World Powers: The USA

Question 1

Power of veto (Executive)
PEELREEL

Answer 1

P: Power of the Veto
E: Can block or reject a law being passed by congress
E: DT used his veto 10x including a law aiming to restrict presidential war making authority.

R: However the power can be restricted
E: Congress can override the power with a 2/3 majority, can be hard depending on party in congress
E: DT veto was overturned in Jan 2021 on a defence spending bill by senate 81 to 13

Question 2

Power of Executive orders (Executive)
PEELREEL

Answer 2

P: Power of Executive orders
E: Pres can pass laws without permission of congress allowing him to act alone
E: Biden has signed 123 executive orders up until Oct 2023 with an average of 45 per year this is the, highest since 1981

R: However it can be restricted
E: Supreme Court and reject any law they see as going against the constitution
E: The Supreme Court stopped Trumps travel ban in 2018 as it was deemed as religious discrimination

Question 3

Powers Executive Branch of Government (20)
Main Points

Answer 3

• Power of Veto
• Power of Executive Orders
• Power of appointment

Question 4

Power of Appointment (Executive)
PEELREEL

Answer 4

P: Power of Appointment
E: Pres can appoint people to position of power like cabinet or Supreme Court
E: In 2022 Biden appointed Kentanji Brown Jackson to replace retired Stephen Breyer

R: Power can be restricted
E: Congress has to approve any appointments to Supreme Court
E: Jan 2016 Obama nominated Merrick Garland which was rejected by the by the republican dominated senate

Question 5

Powers are kept in check by other aspects of Government (20)
Main Points

Answer 5

• Power of veto (Executive)
• Power of Impeachment (Legislative)
• Power to check all laws (Judicial)

Question 6

Power of Impeachment (Legislative)
PEELREEL

Answer 6

P: Power of Impeachment
E: Congress has the power to get rid of a President or any other senior official
E: Trump was the first to be impeached twice - the most recent surrounded the president being charged with inciting a riot at the capital

R: Can be restricted
E: It is very rarely used and is only effective depending on whose in senate
E: Trumps first impeachment case, he was impeached by the democrats who were in control of the house but he was saved by the republican controlled senate

Question 7

Power to check all laws (Judicial)
PEELREEL

Answer 7

P: Power to check all laws
E: Supreme Court can review any law and if they decide it is unconstitutional they can block it across all of the USA
E: Supreme Court stopped Trumps Travel Ban in 2018 as it was deemed as unconstitutional because of religious discrimination

R: Can be restricted
E: Pres can influence decisions as they appoint Supreme Court justices that will support their views
E: Trump appointed Niel Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barret and Brett Kavanaugh all of which have very conservative views

Question 8

Participation (20)
Main Points

Answer 8

• Voting
• Standing as a candidate
• Joining a Party

Question 9

Voting (participation)
PEELREEL

Answer 9

P- Lots of voting opportunities to impact country
E- In USA there are plenty of opportunities to vote and therefore impact countries decision making
E- In 2020 Pres Election there was a record high voter turnout of 67%

R- Right can be restricted
E- This is because people can get tired or bored of voting in the many US elections so stop voting therefore right is not used
E- In 2023 mid term elections was 2nd highest in 4 decades at 52%

Question 10

Power of creating new laws? (Legislative)
PEELREEL

Answer 10

P- Power to create laws
E- Congress are the only ones that can create new laws are change existing ones
E- June 25th 2022 the Bipartisan Safer Communities act was passed providing an unprecedented investment in mental health funding

R- Power can be restricted
E- President can veto any legislation they want restricting power as even if they create it, doesn’t mean it becomes law
E- DT used his veto 10x including a law aiming to restrict presidential war making authority.

Question 11

Power to declare war? (Legislative)
PEELREEL

Answer 11

P- Power to declare war
E- Only congress can declare way to stop President from going to war for personal gain and ensure best interest of country
E- 8th December 1941 there was a congressional declaration of war on Japan following Pearl Harbour

R- This power can be restricted
E- President can use power of commander and chief to involved Us troops in conflict without war officially being declared
E- Trump in 2017 launched attacks in both Syria and Iran

Question 12

Powers of the Legislative branch of government? (20)
Main Points

Answer 12

• Power to create laws
• Power of impeachment
• Power to declare war

Question 13

Standing as a candidate (both)
PEELREEL

Answer 13

P- Can stand as a candidate
E- Anyone can stand for election in any election even Presidential
E- In 2020 28 people went forward to be the democrat nominee, Joe Biden being the eventual candidate

R- Can be restricted
E- Often a huge spending budget for campaigns making it hard for anyone to keep up
E- 2020 elections were the most expensive yet, $14 billion spent between both Presidential elections and Congress

