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American  Politics  
 
Mid  term  elections  
 
• Midterm  elections  in  the  United  States  refer  to  general  elections  in  the  
United  States  that  are  held  two  years  after  the  quadrennial  (four-­‐year)  
elections  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  (i
...
 near  the  midpoint  of  
the  four-­‐year  presidential  term)
...
 
• In  addition,  34  of  the  50  U
...
 states  elect  their  governors  to  four-­‐year  
terms  during  midterm  elections,  while  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  elect  
governors  to  two-­‐year  terms  in  both  midterm  and  presidential  elections
...
   
• Many  states  also  elect  officers  to  their  state  legislatures  in  midterm  years  
• There  are  also  elections  held  at  the  municipal  level
...
   
• Midterm  elections  usually  generate  lower  voter  turnout  than  presidential  
elections
...
 
 
 
What  would  it  mean  if  the  Democrats  lost  control  of  congress?  
 
 
• Things  could  be  more  difficult  for  Barack  Obama  in  the  final  two  years  of  
his  term  as  president
...
 
• Unlike  a  parliamentary  system  the  executive  does  not  run  the  legislature  
in  a  separation  of  powers  model  and  this  could  make  his  life  and  the  
policy  outcomes  he  is  hoping  for  much  harder
...
 
Divided  government  is  something  Americans  are  used  to;  it  has  happened  
about  half  the  time  since  WWII  and  many  political  scientists  would  say  
the  system  works  better  that  way
...
   
• There  are  lots  of  issues  voters  are  concerned  about,  but  this  is  mainly  a  
referendum  on  Barack  Obama's  first  two  years
...
6  per  cent  across  the  nation  
-­‐  and  the  housing  crisis
...
 September  2014:  airstrikes  by  US  
and  allies  hit  ISIS  targets  in  Syria
...
 This  shows  an  official  disagreeing  by  Bruce  Ackerman  who  
said  his  decision  betrays  the  constitution
...
 This  is  a  
liberal  constitutional  academic  attacking  his  actions
...
   
 
He  said  Obama  doesn’t  need  the  approval  of  congress
...
 
 
George  W  Bush  supports  Obama,  as  he  did  a  few  years  ago
...
 It  does  not  always  give  firm  
guidelines  as  to  what  the  policies  should  be
...
 This  is  what  the  
constitution  actually  says:    
 
Constitution  Art  I,  Sec  8:    ‘The  president  shall  have  the  power  to  declare  war’  
Constitution  Art  II,  Sec  2:    “The  president  shall  be  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States”  –  section  2  is  about  powers  of  the  president  
 
These  two  sentences  can  come  into  conflict…eg:  if  the  president  sees  it  as  
necessary  to  issue  air  strieks  against  the  air  strike,  does  that  mean  that  the  USA  
is  going  to  war?  Does  it  congressional  approval?  Or  can  he  do  as  Commander  in  
Chief?  Is  it  within  his  power?  Does  the  air  strike  classify  as  war?  
 
They  adopted  a  resolution  in  1973,  designed  to  regulate  the  powers  of  the  
President
...
 There  was  no  declaration  for  
the  Vietnamese  or  the  Korean  war
...
 The  last  time  that  the  
USA  ‘declared  war’  was  in  WWII
...
 In  the  1970s  when  the  war  was  extended,  
Congress  became  to  question  the  Presidential  authority
...
 If  he  does  get  his  authorization,  
ir  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand
...
 But  who  decides  whether  this  is  constitutional?  Supreme  Court
...
 
 
Supreme  court  operates  on  precedence  and  would  therefore  have  to  set  a  
precedent  and  the  precedent  would  be  applicable  in  following  decisions
...
 
 
Political  parties  have  refrained  to  make  the  decision:  life  or  death  constitutional  
matter
...
 
