Key term
Edexcel A-Level Politics 9PL0
Democracy and Participation
Political Parties
Electoral Systems
Voting Behaviour and the Media
Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
The Constitution
Parliament
The Prime Minister and the Executive
Relations Between the Branches
AnarchismNon-core
EcologismNon-core
FeminismNon-core
MulticulturalismNon-core
NationalismNon-core
The US Constitution and FederalismUSA
US CongressUSA
Topic overviewThe structure of Congress and congressional electionsThe distribution of powers within CongressRepresentation: incumbency and influences on how members voteThe legislative process and gridlockOversight and relations with the presidencyChecks on the other branches, and debates about Congress
The US PresidencyUSA
The US Supreme Court and Civil RightsUSA
Topic overviewThe living Constitution and originalismJudicial review, appointments and the current CourtJudicial activism, restraint and public policyHow effectively the Supreme Court protects rightsThe limits of Supreme Court rights protectionAffirmative action: successes and failuresRacial rights campaigns, voting rights and representationImmigration reform and equality
US Democracy and ParticipationUSA
Comparative Theories and the UK-US ComparisonUSA
Topic overviewComparing the UK and US legislatures: structure and powersComparing the UK and US legislatures: strengths and approachesComparing the executives: powers and selectionComparing the executives: accountability and approachesComparing the Supreme Courts: powers and appointmentsComparing rights protection and interest group litigationComparing party systems and party ideasComparing campaign finance and pressure groupsApplying the three approaches to democracy and participationComparative theories: rational, cultural and structuralComparing the UK and US constitutions
The State and GlobalisationGlobal
Global Governance: Political and EconomicGlobal
Global Governance: Human Rights and EnvironmentalGlobal
Topic overviewInternational law and human rights institutionsHumanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to ProtectEnvironmental governance: the UNFCCC and the IPCCThe effectiveness of international law and international courtsDeep and shallow green ecology and the tragedy of the commonsInternational environmental agreements from Rio to ParisGlobal civil society and NGOs
Power and DevelopmentsGlobal
Topic overviewDifferent types of power: hard, soft and structuralGreat powers, superpowers and emerging powersPolarity and the changing world orderSystems of government and their consequences for global orderThe development and spread of liberal economies, the rule of law and democracyHow power and developments address contemporary global issues
Regionalism and the European UnionGlobal
Topic overviewRegionalism: forms and growthRegionalism, sovereignty and levels of integrationNAFTA, the USMCA and the African UnionThe Arab League and ASEANThe treaties that built the European UnionEU institutions and enlargementEconomic and Monetary Union and the euroSupranationalism, intergovernmentalism and the drivers of integrationThe EU's political and economic influenceThe EU's military influence and normative powerHow regionalism addresses conflict, poverty and rightsThe limits of regionalism in resolving global issues
Global Comparative TheoriesGlobal
The US Presidency
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Component 3
- Component 3, USA route
What The US Presidency covers
Covers the American executive: the powers the Constitution grants, the informal power to persuade and to act by order, the relationships and limits that constrain a President, and the argument over whether the office is imperial or imperilled.
Where it is assessed
Component 3
Government and Politics of the USA, one of the two routes.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Formal sources of presidential powerRecall questions on the head of state and head of government roles, command of the armed forces, the pardon, treaties, appointments and the veto, the electoral mandate, and executive orders and how they are overturned.Open →
- Informal power, persuasion and the Executive OfficeRecall questions on the effect of crises, cabinet influence, Neustadt and the power to persuade, the personal qualities and approval ratings behind it, and the roles of EXOP, the NSC, the OMB and the White House Office.Open →
- Relationships with Congress and the Court, and limits on powerRecall questions on the honeymoon period, divided and unified government, and how Congress, the courts, the Constitution and the electoral cycle limit a President.Open →
- The imperial presidency debate and presidential case studiesRecall questions on the imperial and imperilled theses, and on how Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump used formal and informal power.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Evaluation
What limits a President's ability to get their way?
Key term
What are informal presidential powers?
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What does it mean that the US President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces?
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What are powers of persuasion in the context of the presidency?
Process
What factors affect the relationship between the president and Congress?
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Why does cabinet influence vary between presidents?
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What is the imperial presidency thesis?
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What is the Head of State role of the US President?
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What personal characteristics affect a president's effectiveness in using persuasion?
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What factors influence the relationship between the president and the Supreme Court?
Key term
What is the imperilled presidency thesis?
Take The US Presidency further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
An executive order vs A veto
An executive order: a directive to the federal bureaucracy that a later President can simply revoke. A veto: a refusal to sign a bill passed by Congress, which two-thirds of both chambers can override.
The imperial presidency vs The imperilled presidency
The imperial presidency: the claim that the office has accumulated power beyond what the Constitution intended. The imperilled presidency: the claim that the office is too hemmed in by Congress and the courts to govern.
Divided government vs Unified government
Divided government: a situation in which one party holds the White House and another controls a chamber. Unified government: a situation in which the same party controls the presidency and both chambers.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the Head of State role of the US President?
Model answer
The ceremonial role of representing the nation domestically and internationally as a figurehead.
- 2
What is the Head of Government role of the US President?
Model answer
The executive role of directing government policy and administration as chief executive.
- 3
What does it mean that the US President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces?
Model answer
The President has supreme command authority over all US military forces, a formal power enumerated in the Constitution.
- 4
What is the presidential pardon power?
Model answer
A formal constitutional power allowing the President to grant pardons and reprieves for federal offences, exempting individuals from punishment.
- 5
What is required for a treaty negotiated by the President to take effect?
Model answer
Treaties require the consent of two-thirds of the Senate to be ratified.
- 6
What is the presidential appointment power and what constraint applies to it?
Model answer
The President can appoint federal judges, ambassadors, and executive officials, but these appointments require Senate confirmation.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
The US Presidency revision questions
- What does The US Presidency cover in Edexcel A-Level Politics?
- 4 subtopics: formal sources of presidential power, informal power, persuasion and the executive office, relationships with congress and the court, and limits on power and the imperial presidency debate and presidential case studies. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is The US Presidency organised?
- By the Edexcel 9PL0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in The US Presidency, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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