Evaluate the extent to which the USA's system of government is democratic. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Interest Groups
- Elections
- Protections of Rights
Introduction - Argument
The USA claimed to be the most democratic nation in the world, however, there are multiple representation limitations which mean the USA cannot be considered democratic
Democratic - Interest Groups - Point
The USA Political system has a number of incredibly active interest groups; this arguably helps to aid democracy and promote equal and fair representation
Democratic - Interest Groups - Examples
- There are a number of pressure groups which seek to promote the rights of minorities within society. The National Advancement of Coloured People has around 2 million members
- The Human Rights Campaign is the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation in the US. They have had recent success in protecting gay marriage with the Respect for Marriage Act
Undemocratic - Interest Groups - Point
In the USA, there is a great deal of elitism between interest groups, with some having much greater access points than others. When combined with the problem of lobbyists, it is evident that the country is not particularly democratic
Undemocratic - Interest Groups - Examples
- In a democracy the elected officials are meant to work on behalf of their Constituents - in reality, Congressmen on average spend 3 to 5 days on meetings with lobbyists
- Joe Manchin was endorsed by a number of coal and oil companies and as a result voted against the Build Back Better Bill
Democratic - Elections - Point
The Electoral College system promotes the smaller states and makes sure they are not overrun by the larger states. This helps to promote fair presentation and thus, democracy
Democratic - Elections - Examples
- The Great Compromise between the Founding Fathers when writing the Constitution meant the smaller states would have more of a say
- Texas has 38 Electoral College votes while Vermont has 3 - however, each delegate in Texas represents 664,000 people but only 210,000 in Vermont
Undemocratic - Elections - Point
It is difficult to consider a system which promotes massively unequal representation democratic
Undemocratic - Elections - Examples
- The EC system unfairly disadvantages ethnic minorities. The smaller states tend to be unrepresentative and white. From World Population Review, California was the most diverse and Maine was the least
- There have been 2 cases of the elected president winning the EC vote but losing the popular vote in the past 25 years. Bush won but lost the popular vote by 543,000, Trump won but lost the popular vote by almost 3 million votes!
Democratic - Protection of Rights - Point
The codified constitution and the Supreme Court means that the rights of the citizens in the USA are well protected, therefore making it democratic
Democratic - Protection of Rights - Examples
- The case of Merrill v Milligan, currently in the SC, illustrates how the Court works to protect the rights of citizens. The way Alabama has drawn its election districts discriminates against the black vote; the SC looks as though it will overturn this
- The 2016 Caetano v Massachusetts case disputed the implementation of Massachusetts law which prohibited the possession of stun guns. The Court ruled this was a violation of the 2nd Amendment
Undemocratic - Protection of Rights - Point
There are plenty of examples of Supreme Court cases that have actually taken away fundamental rights for certain minority groups. This implies that the USA is not actually democratic
Undemocratic - Protection of Rights - Examples
- In the 2019 case of Rucho v Common Cause, the Court concluded that they could not stop partisan gerrymandering. The affects of this meant that minority groups have been massively discriminated against
- In the 2022 Dobbs v Jackson case, the SC took away the national right to abortion - 13 states have now completely outlawed abortion. This is something which has massively affected the rights of women