 
Some  people  say  that  this  is  a  huge  weakness  in  the  American  Constitution
...
 At  the  basis  of  the  
constitutional  system,  there  is  a  desire  to  limit  the  powers  of  the  government
...
 This  is  done  to  
make  the  governmental  decisions  harder:  the  founders  wanted  the  
government  to  be  divided  and  limited  so  that  it  would  give  good  defence  
against  tyranny  and  oppression  (even  majority,  not  just  minority)
...
 Basically  says  that  the  USA  is  qualitively  
different  from  other  nation  states
...
 A  double  edged  Sword
...
 
 
These  are  the  main  areas:  
 
• Economy  and  society  
• Welfare  and  Philanthropy  
• Religion  &  Ideology  
• Politics  
 

Economy  and  society  
• Freedom  of  Speech  
• Free  markets  
• Emphasis  on  the  “American  Dream”  –  self-­‐made  
• Per  capita  income  –  in  most  lists,  American  comes  top  of  the  ranks
...
 GDP/per  capita,  it  is  number  6
...
 
 
Welfare  and  philanthropy  
 
• In  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  it  said  ‘all  men  are  created  equal’  
• Most  unequal  industrialized  country,  huge  gap  between  rich  and  poor  –  
richest  10%  of  American  families  got  half  of  the  income  in  the  US  
• Inequality  has  increased  with  each  expansion  in  the  postwar  era  
• The  bottom  90%  experienced  a  decline  in  come  from  2009  to  2012
...
 
• Access  to  social  services  –  only  major  industrialized  country  without  
universal  health-­‐care
...
 Even  after  the  Health  Care  Reform,  not  all  citizens  have  
health  care
...
 Medicare  –  
healthcare  for  older  citizens,  but  not  a  comprehensive  healthcare  system
...
 You/employer  has  to  buy  it,  not  guaranteed  by  the  state
...
 There  is  a  website  of  the  current  pledgers
...
 
 
Ideology  and  Religion  
 
• Creedal  nation  –  founded  on  a  set  of  religious  theortical  principles  

•
•
•
•
•

•
•

o “the  only  nation  founded  in  the  world  on  a  creed”  –  G  K  Chesterton  
o “in  explicit  opposition  to  Machiavellian  principles”  –  L  Strauss  
o “It  has  been  our  fate  as  a  nation  not  to  have  ideologies,  but  to  be  
one”  –  R
...
 You  can  find  the  creeds  
in  the  founding  document
...
 
“Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people”  
Gettysberg  Address  –  Address  by  Abraham  Lincoln  during  the  American  
Civil  War  at  the  Cemetery  where  soldiers  from  both  sides  months  after  
the  Battle  of  Gettysberg
...
   
‘Voluntary  religion’  
Religion  itself  has  a  strong  place  in  American  life,  American  was  founded  
by  some  protestant  settlers
...
   
RELIGION  PLAYS  A  HUGE  ROLE  IN  LIFE  AND  MORALITY  IN  AMERICA  

•
 
 
Politics  
 
• In  the  US,  50%  say  that  religion  is  very  important  in  their  lives
...
 They  believe  it  is  necessary  to  believe  in  God
...
 53%  of  Americnas  believe  it  
is  necessary  to  believe  in  God  to  be  moral,  whereas  only  33%  in  Germany,  
20%  in  Britain,  19%  in  Spain…  
• In  the  USA  46%  of  people  considered  themselves  to  be  an  American  first,  
46%  considered  themselves  to  be  a  Christian  first
...
 
• 75%  of  Americans  agree  that  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  use  military  
force  to  maintain  order  in  the  world
...
 
• Cultural  superiority  –  a  lot  of  people  in  America  thijnk  they  are  superior  
to  all  other  nationalities
...
 There  is  also  a  culture  of  
patriotism  and  optimism
...
   
• Politics  should  not  appear  too  much  in  the  constitution
...
 Politics,  naturally,  will  appear  to  some  extent
...
 It  is  
hard  to  get  agreement  between  the  congress  and  the  President,  especially  
when  the  president  is  not  from  the  majority  party  at  the  time
...
 
