to citizens of the US, or whether the constitution is no longer democratic
2
Q
Evaluate the extent to which the US constitution upholds democracy. [30]
P1 - Free and Fair Elections
PACEAE
A
- P: Federalism and seperation of powers give people of the US more opportunities to vote than any other nation. Supported by the fact that the founding fathers gave the house of representatives short two year terms, ensuring more voting. The US citizens can also vote on the Senate and also every 4 years, they get to vote on who should be President.
- A: This allows citizens of the US to voice their opinions more frequently, which in the modern landscape of Politics, is more likely to lead to change/reforms
- C: There are lots of problems associated with these elections in America, particularly with the Electoral College, as this system can be seen as contradicting fundamental democratic princples
- E: In the 2016 Presidential election, Hilary Clinton won the public’s popularity vote, however, in the Electoral College, Donald Trump won, which resulted in him becoming President
- A: This shows that the US Constitution may be undemocratic, because the definition of democracy, is power being exercised to the people. Therefore, this process is undemocratic, as although the citizens are given a voice through the public’s popularity vote, they do not have the power to make the decisions they believe are in the best interest for the United States of America
- E: Process of free and fair elections is actually undemocratic, as they don’t accurately represent the needs of the people. Instead they are a glorified way for people to feel as though they have power when deciding important matters, such as the President, when in reality, the vote of the Electoral College is the one that truly matters the most
3
Q
Evaluate the extent to which the US constitution upholds democracy. [30]
P2 - Checks and Balances
PEPCEAE
A
- P: Checks and balances aims to serve the interests of democracy by maximising the power of the people - This is because checks and balances can prevent one person, party or institution from possessing all the power, with the potential to use it for their own benefit + Therefore checks and balances can help provent corruption
- E: During his time in office, President Bush requested a line-item veto power, which was rejected by Congress
- P: Checks can ensure everyone’s interests are considered - In a seperated system, it is common for different parties to control the main office of government, meaning their are more differing viewpoints - This ensures policies are likely to represent the many not the few
- C: Process of checks and balances can be seen as undemocratic, because when parties receieve permission to pass checks and balances, there are normally votes - When it comes to voting Democrats vote for policies proposed by Democrats and Republicans vote for policies proposed by Republicans - Due to this, the public may never feel like policies actually reflect their wants, even though they have the power to vote on them
- E: In 2012, the public voted for a Democratic president, who argyed for a comprehensive immigration reform. However, when the immigration reform was introduced into the house, the speaker at the time; John Boehner, (Who was a republican–supporter of the opposite party), refused to allow the House to debate the full proposal
- A: This means that the citizens of the US may not neccessarily be using their exercised power to support their own belifes, but rather, to support the party they are loyal too; which means these policies may not always benefit the people
- E: This process can be seen as undemocratic, as although people of the United States, are given power, it is more often than not exercised to remain loyal to their party, rather than their own views and beliefs. This means that the parties benefit from this, as they are allowed to carry out their vision. But the citizens of the US, don’t always benefit, which goes against one of the main principles of democracy
4
Q
Evaluate the extent to which the US constitution upholds democracy. [30]
P3 - Human Rights and Democracy
A
- P: The protection of human rights is paramount to the, ‘land of the free’ + Human rights are protected by their codified and entrenched constitution, containing a Bill of Rights, as well as the 14th ammendment + These peices of legislation offer citizens peace of mind that their rights will be protected
- A: These peices of legislation protect their ability to vote, allowing them to even exercise the little power they are given
- C: However, the numerous amounts of protests and pressure group, show that a vast percentage feel as though their rights are not protected
- E: In recent times, citizens of the US have been protesting regarding the Supreme Courts verdict on abortion rights + However, despite the large support in protest of their decision, there is little they can do and their hands are tied
- A: One reason why there is little they can do, is because of the fact that they need 3/4 of states to ratify an ammendment, (which is extremely difficult to get; especially due to the poloarised nature of US Politics). The second reason is due to the fact the constitution is entrenched, codified and also vague. This means that it is harder to ammend and it also means that due to the vagueness of the constitution, certain branches of the US Political system may be unaware on how to handle the situation
- E: Overall, this shows that the protection of human rights is strong, due to the entrenched nature of the Bill of Rights. However, due to the difficult ammendment process and the nature of the US constitution as a whole, it can sometimes be seen as undemocratic, as it is difficult to ammend; in order to adapt and modernise their laws and policies - This contrasts the UK’s uncodified and unentrenched constitution which allows for reforms, as evidenced by New Labour
5
Q
Evaluate the extent to which the US constitution upholds democracy. [30]
Conclusion
A
- The arguements suggest that the power of the people in the, ‘land of the free,’ doesn’t actually exist to the same magnitude as people may think
- The example of the Electoral College, demonstrates that altough citizens are given power, this power can be overrurled
- Also due to the polarised nature of the US Political landscape, a large proportion of citizens are now more inclined to vote for policies based on party loyalty, rather than their own views and beliefs - Meaning that not all power exercised is directly benefiting the people, which defeats the main purpose of democracy
- People have power, but they don’t decide when they get to use it
- This means that even in times of need, people cannot always exercise this power - They may be able to voice their concerns, but it may not amount to meanigful change - This could also be said to be partly due to the fact that the US constitution is codified and entrenched, unlike the UK Constitution, which due to it’s unentrenched nature, allows for Acts of Parliament to lead to modernisation
- Overall, the US constitution can no longer be seen as upholding democratic principles
6
Q
Evaluate the extent to which Congress are effective at performing the function of representation. [30]
Introduction
A
- Define: Congress is a bicameral legislature with two equal legislative bodies
- Discuss: It’s primary functions are representation, legislation and oversight
- Discuss: In this essay, I will be exploring whether congress is descriptively representative, democratically representative and whether they represent the interests of the people
- Direction: Exploring these areas will allow me to conclude, whether or not Congress performs it’s representative function effectively
7
Q
Evaluate the extent to which Congress are effective at performing the function of representation. [30]
P1 - Descriptively representative
A
Arguments for Congress not being descriptively representative
* In the 114th Congress, (2015-2017), 104/450 seats were filled by women - Despite 51% of the American population being women
* In 2015-2016, only 2 senators were African-American
Arguments for Congress being descriptively representative
*
