NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Modern Studies
International Issues: The USA
[HIGHER]
The Scottish Qualifications Authority regularly reviews
the arrangements for National Qualifications. Users of
all NQ support materials, whether published by LT
Scotland or others, are reminded that it is their
responsibility to check that the support materials
correspond to the requirements of the current
arrangements.
Acknowledgements
Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledge this contribution to the National
Qualifications support programme for Modern Studies.
The publishers gratefully acknowledge permission from the following sources to quote
copyright materials: the US Census Bureau (www.census.gov) for charts and diagrams on pp6,
8, 9, 10, 11, 42, 43 of this pack; ‘Kings in the White House’, by Richard Greene, 19 January
2005, ‘Testing US Presidential powers’, by Paul Reynolds, 21 December 2005, ‘Senate blocks
Patriot Act clauses’, 16 December 2005, ‘New Orleans plan angers residents’, 12 January
2006, all © BBC News website; ‘A Hurricane of Differences’, by Glen Ford and Peter Gamble,
© The Black Commentator, 10 January 2006.
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
This resource may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by educational
establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage.
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently
overlooked the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first
opportunity.
2
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
Contents
Section 1:
Background
Capitalism and the American economy
The American population
Section 2:
The immigration debate
The effect of September 11, 2001 on immigration
13
14
Section 3:
The system of government in the USA
Background
The separation of powers
Checks and balances
The powers of the President
16
16
16
17
18
Section 4:
Political parties and their support
Voting patterns
Blacks and the political parties
Hispanics and the political parties
28
28
35
37
Section 5:
Social and economic inequality in the USA
Poverty
Income and unemployment
Workfare and poverty
Reasons for unemployment
Education and income
Health
Housing
Family life
Crime and justice
40
40
42
44
45
46
47
48
50
50
Section 6:
Affirmative action
54
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
4
4
5
3
BACKGROUND
Background
The USA is the most powerful country in the world. Its power depends on its
land and its people. The USA is 9.8 million square miles in area and has a
very varied climate. This enables it to have an enormous agricultural output.
However, agriculture only accounts for 1% of the US gross national product
(GNP).
The USA is one of the world’s leading producers of minerals such as metals,
coal, gas and oil. Despite this the USA is a major importer of raw materials
and energy. The USA consumes one-third of the world’s energy.
Much of this energy is used to fuel the USA’s manufacturing industry. In
2000, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the USA was $9.1 billion:
equivalent to one-third of the world’s industrial output. This output means the
USA can dominate world trade.
Capitalism and the American economy
The USA is a capitalist country. Its population believe in free enterprise as an
economic system. Capitalism is a set of ideas about how an economy should
be run. The main ideas that make up capitalism are private ownership, the
profit motive, the market and competition. In the USA the people also believe
that the government should stay out of the economy.
The idea of private ownership is that most production and services should be
owned and run by private individuals who risk their capital in the hope of
making a profit. Capital is money a person has saved or has borrowed to
invest in a business. Although some services such as the police and the army
have to be provided by the government, most businesses under capitalism will
be owned privately.
The profit motive is what encourages people to invest. They hope to be
successful and earn a profit from their investment. The higher the expected
profit the more willing people are to risk investing their capital. Investment is
a gamble. The business may fail and the investors can lose their money.
4
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
BACKGROUND
The market is what drives capitalism. The price of anything is fixed by the
market. Price is fixed by supply, the amount of something available; and
demand, the number of people who want it. If the price is high, then few
people will want to buy but there will be a large amount available. So the
price will have to fall if the supply is to be sold. This will reduce the supply
until it matches the demand. Therefore the price is fixed by the market at the
point where supply and demand are equal.
The market encourages competition. As the price rises, profits will rise. This
encourages more investors to invest in businesses to supply what is required.
As the supply rises, several businesses will be in competition to attract the
available demand. Therefore production will have to be very efficient. As a
result consumers will get the best deal and enjoy high living standards.
However, the reality is often different from the theory. Sometimes some
businesses become so powerful they can dominate the market and destroy the
competition. For example, Microsoft was able to manipulate the s oftware
market to hurt its competitors. There are also some producers who will make
poor-quality goods or treat their workers badly in order to make bigger
profits.