• Separation  of  powers  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world  with  strong  system  
of  checks  and  balances  

•

•

•

Two  party  system;  no  socialist-­‐social  democratic  party
...
 
However,  Democratic  is  the  second  most  right-­‐wing  party  in  the  world,  
coming  second  only  to  the  Republican  party
...
 It  is  a  nation  of  immigrants  and  therefore  a  strong  class  
never  emerged
...
 
The  basis  of  it  is  pretty  much  the  same  as  what  the  founding  fathers  
intended
...
 Future  
governor  John  Winthrop  stated  their  purpose  quite  clearly:  "We  shall  be  as  a  city  
upon  a  hill,  the  eyes  of  all  people  are  upon  us
...
 Not  just  of  the  
founders  of  Massachusetts,  but  also  of  the  founders  of  all  of  America
...
 
 
The  History  of  the  founding  
 
• The  Boston  tea  party  –  high  taxation  on  tea  so  men  poured  all  the  tea  that  
arrived  into  the  sea  to  protest
...
 
• George  Washington  was  the  first  president  of  the  USA  because  he  was  the  
commander  of  the  US  army
...
 Thomas  Jefferson  is  considered  to  be  the  author  of  
the  declaration,  the  third  president  of  the  US,  but  did  not  write  the  
constitution
...
 
• Articles  of  confederation  written  up
...
 The  political  system  before  this  
was  made  up  from  the  Articles  of  Confederation
...
 They  needed  a  stronger  government  before  the  constitution  
was  issued  so  they  held  a  conference
...
   
• James  Madison  is  the  father  of  the  constitution,  the  fourth  president
...
 Constitution  was  ratified  by  all  30  states  in  the  end
...
 
• 1789  –  George  Washington  took  over  the  first  congress,  he  was  President  
for  8  years
...
 
Until  the  1950s,  there  was  no  limit  on  presidential  terms…but  it  was  
changed  in  the  1950s  when  it  was  limited  to  two  terms
...
 

•
•
•

•

Washington  made  an  unwritten  rule  that  no  president  should  serve  more  
than  2  terms,  following  Presidne  tWashington
...
   
1789:  first  presidential  election  
1791  –  A  bill  of  rights  was  passed  by  the  first  congress  of  the  US
...
 The  second  president,  John  
Adams,  ran  against  Jefferson  and  lost
...
(Founding  brothers  book)  The  two  men  were  good  friends  and  
fought  together  for  independence,  signed  the  independence,  they  served  
in  Washington’s  government  as  high  powered  characters
...
 It  was  a  
vicious  campaign
...
 They  
both  died  on  the  same  day
...
   
v John  Adams  –  Jefferson’s  friend  &  rival  (Ellis);  2nd  President  
v James  Madison  –  „the  father  of  the  Constitution”;  4th  President  
v Alexander  Hamilton  –  the  leader  of  the  ”Federalists”;  death  in  duel
...
 He  fought  in  a  
duel  against  one  of  his  political  opponents  and  died
...
 
v The  founding  documents:  
o Declaration  of  independence  
o Constitution  
o Bill  of  Rights  
 
The  declaration  of  independence  
 
v ‘A  decent  respct  to  the  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  
declara  the  causes  which  impel  them  to  the  separation
...
 
v Most  famous  paragraph  is  the  second  one:  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-­‐
evident…”  
o unalienable  rights:  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  
o the  consent  of  the  governed  
o „injuries  and  usurpations”  
v All  men  are  created  equal:  
o Could  be  some  problems  with  this  part  because  of  slavery  which  
was  accepted  at  the  time,  even  Jefferson  had  slaves
...
 
Are  endowed  by  their  creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights  
o The  neutrality  of  the  creator  should  be  noted,  it  is  not  a  god
...
 
That  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  persuit  of  happiness  
o Used  to  be  property  rather  than  happiness  
o Now  it  is  broader  and  they  wanted  it  to  be  more  inclusive
...
 The  governments  are  
responsible  for  ensuring  those  rights  
Becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  
to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  government  
o Gov  is  based  on  the  consent  of  the  governed
...
 Because  of  this,  they  had  
a  right  to  a  revolution
...
 

