USA Overview - An Introduction to US Politics

  • Alistair Cooke born in Manchester but raised in the USA said that American politics is based on three words: Compromise, compromise, compromise
  • 1st Compromise: Representation of states, there are 2 houses chose in different ways. Senate, 2 per state so there are 100 and in the Houses of Represent there are 435 of them depending on the population size of the state
  • 2nd Compromise: Form of government/state: Some wanted 50 governed states and no national government whilst some wanted the opposite. They now have both in America known as a federal state
  • 3rd Compromise: Choosing a President: Some wanted him/her appointed and some wanted him/her to be directly elected by the people. They have neither of these, electoral college was created instead where you need a majority of 270 to win.
Make Up Of USA Government:
  • Legislative: Make law – Congress, Senate, House of Representatives
  • Executive: Carry out law - POTUS, Vice POTUS, Cabinet
  • Judiciary: Enforces and interprets law – Supreme Court & Federal Courts
  • Kept apart, known as the separation of power
What Diversity Is There In The USA:
  • 3 time zones, a very big country from the tropical landscape of Florida and the Rockies.
  • Diverse in it’s climate, it’s economy and its people with some African-American and Hispanics for example
  • Described as a ‘melting pot’ where a cauldron is filled
  • American love the country, they pledge allegiance and flag raise at the start and end of the day
USA Split In Terms Of Ideology:
  • Conservative America splits from Texas to Virginia
  • Liberal Northeast: Massachusetts and Rhode Island. West Coast including LA and San Francisco.
Articles Of Confederation:
  • The compact between the 13 original states that formed the new nation in 1781. Was replaced by the Constitution in 1789
What Is Confederacy:
  • A league or loose collections of independent states in which national governments lack significant powers.
What Does The Constitution Set Out:
  • Preserves the rights and individual rights with a bill of rights whilst also providing checks and balance. There is a federal constitutional between different levels and branches of government
  • A new constitution was set out where states were represented equally regardless of population.
  • Sets out: A basic and political structures prescribing the rules by which a government operates. It is a codified document
  • Good for studying voting behaviour and the way people operate within political parties
  • Regan to voters: “Are you better off than you were 4 years ago” in response to Carter’s presidency and how he tied into the humans rational
  • Arguments that it ignores, human rational e.g ignoring the voters getting accurate information
Cultural Approach:
  • Focuses on ideas on revision and economic ideas
  • What is important to us and how we want/should behave as we are all citizens
  • Wants shares beliefs which determine the actions of a party for example
  • Is a majority view but there are sub-cultures in America which can be difficult to identify – may become generalisation
  • Culture wars in the 1990s made people safeguard there culture by keeping rights
  • Explains why people vote in a certain way or protest as culture motives people and to share society
  • Helps to share a nation and underpin the beliefs which they have institutions are still key.
Are The Branches Of Government Separate:
  • Yes they are, this is done to provide checks and balances
  • Politically not separate
  • Richard Neustadt said “they are separate institutions sharing powers” e.g with Obamacare all three branches of government had to agree
Lincolns Quote:
  • “A government by the people, for the people” based on the principle of popular sovereignty and representative democracy
2 Essential Elements Of Democracy:
  • The USA was the first modern nation to base itself on the principle of popular sovereignty
  • Popular Sovereignty: The principle that all political powers derives from the people
  • Representative Democracy: A form of government in which people choose their leaders through free, fair and regular elections and in which elected officials are held accountable.
  • Essential Elements Of Representative Democracy: Defend the people again their own temporarily errors; elected officials “have a duty to withstand the temporary delusion in order to give the people time for reflection”
at