Unit 1 - The Constitution Flashcards
1
Q
When was the US constitution signed?
A
1787
2
Q
What is the constitution?
A
A handbook for helping the Supreme Court make decisions, it guarantees basic rights for citizens and says how the government will be ran
3
Q
How did the US constitution come into existence?
A
When delegate voted to remove the articles of confederation, the constitution replaced the articles - necessary as articles were badly written and led to economic issues
4
Q
What are the 7 articles of the constitution?
A
I - all power placed in congress which will be split into the senate and the House of Representatives
II - executive power of the president
III - judicial power of Supreme Court
IV - relationship between federal and state governments
V - amendment procedures
VI - supremacy clause - federal government always overrides state governments
VII - ratification - there should be a formal confirmation usually by vote
5
Q
What are the 3 principles of the constitution?
A
Separation of powers
Federalism
Checks and balances
6
Q
What does a principle of the constitution mean?
A
What the constitution aims to achieve
7
Q
How is separation of powers a principle of the constitution?
A
It stops one person having complete power and stops the government from becoming corrupted - power is distributed between the judicial branch, executive branch and the legislative branch
8
Q
How is federalism a principle of the constitution?
A
It gives states representation as power is divided between the federal and state governments
9
Q
How is checks and balances a principle of the constitution?
A
It means that each branch of the government can partially control the others - it also makes sure that someone is always checking the President and congress so they cannot do whatever they want
10
Q
What are the 3 features of the US constitution?
A
Codified
Judicable
Entrenched
11
Q
What does it mean that the US constitution is codified?
A
It means that the US constitution is written up in one document that contains 7 articles
12
Q
What does it mean that the US constitution is Judicable?
A
It means the US constitution can be used to determine the legality of ones actions, laws passed by the federal government become law of the land which sets out some laws that all Americans must follow
13
Q
What does it mean that the US constitution is entrenched?
A
It means the US constitution s protected from enemy attack by those who try to change it or abolish it - this is because it has a complex amendment process
14
Q
Why are the 3 features of the US constitution considered so significant? And not so significant?
A
Judicable - especially significant in ensuring civility and in ensuring the executive branch act legally and dont see themselves as above the rule of law
Entrenched - protected from enemy attack and stops there being a dictator HOWEVER the complex amendment process leads to interpretative amendments which can be repealed and may reduce rights
Codified - citizens can better protect their rights and be aware if them so they aren’t exploited HOWEVER does lead to citizens not wanting to led go of dangerous rights such as the second amendment which causes the deaths of so many
15
Q
Why were the articles of confederation bad?
A
They were made by a provisional government in 1777 - the making of them was rushed
Made central government too powerful
No judicial court system
No national economy - led to inflation as states printed too many continentals making them worthless
16
Q
What is the US constitution made up of?
A
It’s a mixture of ideas from different state constitutions, the articles of confederation and also from ideas of political philosophers
17
Q
Who were the founding fathers influenced by when it came to adding the separation of powers to the US constitution?
A
A French political philosopher called Montesquieu
18
Q
What did Montesquieu argue?
A
He argued for a separation of powers to avoid tyranny
19
Q
What does the separation of powers mean?
A
That there should be 3 branches of the US government, an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch - these should be independent but also co-equal and no person should be in more than one branch of the federal government at the same time.
20
Q
An example of someone having to leave a certain branch of the government to be part of another?
A
When Obama had to resign from the senate when he was elected as president
21
Q
In my opinions is the separation of powers effective?
A
I do think that the separation of powers is very effective, as it stops one singular person from becoming too powerful. For example, Obama, if he was allowed to be part of the senate and the president, he may have had too much power and there’d be a risk of there being a corrupt government.
22
Q
Founding fathers
A
The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and drafted the constitution
23
Q
Who makes up each branch of the US government?