Question 14

Join a political party (participation)
PEELREEL

Answer 14

P- Can join a party
E- Americans can join whatever political party they wish based on views allowing more involvement in party
E- In 2020 there were 45.7 million members in the Democrats and 33.2 million in Republicans

R- Can be restricted
E- Realistically there is limited choice as Republican and Democrat only tend to achieve success
E- In 2020 all of congress except 2 independent senators belonged to one of the two main parties

Question 15

How democratic is the USA? (20)
Main Points

Answer 15

• Voting
• Freedom of Speech
• Standing as a candidate

Question 16

Voting (democratic)
PEELREEL

Answer 16

P- US is democratic because of voting
E- Citizens right to vote is written into the constitution and they can vote at every level - local, state, federal
E- In 2020, 151 million people (66%) turned out to vote for the Presidential election in which Joe Biden won

R- US is less democratic
E- Citizens often get voter fatigue due to the many election meaning less vote and votes do not represent all of country
E- in 2020 the USA still had a lower voter turnout than many countries including Germany, New Zealand, Denmark

Question 17

Freedom of Speech (democratic)
PEELREEL

Answer 17

P- US is democratic
E- The freedom of speech allows citizens to openly criticise on the media allowing to voice their concerns
E- The media heavily criticised Trump on a number of his executive orders including the travel ban

R- US is less democratic
E- The US has occasionally infringed upon that right
E- BLM filed a lawsuit saying US secret service and US park police unleashed tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters on June 1st 2020

Question 18

Inequalities in USA
Main Points

Answer 18

• Health
• Education
• Income

Question 19

Health
PEELREEL

Answer 19

P- Health inequality exists
E- Poor struggle to afford health insurance so less inclined to go to doctors making health worse as they are not being treated
E- 2019 main reason for being uninsured was cover too expensive and not eligible for cover

R- Health inequality exists less
E- Obama introduced the affordable care act 2010 to make it more accessible and affordable making health care easier to get
E- Number of uninsured Americans fell from 16% in 2010 to 9% in 2016

Question 20

Education
PEELREEL

Answer 20

P- Education inequality exists
E- School funding based off property tax from local area, so poor receive worse education than rich as funding means better resources
E- Poorer districts spend 15.6% less per student than richer areas

R- Education inequality exists less
E- Obama passed Every child succeeds act 2015 forces school to provide equal opportunities across America removing inequality
E- 2000-2009 high school graduate rate increased for American Indians, Asian Black, Latino/Hispanic, Pacific Islanders, two or more races and white populations

Question 21

Income
PEELREEL

Answer 21

P- Income inequalities exist
E- Ethnic groups are more likely to struggle with language barriers and discrimination so may not get as high incomes as white people
E- Median income by rate $ 2020 Asian $94,903, White $74, 912, Black $45,870

R- Income inequalities exist less
E- Federal gov introduced NMW in 2009 at $7.25 per hour which can be changed at state level allowing everyone a fair base wage - reducing
E- Poverty rate in children dropped from 17% 2017 to around 14% in 2019 - parents earning more

Question 22

Global Super Power essay
Main Points

Answer 22

• International organisations
• Military bases
• Largest World Economy

Question 23

International organisations
PEELREEL

Answer 23

P- Has influence through…
E- Has permanent seats on UN Security Council so has the power to veto, has greater sway on international resolutions getting passed or not
E- UN Security Council 2017 USA vetoed resolution forcing them to withdraw Trumps recognition as Jerusalem as Israels capital

R- Influence limited
E- Other permanent members of UN SC can veto, vetoing USA favoured resolutions
E- 2017 Russia and china vetoed UN resolution to impose sanctions on Syria over alleged use of chemical weapons

Question 24

Military Bases
PEELREEL

Answer 24

P- Has influence through…
E- USA has bases across world, can deter conflict and influence military reactions due to size
E- US has nearly 800 bases in over 70 countries, UK, France and Russia have around 30 together

R-Influence limited
E- Bases not enough to permanently discourage conflict as conflict keeps reoccurring globally
E- 2021 Taliban regained control of Afghanistan as US troops officially withdrew from country.

Question 25

Largest World Economy
PEELREEL

Answer 25

P- Has influence through…
E- Largest global economy so has great impact on trade and funding globally so can influence who succeeds or what is prioritised
E- April 2020 Trump cut funding to WHO claiming they were to close to china

R- Influence limited
E- Other countries are growing in economy size so countries are less dependant on USA limiting influence
E- China is predicted to overtake the USA in worlds largest economy by 2028