how democratic is the us constitution

Question 1

arguments that the us constitution is democratic

Answer 1

1. The amendment process ensures that states and the population are protected against changes they don’t support, unless there is major support for them.
2. Federalism and the 10th Amendment in particular also ensure that states are largely protected from the federal government imposing policies which they oppose.
3. The Bill of Rights ensures that rights are well protected in the US. Codification and the amendment process ensure this is unlikely to be changed.
4. The Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances ensure that democracy isn’t threatened by one branch/individual gaining too much power.
   ○ The consequent need for bipartisanship also means that under the norm of divided government, policies can only be passed if they are based on compromise and have broad support.
5. Elections are very regular and controlled by the states. This ensures that the electorate is able to regularly vote out politicians they deem to have failed to represent them effectively.
   ○ It also prevents federal politicians from seeking to stop elections and subvert democracy.

Question 2

other strengths of the constitution

Answer 2

● The vagueness of the constitution and use of implied powers has allowed the constitution to modernise in the 20th century without the need for the formal amendment process, which is very difficult to use.
○ Implied powers allow the core principles of the constitution to be maintained and not threatened, whilst allowing the document to be practically applied in politics.
● The fact that the constitution is very difficult to amend ensures that its key principles are well protected and that ill-thought-out, reactionary amendments fail to be passed.
● The fact that the key rules of the US political system are codified in one relatively short document ensures both that they are easily followed and that the US population is well informed about their political system and their rights.
○ The codification of the constitution also makes clear the rules of government and the limitations of government power, ensuring that it is clear when the government abuses power and that it can be held to account.
● Judicial review enables the constitution to be flexible and evolve with a changing society and in response to political circumstances, even if the formal amendment process allows for little change.

Question 3

arguments that the us constitution is undemocratic

Answer 3

1. It can be argued that the very difficult amendment process is undemocratic because many proposed amendments can’t be implemented even when they have majority support from the population, due to a small minority blocking them.
2. The power of the federal government has increased significantly over the past century, leading many to suggest that state power is now no longer adequately protected from the federal government and that the US political system is no longer federal.
3. Despite the Bill of Rights, it can be argued that the constitution doesn’t adequately protect rights.
   ○ The 2nd Amendment, for example, has facilitated mass loss of life in school shootings, arguably infringing on the right to life.
4. The Separation of Powers and system of Checks and Balances lead to gridlock under divided government and neither votes from the Democrat nor Republican party getting what they want.
   ○ Further, it can be argued that under unified government there are insufficient checks and balances and that under divided government checks and balances are simply used for partisan political reasons rather than to ensure democracy and effective governance.
5. Whilst elections are frequent, the Electoral College is undemocratic, as is states with smaller populations having equal representation to states with larger populations in the Senate.
   ○ Further, Trump’s attacks on democracy after the 2020 election arguably show that democracy and fair elections are under threat.

Question 4

other weaknesses of the us constitution

Answer 4

● The use of implied powers allows the constitution to develop and change significantly without the consent of the population, which the formal amendment process would guarantee.
○ It can be argued that the federal government today is far more powerful than the Founding Fathers intended and envisaged.
● The codified and entrenched constitution gives the unelected Supreme Court an excessive amount of power.
○ This is especially problematic as the Supreme Court is politicised, therefore calling into question its ability to interpret the constitution and prevent abuses of power by implementing it.
● The fact that the constitution is entrenched and the amendment process extremely difficult leads to failing to modernise and it being very outdated.

Question 5

how the us constitution shapes us politics today

Answer 5

● The ability of the Supreme Court to make interpretative amendments through changing how the constitution is interpreted is highly significant in US politics today, where there has been a shift to a Conservative dominated court in the past decade.
○ This has resulted in highly consequential changes including the overturning of Roe vs Wade and the declaration that affirmative action in college admissions is unconstitutional in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Both were in 2022.
● Federalism and the protection of state rights is a highly relevant part of US politics. States often lead the charge against federal government laws they don’t like through lawsuits.
○ This was the case with the Affordable Care Act, with 27 states staging legal
challenges.
● The Electoral College allowed Trump to win in 2016 despite losing the popular vote to
Hillary Clinton.
● The Bill of Rights and the constitution in general are highly relevant aspects of US politics,
as can be seen in the politically charged nature of the 2nd Amendment.
● The Separation of Powers and system of Checks and Balances lead to significant
contestation within Washington.
○ They lead to gridlock and the need for compromise.