A
Executive - president and exop
Judicial - Supreme Court
Legislative - congress
24
Q
Bipartisanship
A
Cooperation between republicans and democrats, as well as compromise between the president and the congress
25
Power of the pardon
When a president leaves office, they can pardon anyone, forgiving them for their crimes and releasing them from prison e.g. trump said that he should be pardoned for his crimes but the Supreme Court rejected this pardon
26
Power of the purse
The congress being in charge of taxes and raising them
27
Why did the founding fathers want to avoid tyranny?
They had just escaped a tyrannical monarchy and gained independence so didnt want there to be someone like a monarch again
28
Impeachment
When Congress can remove a president if a two thirds majority of the Congress deem the president as unconstitutional upon investigation - House of Representatives initiate this BUT the senate have the verdict
29
Reasons why checks and balances have helped government
It keep the government fair
It prevents tyranny - there must be discussions before the president does something
A divided government can lead to more scrutiny to keep them in check
30
Reasons why checks and balances have hindered the government
They sometimes debate on issues for a long time if they cannot agree, meaning some laws may never be passed like gun reform laws - this is called gridlock
Supreme Court nominees can be poorly treated
Impeachments can be as a result of party differences, there may be no reason for impeachment but they may have done so to pick on president - Trump claimed that both of his impeachments were false and were attacks from the democrats
31
What power does the president have over congress? With examples.
Checks congress by vetoing a bill that has been passed by Congress e.g. Biden vetoed the JUDGES bill that would’ve added over 65 federal judges as it was rushed even though it was a bipartisan effort historically
Can recommend legislation to the Congress in the State of Union address which occurs every year in January e.g. Obama, in his state of union address in 2010, proposed legislation to focus on his healthcare reform proposals like the affordable healthcare act
32
What power does the president have over the Supreme Court? With examples.
Can check federal courts by nominating judges e.g. Trump nominated Amy Coney-Barret to the Supreme Court
Has the power of the pardon e.g. 1964 - President Ford pardoned Nixon (the former president) for the watergate affair where Nixon was accused of spying including bugging the offices of political opponents’s offices & Trump issuing 73 pardons on his last day of President & Biden pardoned his son Hunter
33
What 4 powers does the Congress have over the President? With examples.
1. They can reject/delay/amend the presidents legislative proposals e.g. when in 2010 congress passed (but with huge amendments) Obamas healthcare reforms but blocked Obamas attempts at immigration reform and rejected his attempts at making meaningful gun control legislation
2. The can override the presidents veto e.g. in January of 2021, Trumps veto was overridden for the first time when he wanted to remove policies that limit troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Europe from the National Defence Authorisation Act - Congress rarely overrides vetoes 106/1,484 vetoes since 1789 overridden
3. They have the power of the purse - they refused to fully fund Trumps Mexican border wall in 2018 where he requested $25 billion but the democrats in congress only offered him $1.6billion
4. They can investigate and remove a president - through impeachment e.g. Donald Trump was impeached twice - he was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of congress after his stormed the capitol building in January 2021 - but he was found not guilty at trial
34
What power does the Congress have over the Supreme Court? With examples.
They can propose constitutional amendments to overturn a judicial decisions e.g. the Equal Rights Amendment was a proposal in response to the 1973 ruling of Roe v Wade
They can refuse to approve a person nominated to the federal courts e.g. Coney-Barretts’s nomination in 2020 was confirmed however Regans nomination of Bork was rejected
35
What power does the Supreme Court have over the Congress? With examples.
They can declare a law as unconstitutional and reject it e.g. when in 2013, United States v Windsor declared the defence of marriage act as unconstitutional which in turn allowed same sex marriages
36
What power does the Supreme Court have over the President? With examples.
They can check the president by declaring their actions (or the actions of their subordinates) as unconstitutional e.g. when in July 2020 Trump v Vance saw the court rule that the president is not immune from court subpoenas (orders for a person to attend court)
Judicial review
They can also suspend the presidents executive action e.g. in 2016 where the Supreme Court blocked Obamas executive action to legally recognise 4 million long-stay immigrants - he said he was heartbroken by this suspension
37
Federalism
A theory of government by whcih political power is divided between a national government and state governments, each having their own substantive jurisdiction (each have areas they have control of)
38
Why would the founding fathers have wanted federalism?