 
Broader  theoretical  background  
v 2  interpretations  of  the  Revolution  
1
...
 It  had  a  radical  break  with  the  previous  system  
of  government  and  establishment
...
 
Radical  new  government  in  America
...
 It  was  radical  with  regards  to  the  fact  
that  they  wanted  less  governmental  control  and  less  taxation
...
‘Conservative  revolution’  by  Daniel  J  Boorstin  –  conservative  
revolution
...
 He  thinks  it’s  a  colonial  rebellion  not  a  fully  blown  
revolution,  a  small  mild  revolution
...
 He  said  it  was  fundamentally  conservative  
by  nature  –  they  did  not  want  to  form  a  radically  new  form  of  
government,  they  just  wanted  those  ancient  rights  that  british  
citizens  enjoyed
...
 
However,  Britain  did  not  want  them  to  have  those  rights
...
 They  didn’t  want  new  rights,  just  a  restoration  of  
rights
...
 
v Arguments  that  both  are  right
...
 The  French  
revolution  was  much  more  radical  with  a  lot  fo  bloodshed
...
 
v They  found  in  the  past  the  method  for  the  future  and  through  doing  so  
learnt  what  destroyed  previous  societies  and  inoculated  America
...
 
v Employed  reasoning  for  science,  politics  and  religion  and  this  shaped  
America
...
 
English  common  law  
v Coke,  Blackstone  
...
 They  brought  with  them  European  ideals
...
 
v Most  of  it  was  written  by  Madison
...
 
v The  federalist  papers  show  us  the  theory  behind  the  declaration  of  
independence
...
 
o Just  as  dangerous  as  a  revolt  from  the  minority
...
 At  the  time,  the  
minority  was  rich  with  lots  of  property
...
 
o ‘That  its  several  constituent  parts  may,  by  their  mutual  relations,  
be  the  means  of  keeping  each  other  in  their  proper  places;
...
 This  
led  to  the  separation  of  powers,  no  single  majority  with  too  much  
power
...
 
v The  first  ten  amendments  is  the  Bill  of  rights  to  the  constitution,  but  all  
done  at  the  same  time
...
 
v Bill  of  rights  is  technically  1,  and  prohibition  amendments  cancelling  each  
other  out  -­‐>  16  amendments  in  200  years
...
 Through  the  right  to  privacy  for  
example,  you  could  find  the  right  to  abortion
...
 
v Provides  checks  and  balances  on  the  government
...
 
 
Disadvantages  
 
v Vague  and  therefore  not  very  particular
...
 
v Cannot  change  with  tiem  –  for  example  amendment  2  –  is  this  outdated?  
 
Amending  the  constitution  
 
v Proposal  
o Two  thirds  of  both  houses  of  congress  should  agree  (33  
amendments  were  done  in  this  way
...
 
o By  the  legislatures  of  three  quarters  of  the  states  (26  were  ratified  
in  this  way)  
o By  conventions  in  three  quarters  of  the  states  (1  was  ratified  in  
this  way)  
 
Federalism  
 
v USA  made  up  of  federal  states
...
 

v Rights  of  the  central  government  and  federal  states  differ
...
 In  some  states  therefore  they  have  the  death  penalty  and  in  
others  they  don’t
...
 
v Turn  to  the  constitution  to  see  the  power  of  the  federal  governments  
compared  to  the  state  governments  -­‐  Article  I,  section  8  “the  congress  
shall  have  power”  –  enumerated  powers  
v Article  I  is  about  congress  and  section  8  is  about  the  powers  of  congress  
and  an  enumeration  of  the  powers  of  the  congress
...
 It  says  that  they  should  have  only  the  
list  of  powers  that  can  be  seen  here…and  then  it  talks  about  extending  the  
powers
...
 
v  “Necessary  and  proper”  clause  –  leads  to  implied  powers
...
 These  are  the  powers  that  are  necessary  
in  order  to  execute  the  foregoing  powers  mentioned  in  section  8
...
 
v 10th  amendment  –  powers  reserved  to  the  states  (people)  –  ‘the  
powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  
prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  by  the  states  respectively,  or  to  
the  people’
...
 
