US politics

Question 1

in what two ways is the US president different from the UK prime minister

Answer 1

-they arent a member of congress
- the president is directly elected by the us people

Question 2

what are the two stages of the presidential election

Answer 2

primaries- first election to decide on the candidate
election

Question 3

what is the electoral college

Answer 3

a group of people would represent votes and meet in the white house to declare the president.

Question 4

how many electoral college votes are there and how are they distributed

Answer 4

each state gets a share of the 538 electoral college votes depending on how big the population is

Question 5

give an example of two states and how many electoral college votes they have.

Answer 5

California- 37,254,000 ppl and 55 votes.
wyoming- 564,000 ppl 3 votes.

Question 6

how many electoral college votes do you need to win?

Answer 6

270

Question 7

how big were obamas wins in 2008 and 2012.

Answer 7

2008- obama 365 to mcCains 173.
2012- obama 332to romneys 206.

Question 8

what allowed trump to win in 2016

Answer 8

won a couple of NE states that were usually democrat.
Red states went so by small margins.

Question 9

what happened to allow biden to win in 2020

Answer 9

Arizona, wisconsin, michigan, and georgia all changed.

Question 10

why can electoral maps in the US be misleading.

Answer 10

Big cities, where people are more populated they vote blue. However, votes spread across large surface areas vote red.

Question 11

what is a federal system?

Answer 11

a system where states have their own seperate powers and systems.

Question 12

who are the executive in the US.

Answer 12

The white house

Question 13

Who are the legislative in the US?

Answer 13

Congress

Question 14

what is the role of the US president?

Answer 14

they have all executive power elected directly every 4 years. Two terms maximum.

Question 15

How many and what do the house of representatives do?

Answer 15

435 members
they represent districts allocated to states based on population.

Question 16

When are elections for the house of representatives.

Answer 16

every two years in november, done through first past the post.

Question 17

What is the US cabinet like?

Answer 17

They are appointed advisors for the president, head of departments.

Question 18

how many members are in the senate.

Answer 18

there are two for each state, 100 members.

Question 19

when are elections for the senate.

Answer 19

every two years but in 6 year terms (one third each cycle)

Question 20

who are the US judiciary and what can they do?

Answer 20

the supreme court is the highest court.
they can strike down laws and actions deemed unconstitutional.

Question 21

what about US parties?

Answer 21

there are two parties, republicans and democrats.
Party loyalty is strong and bitter and is worse than before.

Question 22

what do the senate do with legislation.

Answer 22

they can introduce, write, debate and vote on new laws. both houses must agree.

Question 23

what can the president do to do with legislation.

Answer 23

they can put forward ideas they want to see in law.

Question 24

what were the articles of confederation?

Answer 24

the first US constitution, created in 1781. it officially recognised the continental congress and gave it power to lead war, conduct diplomacy and manage territorial issues.

Question 25

what were the main issues with the articles of confederation?

Answer 25

• congress couldnt regulate trade
• states could print their own money.
• no power to collect taxes
• no leadership or legislative branch
• no population altered votes.

Question 26

why did shays rebellion lead to a new US constitution?

Answer 26

war veterens who opposed high taxes rebelled. it caused many to question the articles of confederation.

Question 27

what happened in the philidelphia convention of 1787?

Answer 27

55 delegates met and produced a new constitution that they still use today.

Question 28

whats the difference between federalists and anti- federalists?

Answer 28

federalists supported ratification of the US constitution and wanted a strong national gov. anti- feds opposed as they believed it would be too strong.

Question 29

how did the conneticut comprimise adress concerns of small and large states.

Answer 29

virginia and new jersey had opposing plans.
conneticut compromise combigned elements of both through a two-housed system.

Question 30

what are the two ways that one could propose amendments to the constitution.

Answer 30

2/3rds majority in both the senate and the house of representatives.
or
national constitutional convention called by 2/3rd of states.

Question 31

what are the two ways that one could ratify amendments to the constitution.

Answer 31

3/4ths of state legislatures must approve it.
or
3/4ths of states must hold constitutional conventions and approve it.

Question 32

how does the amendment process reflect pressures on the writers of the constitution.

Answer 32

senate vs representatives
small states vs big states
states vs national govt
entrenched vs flexibility

Question 33

what is meant by ‘checks and balances’

Answer 33

one branch can stop another branch, this stops things from happening.

Question 34

what can the president do to legislation passed by congress, how many times did clinton do this.

Answer 34

veto legislation thats been passed through congress.
clinton did it 36 times in 8 years

Question 35

what can the president do to criminals, give an example.

Answer 35

pardon them.
Gerald ford pardoned richard nixon.

Question 36

what can congress do to presidential legislation.

Answer 36

they can block, amend or reject it.

Question 37

give 3 examples of congress changing presidential legislation.

Answer 37

• clintons healthcare reform
• bush’s education reform
• obamas immigration reform