To discuss issues and laws - more democratic
To stop tyranny - or else the president would have too much power and be like a king
To help increase representation - limited government, grounded in individual rights and popular sovereignty - this was John Lockes idea
To find middle ground - double security - if either state or federal government got too powerful or unconstitutional then the other could take power from that one - believed by James Madison
39
Does state government override the federal government or the other way around? What is the effect of this?
Federal government always overrides the state governments - but state governments can ask the Supreme Court to review legislation passed by the federal government to see if it is deemed unconstitutional HOWEVER although this stops tyranny of smaller states, it does mean that gun reforms are rarely agreed upon where states may disagree and want a reviewal
40
Commerce clause
The clause of article 1, section 8 of the constitution empowering congress to regulate commerce with foreign nations
41
What are the 4 main factors that increased the power of the federal government?
Great Depression
Foreign policy
Supreme Court
Amendments
42
How did Great Depression increase the power of the federal government?
The Great Depression hit the US in 1929, states looked for help from the federal government - didnt possess resources to decrease unemployment rate or launch public work schemes - gave power to government to introduce the new deal
43
How did foreign policy increase the power of the federal government?
WWII was incoming so the US became a superpower and the federal government found its role enhanced significantly
44
How did the Supreme Court increase the power of the federal government?
There were decisions made that gave the federal government a significant amount of more power e.g. more powers given to congress when it came to the commerce clause - their interpretations enhanced the governments powers as they usually vote in favour of the federal government
45
How did amendments increase the power of the federal government?
14th amendment, after civil war, created prohibitions on state governments for the first time ever - said ‘no state should deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law’ - used by the Supreme Court to overrule state laws that wanted segregation or other forms of discrimination, as well as using it to outlaw Floridas attempt to order a recount of the 2000 presidential election
46
If there is more power given to the federal government, what happens to federalism?
More power to federal government, less federalism and vice versa
47
General trend: has federalism increased as time has gone on or has it decreased? Why?
Federalism has decreased - the federal government has been given more powers over time
48
Timeline of how federalism has developed in the USA
1. 1861-1865 - the civil war - fought over sates rights creating the confederacy (they’d govern themselves), the north won the war - outlawing of slavery
3. 1930s 40a - New Deal and WWII - huge increases in power of national government e.g. social security programme established and industry had to be much more coordinated
4. 1950s-60s - increased measures by fed gov to tackle issues like racial inequality and poverty, laws passed to end AA inability to vote and introduced healthcare schemes e.g. Medicare
5. 1970s-80s - Nixon and Reagan wanted to give more power back to the state in ‘new federalism’ - federal money was given to the states to use in broad policy areas - withdrawn due to federal budget deficit - Clinton then said that the era of big government was over
6. 2000 - the era of a central ‘big’ government came back under Bush - 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, & Medicare e.g. new prescription drug benefits for seniors, the Patriot Act was passed which set up a new government department called the Department of Homeland Security
7. Obama - Affordable Care Act and attempts to stimulate the economy after 2007 financial crisis through American Jobs Act 2011 (gave $140 billion to modernise schools)
49
Medicare
A system of providing help with health insurance for free
50
What does the timeline of how federalism has developed in the US show?
It shows that federalism has decreased, the government has much more power now than they did many years ago
51
Consequences of federalism?
More federalism means more power to the states - but this has led to abortion banning in some states and segregation in the pasy
Leads to a variation of rules, makes it hard to govern the whole country but is good for representation e.g. different taxes in different states and abortion bans in some
States can be used as policy experiments - means that it can be seen if a policy would work in the whole of the US
Parties can be very different in state governments and in the main federal government
52
General opinion on federalism?