 
Bill  of  rights  amendments  (first  10)  
 
1
...
 It  prohibits  
any  effort  to  restrict  these  rights
...
A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  
free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms,  shall  
not  be  infringed  –  Most  debated  part  of  the  constitution
...
 There  is  an  argument  that  it  should  be  limited  to  stop  
people  from  committing  such  crimes
...
 This  was  done  not  long  after  the  American  
Revolution  –  the  reason  was  to  fight  against  the  British
...
Quartering  of  troops  –  3  –  8  are  to  do  with  criminal  proceedings  
and  civil  procedures
...
Search  and  Seizure  
5
...
Criminal  prosecutions  –  jury  trial,  right  to  confront  and  to  
council  
7
...
Excess  Bail  or  fines  

 
Other  amendments  
 
v Amendment  12  –  The  Pres  and  Vice-­‐Pres  are  elected  together  and  belong  
to  the  same  political  party
...
 
v 13  –  Guarantees  equal  protection  of  the  law  and  due  process  under  the  
law
...
 
 
Constitutional  democracy  
 
v Alexis  de  Tocqueville  on  “tyranny  of  the  majority”  
v Undemocratic  elements  (Dahl)  –  ‘how  democratic  is  the  American  
constitution?’  
o Suffrage  
o Slavery  
o Elections  of  senators  
o Equal  representation  in  the  Senate  
o Election  of  the  president  
o Limits  of  congressional  power  
o Judicial  power  
 

Campaigns  and  elections  
 

Fundamentally  different  from  European  ones  because  they  happen  more  often  
and  are  less  coordinated
...
   
In  the  US  there  are  elections  every  two  years:  
1
...
Mid-­‐term  years:  
• Full  House  of  Representatives  is  re-­‐elected  
• 1/3  Senate  is  re-­‐elected  
o Lower  turnout  
o The  electorate  seems  to  be  more  politically  interested  (benefits  
the  Republicans  –  generally  more  educated/financially  better  
off  than  Democrat  voters)  
o ‘Mid-­‐term  itch’  -­‐  every  6  years  the  President’s  party  tends  to  
lose  seats  at  the  elections  
 
Structural  Features  
Races  decided  in  states  
• New  York/California  (New  England  (North-­‐East)  and  the  West  Coast  
(urban  areas)  –  Democrat  states  
• Texas  (Southern  states)  –  Republican  states  
• If  you  win  by  one  vote,  you  get  all  of  the  electoral  seats  in  that  state
...
 They  focus  on  areas  where  there  is  more  of  a  
contest/more  people  with  a  possibility  of  winning  over  (swing  
states/battleground  states  e
...
 Iowa,  Ohio,  Colorado,  Michigan)  
• There  are  50+  separate  races  in  each  state  –  one  state  at  a  time  will  
guarantee  a  victory  
 
Mid-­‐Term  Elections  
• There  are  certain  factors  that  differentiate  mid-­‐terms  from  national  
elections  
• Only  1/3  of  senate  seats  are  contested  in  any  given  election  (33  seats)
...
 Why?  Because  if  they  Senate  races  take  places  in  States  
that  are  generally  Democratic,  they  Democrats  have  an  advantage  
(and  vice  versa)  
• Almost  all  the  Southern  states  in  the  2014  mid-­‐terms  have  contests  
this  year
...
   
• The  Republicans  have  a  better  chance  of  capturing  the  Senate  in  these  
elections
...
 Sudden  recent  events  involving  Ebola  lead  many  to  think  that  the  
Obama  administration  was  not  doing  enough
...
   