Despite the theory that government should stay out of the capitalist system, in
practice it has to become involved. The capitalist economy has to have laws
and regulations to prevent it from harming many of those involved – the
consumers, investors, employers and workers.
The American population
The US population is changing. The fastest gr owing group is the Hispanics,
who have recently overtaken the Blacks to become the largest of the minority
populations. At the current rate of growth, by the second half of the twenty first century, the Whites will cease to be the majority population and t he USA
will become a nation of minorities.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
5
BACKGROUND
US Population 2001
White
Black
Hispanic
American Indian
Asian
Pacific Islander
Total
202m
70%
34m
12%
35m
13%
2.5m
1%
10m
4%
0.5m (less than 1%)
284m
100%*
* Percentages have been rounded
Source: US Bureau of Census
Hispanics
The Hispanic population is the fastest growing because the average age of
Hispanics is younger than for other groups, the average family size is larger,
and the fertility rate for Hispanic women is higher. The fertility rate for
Hispanic women is 95/1000 compared with only 60/1000 for white women in
the USA. Also, more than any other group, Hispanics migrate to the USA,
particularly from Mexico which shares a long border with the USA. During
the 1990s 24% of all migrants to the US were Mexican: 2.2 million people
from one country.
6
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
BACKGROUND
Mexican Americans account for two-thirds of all Hispanics. 90% of them live
in the South and Southwest in states such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and
California. These states are on the Mexican–American border and are a
magnet for poor Mexicans attracted by the much higher living standards in
the USA. Despite working for low wages as field hands, gardeners and
housemaids or in the sweatshops of Los Angeles and other large cities, these
economic migrants earn far more in the USA than in their native Mexico.
Many are illegal aliens who are smuggled across the border. Many US
employers encourage this illegal trade because they can get cheap labour.
These illegal aliens can be exploited by their US employer s because they
have no legal right to be there. Their wages and working conditions are harsh.
They may be dismissed without pay, beaten or forced to work in illegal or
life-threatening environments. Many are smuggled over by organised gangs
who collect money from the migrants and the employers. They may be
dumped, beaten or killed by these smugglers if there are problems, and there
are several recorded incidents of aliens being beaten by the police and border
patrol. Estimates put the number of Hispanic ill egal aliens in the USA at
between 8 million and 11 million.
Most Puerto Ricans live in the cities of the Northeast such as New York.
Puerto Rico is a Free Associated State of the USA. Therefore Puerto Ricans
are allowed to move to the USA to work and li ve. Most Puerto Ricans intend
to work in these cities for a limited time and to send money home to their
relatives. They work in low-paid jobs in the poorer parts of the cities. Most
intend to return to their native island when they have saved enough to
improve their lifestyle in Puerto Rico.
Most Cubans live in Florida which is less than 90 miles from Cuba. They are
the descendants of political refugees who left Cuba following the 1959
revolution. Many call themselves exiles and say they intend to return to Cuba
when they can. Many have become very wealthy in the USA. This Hispanic
group is closest to the white population in economic and social indicators.
6.1% of Cubans are unemployed compared with 9.6% of Puerto Ricans (5.1%
of Whites are unemployed), and Cubans are more likely to earn above
$50,000 per year than other Hispanic groups.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
7
BACKGROUND
Blacks
The diagram above shows that 55% of Blacks live in the South. This was
where slaves were taken to work on the cotton plantations 300 years ago.
Since emancipation most Blacks have continued to live there. Until the 1940s
there was a slow movement of Blacks to the northern cities. Between the
8
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
BACKGROUND
1940s and the 1970s large numbers migrated to the cities of the North and
West to get work, improve their living standards and escape segregation.
However, the decline of industries in the cities of the North led to poverty,
and ‘white flight’ led to discrimination and segregation. So there is now a
reverse trend with many Blacks now moving back into the South, which they
see as their cultural home. They are trying to escape the ‘rust belt’ cities of
the North and seek a better lifestyle in the South. Many middle -class Blacks
are choosing to live in Black-dominated communities where they mix with
other Blacks and their children can go to Black schools, colleges and clubs.