It is a good idea but doesnt work well in practice, divides the country, creates clashes and mess between the federal and the state governments, it does represent lots of different ideas but some of the ideas of the states may not really represent the ideas of everyone from the state, but due to the representatives and the senate, the federal government is better represented when it comes to debating laws
Factor that led to the civil war - the southern states wanted more power
53
Points that support that the principle of federalism has been eroded by the expansion of the federal government power?
Federalism has decreased as the power of the government has increased, for example where the federal government was given more power due to the 14th amendment - gives Congress the power to remove public officials from office if they engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution. This was intended to prevent former Confederate leaders from regaining power in the government
54
Points that support that the principle of federalism has not been eroded by the expansion of the federal government power?
There are still many instances where states do have a say e.g. abortion and its banning through the overturning of Roe V Wade, states also have some power when it comes to electing representatives and the senate for congress
55
Ways that the concept of federalism influences the US government
Enshrined in the constitution as a sharing of powers - they must stick to it
Variations in laws - results in their being different laws in different states
Open to interpretation as its only implied in the constitution - there is no clear definition on how much power should be given to each state
56
When was the civil war?
1861-1864
57
When was WWII?
1939-1945
58
When was the no child left behind act? What did it state?
2002 - gave more support to public schools
59
What was created after 9/11?
The department for homeland security
60
When was the affordable healthcare act introduced? What did it state?
Increased health insurance coverage in 2010
61
How many amendments have there been?
Only 27 amendments with the first 10 being the bill of rights created automatically after its creation
62
What are the 2 steps of the amendment process?
1. It must be proposed
2. It must be ratified
63
Describe in detail, both steps of the amendment process
Step 1: 2/3 of the Congress must vote yes to the amendment for it to be proposed OR if 2/3 of state legislatures (the states congress) request an amendment, then the Congress can propose it at a national convention
Step 2: the amendments can be ratified by state legislatures of 3/4 states OR an amendment can be ratified if each state holds a state convention and if 3/4 of the states say yes, it can be ratified
64
What are the 2 types of amendment process?
Formal process
Informal process
65
What is the formal amendment process?
It involves a proposal, ratification and has had 27 official amendments
66
What is the informal amendment process?
They are also known as interpretative amendments and are made through judicial review - where the Supreme Court can interpret the constitution differently and thus amend it e.g. roe v wade BUT these can be repealed or overturned
67
The failure of what amendment has left the government cautious in repeating its mistakes?
The 18th amendment (prohibition) - was repealed in the 21st amendment
68
Reasons why it’s too difficult to amend the constitution?
There have been 11,000 amendments proposed
More and more states have been created meaning there are more states that have to agree for an amendment - its difficult to achieve this
It takes only 2% of the population to block an amendment - not good representation
Dead hand control - the country is being run by those who died a long time ago
It prevents reform in a split political system
69
Reasons why it’s not too difficult to amend the constitution?
The constitution is entrenched - it has to remain difficult to amend
The US Supreme Court have mainly been the reason why there have been amendments - amendments have still happened but they’ve been interpretive
Majority should have to agree with change - it shouldn’t be based on a minority
Shifts in societal morals have been addressed by amendments in the past
70
What are 2 examples of amendments that were passed formally?
The twenty-fifth amendment
The first amendment
71
What was the twenty-fifth amendment? When was it passed?
It was passed in 1967 - it made sure there were 2 terms, VP appointed
72
What was the first amendment? When was it passed?
It was passed in 1791 - it ensured that citizens of America had to the right to free speech and a free press
73
What were the 4 main aims of the founding fathers when creating the constitution?
1. A desire for liberty and independence
2. Self government and relian, individualism and responsibility
3. Freedom and individuality - part of liberalism
4. Preserving natural and inalienable rights
74
Why did the founding fathers have these 4 aims?
They were Protestants - used to reading the Bible and judging its meaning themselves so they had the idea of self government, individualism and responsibility
They believed that the role of the government was to protect life and libert
75
What were the main ways that the founding fathers would try and achieve their aims?