 
Unfixed  Structures  

•

•

•

American  political  parties  have  very  unfixed  structures
...
 They  are  loose  organisations
...
 
o The  rise  of  Barack  Obama  illustrates  this
...
 2  years  before  that,  in  2006,  50%  of  the  American  
population  had  never  heard  of  his  name
...
 
Having  the  ability  to  raise  your  profile  dramatically  in  a  short  space  of  
time  relies  a  lot  on  the  ability  to  campaign,  finance  yourself  and  
advertise  well
...
 

 
Primaries  
• In  both  parties,  theoretically,  anyone  can  claim  to  be  a  candidate  for  
President
...
 This  means  that  candidates  must  
first  go  to  the  extremes  of  their  particular  party  in  order  to  win  the  
Primaries
...
 
• Primaries  can  sometimes  be  more  vicious  than  the  general  elections  
themselves
...
 This  made  the  Democratic  campaign  
difficult  to  win,  Obama  and  Hilary  Clinton  fought  a  very  close  battle  to  
win  the  Primaries  on  behalf  of  the  democrats
...
 
• Obama  went  for  ‘Hope’,  Clinton  went  for  having  international  
experience/being  an  accomplished  person  
 
The  Overriding  Influence  of  Money  
• Money  has  a  more  transparent  contribution  to  the  campaigns  and  the  
contributions  are  more  meaningful
...
 
Senate  elections  took  place  in  Alabama,  Alaska,  Arkansas,  Colorado,  
Delaware,  Georgia,  Hawaii,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  
Maine,  Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mississippi,  Montana,  New  
Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  Mexico,  North  Carolina,  Oklahoma  (both  
seats),  Oregon,  Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina  (both  seats),  South  Dakota,  
Tennessee,  Texas,  Virginia,  West  Virginia  and  Wyoming
...
 

 
Republicans  swept  to  power  in  the  US  Senate  after  a  rout  for  Democrats  in  
midterm  elections  that  were  dominated  by  criticism  of  Barack  Obama’s  
presidency  and  are  likely  to  hobble  his  last  two  years  in  Washington
...
 
• The  GOP  also  expanded  its  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives
...
 They  were  poised  to  take  an  eighth,  Alaska,  and  if  
they  win  a  runoff  in  Louisiana,  Republicans  would  command  a  54-­‐vote  
majority  in  the  Senate
...
 An  example  is  the  legalisation  of  marijuana
...
   
 

The  working  of  the  congress  
 

•
•
•

It  is  a  symmetrical  working  body,  the  2  houses  of  congress  have  very  
similar  amount  of  power
...
 
Senate  is  more  aristocratic
...
 House  takes  after  the  House  of  
Commons  and  the  Senate  after  the  House  of  Lords
...
 

•
•
•

•

•
•

•

•

•
•

House-­‐>Committee-­‐>  Sub-­‐committee  -­‐>Committee  -­‐>  Rules  committee  -­‐>  
Full  house  -­‐>  Conference  with  senate  -­‐>  Full  house  -­‐>  President
...
 
The  rules  committee  in  the  House  does  not  have  an  equivalent  in  the  
Senate,  they  make  rules  for  the  debate  and  how  long  it  should  be
...
 They  can  speak  for  as  long  as  they  wish
...
   
Only  2  unwritten  rules:    
o Cannot  sit  down  and  cannot  lean  on  something,  you  have  to  stand  
upright  and  as  long  as  you  do  this,  you  can  speak  for  as  long  as  you  
want
...
 This  can  also  be  stalled  if  
two  senators  work  together  to  stall  a  bill,  because  then  they  can  
talk  forever
...
 This  is  to  stop  them  from  talking
...
 
Ted  Cruz:  most  recent  example  being  unsatisfied  with  Obama’s  budget  
proposal
...
 This  is  only  in  the  Senate
...
 And  vice  versa
...
 The  bills  
might  be  different
...
 
The  unified  bill  must  then  be  sent  back  to  the  full  house  and  senate  to  be  
approved  again
...
 It  is  a  very  
long  process  and  there  are  several  places  where  it  can  get  blocked
...
 The  
Presidnet  might  then  choose  to  veto  it
...
 