Segregation is becoming a lifestyle choice for many middle -class Blacks.
In the cities of the North and West, over two -thirds of Black city residents are
trapped in the ghetto in the city centres, and those middle-class Blacks who
escape often have to move to segregated suburbs. Those left in the ghettos
experience poverty, unemployment, poor education and health, the breakdown
of traditional family life and high levels of crime. The cycle of depri vation
has created a Black underclass trapped in the ghetto: the victims of drugs,
violence and AIDS.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
9
BACKGROUND
Native Americans
Native American includes American Indian, Eskimo (Innuit) and Aleut. The
Eskimo and the Aleut inhabit Alaska whereas the American Indians are
concentrated in several western states mainly on reservations. There are 2.5
million Native Americans.
Until the 1980s the average income on the reservations was 25% of the US
average, and American Indians suffered from poverty, unemployment,
alcoholism and malnutrition. However the 1980 Indian Gaming Act made
gaming legal on reservations. Gambling provided jobs on the reservations
and the income it generated was spent on improving health, education and
welfare facilities.
10
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
BACKGROUND
Asians
For the first time the 2000 US Census counted Asians and Pacific Islanders as
a separate group. The Asian population is concentrated in the West –
particularly California – and in the cities of the Northeast and the South.
Asians have taken advantage of the US education system and have used the
qualifications they gained to secure well-paid employment In the world of
science and education.
Some Asians have opened businesses to provide scientific and electronic
equipment which has made them wealthy. Many fir st generation immigrants
have opened small businesses particularly in areas such as the ghetto where
others would not. These businesses have given them their first opportunity to
live the American Dream. Through the 1990s Asians, comprising mainly of
Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Thais, Cambodians and Vietnamese,
accounted for 31% of migrants to the USA.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
11
BACKGROUND
Activities
1.
Make notes on the main features of capitalism in the USA:
•
•
•
•
Private ownership
Profit motive
Market
Competition
2.
Explain why the realities of the US economy do not always match
the capitalist theory.
3.
Make notes for each of the main US ethnic groups (Hispanics,
Native Americans, Asians, Blacks, Whites) on:
• proportion of the population
• distribution
• social and economic position.
You could organise this information in a table.
12
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Section 2
The immigration debate
Immigration has been the subject of major political debate in the USA for
over 100 years and it has both an economic and a social dimension. The
economic arguments in support of continued immigration are put forward by
employers who want cheap labour, whereas those taking the opposing view
are poorly paid workers who do not want continued immigration because it
keeps their wage levels low.
Then there are those who oppose immigration on the grounds that it costs the
taxpayer too much money. They claim that immigrants cost the taxpayer more
than $30 billion annually, in the form of health, education and welfare
payments. They are opposed by those who claim that immigrants are a young
and economically active group who are net contributors to the US economy
by as much as $30 billion annually.
There is also a debate about the impact of immigration on society and culture.
Those who oppose continued immigration point to an ‘American culture’ that
is being overwhelmed by the influx of Hispanic or Asian immigrants. They
complain that in many areas of the USA, the English language is not heard in
schools, in business or in the media. Their opponents clai med that cultural
diversity made America strong and that it is the lifeblood of American society
to be refreshed constantly from outside.
The intensity of these debates usually varies as the economy improves or goes
into a decline. If the economy is in a downturn, the voices of opposition
would blame immigrants for the problems. ‘Angry White Males’ demanded
the end of immigration. ‘Angry White Males’ initially consisted of blue collar workers but are now increasingly middle -class Whites facing
competition from Asians for places at college or for jobs in hi -tech industry.
Many Blacks and resident Hispanics also complain that Hispanic or Asian
immigrants are taking their jobs.
California experienced a significant increase in the number of Hispanic and
Asian immigrants during the 1990s. Apparent government inaction led voters
in California to vote for Proposition 187, which aimed to discourage illegal
immigration to California by denying illegal aliens and their children access
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
13
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
to education, health and welfare benefits. Although it was never implemented
before being declared unconstitutional it did demonstrate the strength of the
anti-imigration mood.
