US constitution - 9 markers.

1. Impeachment - Congress can remove a president or any government official if they are suspected and then proven to have acted unlawfully. Impeachment starts in the house with a 2/3rds vote, before moving to the senate for another 2/3rds vote e.g. no president has been fully and successfully impeached but 3 have undergone the process: Andrew Johnson 1868, Bill Clinton 1998 and Donald Trump (twice) 2019 and 2021. Richard Nixon was threatened with impeachment over the Watergate scandal and thus resigned in 1974.

2. Override veto - Congress, as the primary legislator, can override the presidents veto with a 2/3rds majority in each house in order to pass the legislation. This check is extremely important as it ensures Congress, an elected body of officials, has the last say on legislation over one elected official e.g. Obama 2016 vetoed a bill allowing families of those who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack to sue Saudi Arabia, the presidents veto was overridden by a 97-1 majority in the senate and a 348-77 majority in the house - people clapped in both houses at the staggering majorities and the overturning of the presidents veto.

3. Advise and consent powers - some of the presidents powers must be checked and confirmed by Congress. This includes the presidents nomination powers to the executive (office) and to the Supreme Court - the senate votes on these nominations to confirm them - a simple majority is needed. The powers allows congress to have a hold on both the executive and judiciary branch e.g. Bidens choice of Neera Tanden for office of management of budget, Tanden deleted over 1,000 of her outspoken tweets when told she was announced to be a nominee, the senate made it clear that no one would vote for her, she was withdrawn as a candidate march 2021 before being voted upon. 2016 Obamas nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court was rejected, with the senate refusing to vote on it saying that under the Thurmond Rule, the next president should be able to perform the next nomination.

Explain and analyse three ways in which congress can check the president (9).

1. Creates two sovereign states - federalism limits the government by putting in place a national government and state governments. The balance of power between these two bodies ensures that the US government is not autocratic and it avoids centralised power.

2. Separate and different functions -

3. Structure of the senate

Explain and analyse three ways in which the concept of federalism influences US government (9).

1. Three powers

2. Individual articles - the constitution sets out each branch of government in different articles (1,2 and 3) ensuring that they are not fused like the UK system. This ensures that all the branch's need one another to function properly but that there is no concentration of power which would potentially make the system too powerful e.g. judiciary needs executive to appoint nominees, executive needs senate to confirm appointments, congress needs judiciary to interpret constitution and executive to provide the Vice President as president of the senate.

3. Checks and balances - the constitution sets out the formal powers of each of the branches, allowing them to check one another constantly, in a way making them work against each other to ensure scrutiny is abundant in American politics e.g. advice and consent powers of congress (the senate). Judiciary's power of judicial review. Presidents appointments and vetoes.

Explain and analyse three ways in which the US constitution reflects the separation of powers (9).

Explain and analyse three ways that he Bill of Rights protects the rights of US citizens (9).

Explain and analyse three ways in which structural theory could be used to study the constitutions of the UK and USA (9).

Explain and analyse three ways in which cultural theory could be used to study the constitutions of the UK and USA (9).