Congress  can  override  presidential  veto,  but  it  requires  a  huge  majority  
(of  2/3  majority  in  both  houses  of  congress)
...
 
 
Congressional  leadership  
 
• Party  leaders  in  Congress  
• House:  
o Speaker:  John  Boehner  
o Majority  leader:  Kevin  McCarthy  
o Minority  leader:  Nancy  Pelosi  
• Senate:  
o Majority  leader:  Harry  Reid  

•
•
•
•
•

 

o Minority  leader:  Mitch  McConnell  
President  has  to  work  alongside  the  aprties  and  party  leaders  in  congress
...
 
Leaders  of  the  factions,  the  majority  (republican)  and  the  minority  leader  
(democratic)
...
 They  only  have  majority  
and  minority  leaders,  no  speaker
...
 At  the  moment,  we  still  have  a  congress  from  the  
previous  government
...
 

The  President  
 

•
•
•

Only  nationally  elected  person  in  the  USA  
Quite  a  lot  of  power  when  it  comes  to  foreign  power
...
 
If  we  look  closely  at  the  American  working,  he  doesn’t  have  as  much  
power  as  the  superficial  observer  might  think
...
 

 
The  power  of  the  President  
 
• Textbook:  2  arguments  side  by  side,  either  could  be  given
...
   
o They  can  decide  where  to  send  their  troops,  without  congressional  
approval
...
   
o They  also  have  economic  control,  wage  and  price  controls  
o Other  presidents  elected  Judges  to  sit  on  the  bench
...
   
o Obama  proved  the  economic  powers,  larger  and  sweeping  powers  
over  the  financial  markets
...
 
• Other  argument:    
o One  of  the  weaker  chief  executives  anywhere
...
   
o President  Reagan  signed  for  anti-­‐satellite  budget  proposal  but  this  
was  rejected  by  Congress
...
   
o The  federal  courts  struck  down  parts  of  Bush’s  plans  to  tighten  
anti-­‐terrorist  laws  and  limited  his  scope
...
   

•
•
•

•

•
•

People  sometimes  call  the  Pres  a  ‘pitiful,  helpless  giant’  –  one  of  the  
American  Presidents  used  this  view
...
 Although,  
sometimes  they  do
...
 He  cannot  do  anything  
without  the  approval  of  Comgress
...
 In  comparison,  the  Prime  
Minister  of  Britain  automatically  has  a  majority  which  means  the  people  
will  generally  support  his  policies  which  is  not  the  case  in  the  USA
...
 
In  a  sociological  sense,  there  is  power  that  the  President  can  actually  
exercise
...
 He  
can  also  give  orders  to  the  US  army
...
 
• How  do  they  elect  the  president?  
• 2  principles  at  work  when  electing  congress  –  proportionality  in  the  
house  (in  proportion  to  the  states)  and  on  a  principle  of  equality  (equal  
representation,  each  state  should  have  the  same  number  of  senators)
...
 This  is  the  ‘great  compromise’  (the  electoral  college
...
 
• The  electoral  college  -­‐  It  is  a  direct  election  because  they  do  not  serve  an  
independent  role
...
 However,  how  many  electors  should  each  state  have?  If  
a  state  has  25  representatives  in  the  house  of  reps  (the  house  of  congress)  
accordingly  to  the  population  and  2  senators  (in  the  senate),  they  would  
then  have  27  electors
...
C
...
C  and  
participate  in  elections
...
C  means  district  of  Columbia  which  is  on  
the  border  of  the  US
...
 

•

•
•

•

•

538  is  the  number  of  electors…but  there  must  be  an  absolute  majority  of  
electoral  votes
...
 270  votes  is  
required  to  win
...
 
The  Presidnet  has  a  4  year  terms  and  they  can  serve  a  maximum  of  2  
terms
...
 