The US government introduced two new laws to tighten up on immigration.
The 1996 Immigration Reform Law doubled the Border Patrol on the US–
Mexican border to reduce the number of illegal immigrants. The 1996
Welfare Reform Law tried to deter immigration by stopping welfare for legal
immigrants until they had lived in the USA for five years and by preventing
access to welfare for illegal immigrants altogether.
The effect of September 11, 2001 on immigration
The attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 led to demands for
immigration laws to be tightened. The USA PATRIOT Act and the Border
Security Act were passed to severely restrict and control the entry of aliens to
the USA.
The USA PATRIOT Act introduced new reasons to stop people entering the
USA and it gave the Attorney General the power to declare that an alien is a
terrorist. If someone is declared a terrorist then he or she must be detained.
The suspect may be held for an unspecified length of time. In 2001, the
President issued an Executive regulation by which the government gave itself
the power to keep someone in detention even if a judge had ord ered the
person to be released. Therefore the US government could detain people
indefinitely without trial on the say of its chief law officer. The PATRIOT
Act also increased the number of the border patrols.
The Border Security Act increased the budget f or the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) and Customs Service. Different agencies had to
share information, and airlines and shipping companies had to inform the
authorities about passengers; colleges had to keep the authorities informed
about foreign students.
In 2003, the Department of Homeland Security was formed by bringing
together 23 existing government agencies, one of which was the INS, and it
became part of the new US Citizenship and US Immigration Services
(USCIS). This organisation only grants visas following extensive checks
which can take many months. Anyone with the hint of a suspicion is denied
access. These changes have had a big impact in reducing the number of
immigrants and asylum seekers to the USA.
14
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Draw up a table to note the main arguments for and against
immigration in the USA.
How does the economy affect attitudes to immigration?
What was the reaction of Californians to increased immigration?
What was the reaction of the US Government to immigrati on in the
1990s?
What was the reaction of the US Government to immigration post
2001?
Practice question
Attitudes towards immigration in the USA have hardened in recent years.
Discuss.
15 marks
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
15
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Section 3
The system of government in the USA
Background
The government of the USA is based on the US Constitution. Each state has
its own government but the there is one Federal Government for all. The
Constitution describes what the Federal Government is allowed to do. Any
powers not specified in the Constitution are reserved for the states or the
people.
The Federal Government is in charge of settling any disputes between states
to prevent them from going to war. It is also in charge of the army, of
foreign affairs as well as issuing a currency a nd running a postal service. By
having these provided by one central government US citizens reduce the
amount of tax they have to pay.
To prevent any person or group from becoming too powerful, the separation
of powers and a series of checks and balances were built into the
Constitution.
The separation of powers
A government must be able to do three things if it is to govern. It must be
able to make laws, carry out laws and judge according to these laws. These
are the legislative function, the executive function and the judicial function.
If all three functions are concentrated in too few hands then the government
will become a dictatorship. The US Constitution tries to keep these three
functions under separate control – the separation of powers.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to make laws for the USA. For a
Bill to become a law it must be passed by a majority in both the House of
Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Constitution gives the President the executive function, the power t o
carry out the laws of the United States. The President appoints Secretaries of
State to help him and each Secretary of State is in charge of a Department of
16
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
State which employs thousands of people to do the day -to-day work.
Collectively these Secretaries of State and the President make up the Cabinet
which meets regularly to decide what the government needs to do to run the
USA.
The US Constitution created a Supreme Court to provide the judicial
function for the USA. It is made up of nine Supreme Cou rt Justices (judges)
who decide what the laws of the United States actually mean and how they
should be applied in the US courts.
Checks and balances
To reinforce the separation of powers the US Constitution included a series of
‘checks and balances’. These try to further ensure that no small group of
people can gain too much power.
The US Constitution says that all power is reserved for the people or the
states. The Federal Government can only do those things the Constitution
allows it to do. So the power of the Federal Government is balanced against
the rights and powers of the states individually and the people. If the Federal
Government wants to increase the power it has it must change the
Constitution. To change the Constitution needs two -thirds of the Senate and
House of Representatives, and the President, to agree. Then it needs three quarters of the state assemblies to agree to the change as well.