By introducing separation of powers and checks and balances - to avoid tyranny and oppression so the people of America could live out the aims
76
Original intent
The idea that judges should be concerned with how the Constitution was meant or interpreted at the time it was written
77
What are the 4 main reasons why the Supreme Court should use original intent when interpreting the constitution?
1. A lack of oringinal intent allows too much room for judges to impose their own subjective and elitist values - judges need neutral, objective criteria to make legitimate decisions and the understanding of the founding fathers provides neutral criteria
2. Lochner vs New York was considered to be a bad non original decision - Supreme Court ruled that states should not put a limit on how much they could work (against 14th amendment) - It ruled that states had no right to limit the number of work hours per day, insisting that such matters be left to the employer and worker - thus original intent should be used so bad rulings like these dont occur
3. Leaving the constitution to be amended by people promotes serious debate about government and its limitations - like gun reform laws which have been debated for for many years
4. Original intent better respects the notion of the constitution as a binding contract and thus preserves the authority of the court
78
What are the 5 main reasons original intent shouldn’t be used when interpreting the constitution?
1. The founding fathers stated they didnt want their intentions to control the interpretation of the constitution - didnt want it to be controlled by dead hands - want it to progress as society progresses
2. Some intentions of the founding fathers vary and can sometimes be impossible to determine - text is often ambiguous and judicial precedents can be found to support either side so its better to do what’s better for the common good - sometimes original intent cannot be used
3. No written constitution can predict the future and anticipate the ways that a government may oppress people within the state so sometimes its necessary for judges to fill in the gaps, they also didnt predict the future of technology
4. Brown V Board of education was determined incorrectly in the eyes of the originalists - but better for the common good and the future - so original intent shouldn’t be used as it would go against the ruling even if its good for the common good
5. The larger purpose of the constitution is to protect liberties and this must be the focus, thus not using original intent may help to evolve to match more enlightened understandings on matters like equality between races and sexes
79
What was Carpenter v US?
The court had to decide whether or not the state had a right of access to the physical location data held by cell phone companies on their customers without a warrant, or whether this warrantless access would breach the fourth amendment - gave the right to freedom from unreasonable searches - as Carpenter was accused of organising raids and robberies of RadioShack.
80
What did the supreme court rule with carpenter v US?
Supreme Court ruled that the state shouldn’t have access to a mobile phones database of physical location information
81
How does carpenter v us link with the original intent debate?
-forced the Supreme Court to relate the fourth amendment to today - founding fathers didn’t predict that there would be mobile phones to track one’s movements through cell phone signals
-difficult to use original intent in making this decision, resulting in the Supreme Court having to steer away from original intent
-did, though, stick to the original intent of freedom and liberty, thus, meaning that they used original intent when making this interpretative amendment - which is not viewed as a good idea by some people
82
Constitutional right
Fundamental individual or collective rights that people are entitled to that are guaranteed in the constitution e.g. the right to free speech and religion and freedom from arbitrary arrest
83
Bill of rights
The first 10 amendments made the constitution
84
What are 5 key amendments that were made to the constitution in the bill of rights?
1. The first amendment - free speech, free press, freedom to religion
2. The second amendment - the right to bear arms - originally created to protect colonists from British Invasion
3. The fourth amendment - the right against unreasonable searches
4. The fifth amendment - the right to silence where you do not have to take to the witness stand
5. The eight amendment - prevents cruel and unusual punishment
85
Arguments that the US constitution does protect the rights and liberties of the US citizens?
It is entrenched - the rights within it are inalienable and will forever be in place to protect the citizens - no president can override them
Interpretive amendments can be made
Rule book for the Supreme Court
Judicial review allows the Supreme Court to expand rights if necessary e.g. brown v board - create more rights not mentioned in the constitution, fill in the gaps
The rights are easy to access and understand, all Americans are aware of them and can protect their rights more knowingly - will know if something unrighteous has happened to them
There are some amendments like the first amendment which guarantee many rights to citizens - becuase its hard to amend, these will always be in place
86
Arguments that the US constitution does not protect the rights and liberties of the US citizens?
