interpretations & debates

democracy ideals & representation

• The US Constitution enshrines ideas of democracy and individual liberty as being important for the nation and the citizens

• Because the Constitution is entrenched, amendments that set out rights and freedoms are protected

• The Constitution ensures that the US will have a system of representative government

• Article 10 ensures that power is put in the hands of the people

electoral succession

• The Constitution means that there have to be regular elections, which allows the American public to have control over their government

• House of Representatives - 2 years

• President - 4 years

• Senate - 6 years

• The regularity of elections guarantees a regular transfer of power

  • EX: 2018, many people were unhappy with the Republican party in the executive, so Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives

electoral college

• The Constitution states that the Electoral College must be used to elect the president

• The Electoral College gives different numbers of Electoral College votes to each state and guarantees that smaller states have power in the election

  • However, the number of Electoral College votes for each state is not proportional to present-day populations

  • EX: Wyoming has a small population that would only proportionally earn it half an Electoral College vote, yet it has 3

  • This causes votes to count differently in the Electoral College system, which is not fully democratic

judicial review

• The Supreme Court can limit the actions of the executive and the legislature

• However, judicial review is not explicitly stated in the Constitution so the Supreme Court can decide itself how to exercise it

checks & balances

• Having a separation of powers and checks and balances are important parts of the Constitution which limit the amount of power that any one individual or group can have in the US government

  • EX: the US judiciary was able to briefly stop President Trump’s travel ban in 2017

• Checks and balances slows down the law-making process if there is a divided government

democracy of the constitution - vagueness

• The Constitution is vague which allows the ideas to be interpreted and changed according to the needs of the present day

  • EX: Article II - ‘necessary and proper clause’ allows the federal government to make laws that they believe are important for the continued proper running of the government, such as healthcare and welfare bills

• However, ‘originalists’ (lawmakers & judges who believe the Constitution should be interpreted as the Founding Fathers intended it) perspectives of the Constitution may limit the rights for people who were not represented by the original Constitution (e.g. women, LGBTQ+ people)

democracy of the constitution - suffrage

• Amendments to the Constitution e.g. the 19th Amendment increased the number of people eligible to vote

democracy of the constitution - judicial review

• The nominations for the SC are politicised, so the justices on the court may not be neutral and may take political decisions that impact groups in the US

  • EX: 2022, the SC overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson, removing the federal right to abortion - an outcome shaped by Trump’s 3 SC nominations

strengths of us democracy

• The amendment process means that any changes have to take place with consent from democratically elected representatives and state governments

• The separation of powers limits the individual power of any one person or group to prevent tyranny and despotism

• Frequent elections mean there can be a regular transfer of power and regular opportunities for the people to cast a vote

• The Constitution enshrines democratic ideals and was one of the first of its kind to do so

weaknesses of us democracy

• The Electoral College doesn’t given equal representation to all voters

• The vagueness of the Constitution allows the executive and the legislature to make laws which have not been consented to by the public

• The Constitution doesn’t account for other factors that may influence the decision-making process, such as lobbyists, and doesn’t account for the difficulties of campaign finance

• The amendment process means that a small group of states can block the will of a majority of states

federalism - laws in states

• States can act as labs of democracy, by testing out new policies, democratic processes and regulations, which can be expanded to the rest of the nation

  • EX: Dobbs v. Jackson (2022) overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion regulation to the states, and different states have since enacted different abortion laws

• States can have a high degree of control over their lawmaking and the actions of their citizens

  • EX: cannabis is now legal for recreational use in 25 states and Washington, DC

federalism - voting

• Citizens get a degree of control over the policies of their states, which can tailor the policies of each state to the desires of its citizens

federalism - social policy

• States still have high levels of control over social policy

  • EX: despite concerted efforts, there is still no standardised curriculum or assessment criteria for education

has us federalism weakened over time? - constitution

• The Constitution allows Congress to enact all ‘necessary and proper’ laws, giving it implied powers that extend beyond enumerated powers - this limits the power of individual states to make their own laws

• The Commerce Clause of the Constitution gives Congress the enumerated power to “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes” - however, this clause is used to make certain drugs illegal at the federal level

has us federalism weakened over time? - federal departments

• The US federal government has expanded the number of Cabinet departments, giving it more influence over aspects of life that might otherwise be left to the states

  • EX: the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002

has us federalism weakened over time? - federal grants

• The federal government can issue categorical grants which must go to a specific purpose, restricting the ability of the states to make policy

has us federalism weakened over time - supreme court

• The SC has sometimes expanded federal power at the expense of states

  • EX: Gonzales v. Raich (2005) - the SC ruled that Congress could prohibit cannabis under the Commerce Clause even in states where medical use had been legalised