This  was  not  in  place  at  the  outset  of  the  Constitution,  only  occurred  in  
1951  in  the  22nd  Amendment
...
 He  did  not  fulfill  his  
4th  term  because  he  died
...
 Very  successful!!  As  soon  as  
he  died,  everyone  said  that  it  was  wrong  and  that  he  had  too  much  power
...
   
There  was  an  unwritten  rule  established  by  Washington  (first  Presidnet)  
before  Roosevelt
...
 Following  Presidnets  did  the  same  and  then  retired  
afterwards
...
 
Roosevelt  died  in  1944  but  in  1951,  they  made  the  new  rules  that  they  
could  only  serve  2  terms
...
 
• This  is  an  example  again  where  Congress  has  the  upper  hand  over  the  
President
...
 Presidnet  cannot  be  removed  for  political  reasons
...
 
• The  reasons  for  impeachment  are  only  in  cases  of    ‘treason,  bribery,  or  
other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors’
...
 
• Can  only  happen  if:  
o House:  impeach/charging  a  president  –  simple  majority  (this  
happened  in  the  case  of  Clinton)  
o Senate:  They  have  the  power  to  judge  –  Convict  and  remove  the  
President  from  office  (They  did  not  have  the  majority  for  Clinton  
and  so  he  remained  in  office)  –  2/3  majority  
• President  has  no  equivalent  power  against  the  Congress
...
 Who  will  succeed?  There  has  to  be  a  succession  
procedure
...
 What  happens  if  the  VP  also  resigns/is  ill?  In  the  case  of  
Nixon,  Agneau  (VP)  had  to  resign  before  the  resignation  of  Nixon  because  
of  corruption  and  therefore  there  was  no  sitting  vice  president
...
 
 
Inside  the  White  House  

  
The  important  Presidents  
 
I
...
 John  Adams  (2nd  president)  
III
...
 James  Madison  (4th)  
V
...
 Obama  (44th)  
 
The  president’s  men  
 
• The  people  who  are  his  nearest  advisors  are  most  important,  for  example  
his  chief  of  staff,  press  secretary,  national  security,  communications
...
   
o This  includes  only  lower  officials  as  higher  officials  have  to  be  
confirmed  by  the  senate
...
 
o However,  it  is  controlled  by  the  constitution  as  it  needs  
congressional  approval
...
 If  
he  doesn’t  have  approval  within  60  days,  should  withdraw
...
 
This  is  a  very  grey  issue  in  politics  (the  right  to  wage  war)
...
 If  a  President  wants  to  wage  
an  unpopular  war,  they  probably  wouldn’t  do  that  because  there  
must  be  some  kind  of  political  support  to  maintain  stability  and  
support  for  the  government
...
 This  is  the  
shortest  article  of  all  the  articles
...
 
The  lower  courts  are  therefore  established  by  the  Judiciary  Act  of  1789
...
 Therefore  they  did  not  think  they  needed  to  limit  the  power  
as  much  as  they  do  for  congress  and  the  president
...
 
• This  was  contradicted  by  the  developer  of  the  American  Judicial  system  
because  they  have  the  right  to  rule  on  the  constitutionality  of  laws  made  
by  the  congress  or  the  President
...
 They  can  
override  laws  if  they  do  not  abide  by  the  constitution
...
 Which    saw  the  invention  of  
judicial  review  in  1803
...
 
• The  case  goes  to  the  court  and  the  court  can  then  decide  that  a  particular  
rule  might  be  unconstitutional  and  therefore  that  rule  will  be  struck  
down
...
 
• The  supreme  court  decides  which  cases  it  will  take
...
 
• If  it  doesn’t  take  it,  the  ruling  of  the  court  before  will  stand
...
 
• Appointment:  President  nominates  and  the  senate  confirms
...
 On  good  behavior,  they  will  remain  a  Justice  of  
the  SC
...
 
 
Important  cases  that  have  shaped  the  law  
 
• Schenk  v  United  States  
• Brown  v  Board  of  education  
• Miranda  v  Arizona  
• Roe  v  Wade  
 

  

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 

 



---