Some peoples rights are better protected than others e.g. men v women and children
It relies on informal amendments due to the difficulty of the amendment process - the Supreme Court can repeal amendments and change their mind e.g. roe v wade was repealed
The Supreme Court can change its mind and is not held accountable by the people - people dont elect Supreme Court e.g. ruling on abortion changed because of a change in the makeup of the Supreme Court
Constitution is more concerned with protecting government rather than protecting individuals - mainly about the structure of government
87
What was the thirteenth amendment?
Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery - 4 million slaves by the start of the Civil War in the 15 southern and border states - nearly the whole population of people who had African descent.
The Thirteenth amendment, alongside the abolishment of slavery made involuntary labour illegal too where people were forced to work by the use of physical coercion e.g. peonage where someone had to work to pay off debt, and made it illegal to racially discriminate in private schools
88
Was the thirteenth amendment a constitutional success?
Some argue it was, becuase it paved the way for other acts of equality
Some argue it wasn't successful because if it did enough for equality between races, the fourteenth and the fifteenth wouldn't have been needed - but they were
89
Supremacy clause
The portion of Article VI which states that the Constitution, as well as treaties and federal laws, ‘shall be the supreme law of the Land’
90
Enumerated powers
Also known as delegated powers. Powers delegated to the federal government under the Constitution. Generally these are those enumerated in the first three Articles of the Constitution
91
Implied powers
Powers possessed by the federal government by inference from those powers delegated to it in the Constitution
92
Necessary and proper clause
The final clause of Article I, Section 8, which empowers Congress to make all laws ‘necessary and proper’ to carry out the federal government’s duties
93
Reserved powers
Powers not delegated to the federal government, or prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states and to the people
94
Concurrent powers
Powers possessed by both the federal and state governments
95
Limited government
A principle that the scope of the federal government should be limited to that which is necessary for the common good of the people
96
Popular sovereignty
The principle, inherent in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, that ultimate political authority rests with the people
97
New federalism
An approach to federalism characterised by a return of certain powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states - supported by republicans
98
Great society
Democratic president Lyndon Johnson’s programme of economic and social reforms and welfare schemes – announced in May 1964 – to try to solve America’s problems of poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and access to medical care
99
When was the bill of rights?
1791
100
Tea party movement
A conservative grassroots organisation formed to oppose the legislation passed by Congress in 2008- 2009 in the aftermath of the banking and financial collapse of 2008 - wanted to limit some powers of the government
101
What are the 5 areas of difference between the UK and the US constitutions?
1. Nature
2. Source and origins
3. Provisions
4. Separation of powers
5. Checks and balances
102
How is the natures of the constitutions, an area of difference?
US Constitution:
-Codified constitution
UK Constitution:
-Uncodified constitution
-However, much of the uk constitution is written down in different documents such as the acts of parliament, common law and works of authority e.g. AV Dicey
103
How is the source/origins of the constitutions, an area of difference?
US constitution:
-it burst onto the the political stage in 1789 almost fully grown - product of the culture and society that shaped it - influenced by ideas of the culture that wanted independence
-shaped by the expectations for such ideas as liberty, individualism, equality, representative democracy, limited government, states rights and the rule of law
-constitutional sovereignty
-created as a result of revolution
UK constitution:
-the British Constitution has emerged incrementally over centuries - partly a product of the historical, varied cultures and societies that shaped it
-different to the US as it is shaped by and has evolved within a society and culture dominated by a belief in a constitutional monarch, a deferential class system and an established church
-parliamentary sovereignty
-created as a result of evolution
104
How are the provisions (clauses or articles) of the constitutions, an area of difference?
US constitution:
-provides for systems of government that could be described as representative democracies with sub national governments
-provides for a national government split into 3 branches
-provide a Supreme Court that can offer judicial review and can overrule legislature
-provides for bicameral legislature
UK constitution:
-provides for systems of government that could be described as representative democracies with sub national governments
-provides for a national government split into 3 branches
-provide a Supreme Court that can offer judicial review BUT the UKs Supreme Court is less powerful and cannot overrule legislature like the US can
-provides for bicameral legislature
105
Provisions
The actions of supplying or providing - referring to what the constitution of both the UK and the US provide the opportunities for
106
Bicameral legislature
Legislature passed when both chambers of the legislative branch agree
107
How is the separation of powers, an area of difference?
US constitution:
-Founding Fathers were heavily influenced by Montesquieu who argued to divide the government into branches - under the US Constutition, both the legislature and executive branches are entirely separate and no one can be in 2 branches at once
-the president cannot call new elections or veto congress, and congress cannot remove members of the executive branch (unless through impeachment)
-clear separation of powers
UK constitution:
-British ministers operate in both the executive and legislative branches e.g. the prime minister who is the head of the executive branch but also the leader of their party in the House of Commons
-under UK Constiution, there is a fusion of powers instead of separation
-has a Supreme Court - inspired by the US
108
How are checks and balances, an area of difference?
US constitution:
-3 branches are checked to avoid tyranny
-congress, president and Supreme Court all checked and can all check each other - more checking systems of government
-the US constitution fears tyranny of the government over its people
- there is scrutiny
UK constitution:
-4 main branches are checked
-parliaments, courts, impartial officials (civil servants) and media are all checked and check each other - more checking people
-the UK constitution has a strong, usually one party government
-there is scrutiny
109
What are the 3 theoretical approaches to comparative politics?
1. Structural
2. Rational
3. Cultural
110
What is meant by a structural approach to comparative politics?
Focuses on institutions and structures of the state and their roles or functions e.g. constitutions and legislatures
111
What is meant by a rational approach to comparative politics?
Focuses on the actions and behaviours of groups and individuals e.g. pressure groups
112
What is meant by a cultural approach to comparative politics?
The historical and sociological context of political systems e.g. origins and backgrounds
113
What similarities and differences between both constitutions are structural?
1. US constitution has a separation of powers, the uk has a fusion of powers - separation of powers
2. Uk constitution is uncodified but the us is codified - nature
3. Both lay out the framework of democratic politics and accountable political institutions due to both adapting to political revolution - provisions
4. Convention is very important in the uk due to a lack of entrenchment whereas the us constitution is very precise in most cases - sources
6. Both defend equal rights and deal with issues like discrimination - sources
114
What similarities and differences between both constitutions are rational?
1. The elected legislature passes all laws so pressure groups focus their lobbying on them, however in the uk the focus is on the commons but in the us the senate and the house are targeted equally - checks and balances
2. Judiciary branch can rule against both legislative and the executive in both countries however the us judiciary is far more powerful as they can rule things unconstitutional making them a major focus for lobbying in the us - provisions
3. Neither executive can be truly imperial due to checks but these are far more entrenched in the us constitution - checks and balances
4. The executive has a significant role in setting the political agenda in both countries but us leaders have to negotiate more carefully with congressional leaders - separation of powers
115
What similarities and differences between both constitutions are cultural?
1. Americans historically have a greater attachment to individual liberties however the UK still has a historic awareness of civil liberties, both constitutions also started without the protection of all of the people’s rights and have therefore been able to adapt themselves to changing views on the protection of rights throughout history - origins
2. In the uk there is a legacy of hereditary practice and deference due to the antiquity of certain constitutional documents like the Magna Carta but the us took inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome so both constituents have their roots in the past - sources and origins
3. The us constitution was a result of revolution and embraces republicanism and a representative government whereas the British constitution has evolved over centuries and gradually adapted to incorporate ideas such as democracy and parliamentary government - provisions/nature/origins
5. The crown in the parliament is sovereign in the uk but the us constitution is sovereign - provisions
116
Key facts about the consequences of the second amendment?
There were 6 school shooting on 2nd September 2024 - 5 people died
60 dead and over 860 injured in 2017 in Las Vegas