The President is the most powerful person in the USA but his power is held in
check by both the Congress and the Supreme Court. If these institutions do
not like what the President intends to do then they have the power to prevent
him.
For example, although the President proposes many changes in the law it is
the Congress that must pass them. The President cannot introduce new bills
into Congress but must find friendly members in both houses to do it for him.
Congress may pass new laws but the President must sign them. If he refuses
and uses his veto it is difficult for Congress to override it beca use two-thirds
of both Houses would have to agree.
Balancing the power of both the President and the Congress is the Supreme
Court. Any law passed by the Congress and signed by the President can be
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The nine judges review the
law in relation to what they think the Constitution intended and if a majority
(five) decide the law is not allowed by the letter or the spirit of the
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
17
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Constitution then it is declared unconstitutional and cannot be applied in the
courts anywhere in the USA.
Another balance written into the Constitution is the system of election. The
President is elected for four years with a two -term maximum. Congress
members are elected to serve for two years, and Senators are elected for six
years with one-third of the Senate being re-elected every two years.
A strong President can only remain in office for eight years, during which
time a new House of Representatives is re-elected every two years, as is onethird of the Senate. If the voters in the USA do not like what the President is
doing, within two years they can elect representatives to check his power. No
individual can become the President for life and gather more and more power.
The powers of the President
The Constitution identifies the powers of the president. The President’s main
role is in national security. He is Commander -in-Chief of the armed forces
and it is the President’s job to defend the USA from all foreign threats. He
can order the use of troops overseas but if he declares wa r he must get the
approval of Congress. He can make Treaties but they must be approved by the
Senate.
The President is also responsible for internal security. In 2001 the President
issued an Executive Order to create a Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), which came into existence in 2003 when 23 agencies were brought
together in one department. This significantly increased the potential of the
Administration to monitor people in the USA and elsewhere in the world.
Another power the President has is to nominate US ambassadors, although he
must get the agreement of the Senate. He receives ambassadors from other
countries, which means the US officially recognises these countries.
Every January the President goes to Congress to give his State of the Unio n
Address. In this he outlines what his Administration has done over the
previous 12 months and what it intends to do in the next 12. He outlines the
main ideas of his Administration’s budget and some of the laws it wants to
introduce.
The President cannot introduce bills directly. He can propose a bill, but a
member of Congress must submit it for him.
When both Houses pass a bill, they send it to the President for his approval.
If he agrees with the bill, he signs it and it becomes a law. However, if th e
18
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
President does not like the bill, he can use his veto. He can return the bill to
Congress unsigned with a list of reasons to explain why he vetoed it. It
requires a two-thirds majority in both Houses to overturn a veto.
Alternatively he may use a ‘pocket’ veto. The Constitution says that the
President must sign a bill within 10 days. If he does not sign and Congress is
in session then the Bill becomes law without his signature. However if
Congress is not in session then the Bill fails to pass and the President has
exercised his pocket veto.
The President can by-pass Congress in certain circumstances by issuing an
Executive Order. An Executive Order has the power of law but does not need
the Congress to pass it. Therefore the President has the power to make
changes to the legal framework of the USA with no check from Congress.
The President is responsible for carrying out the laws passed by Congress. He
appoints Secretaries of State to run departments of government whose
officials do the work of government. There are 25 Secretaries of State
including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Homeland
Security.
He also appoints ambassadors, Supreme Court Justices, and other officials,
with the agreement of the majority of the Senate.
The President is the single most powerful person in the USA. His is the only
office elected by all the people of the USA. A President who is popular will
increase the influence of his office for the period he is in power. He will also
have greater influence over Congress, which will allow him to pass more
legislation.
Throughout the history of the USA, power has shifted from the people and the
states towards the Federal Government. The power of the US President is far
greater today that the framers of the Const itution originally intended.
Since 2001 the President’s office has increased its power. The Department of
Homeland Security increased the potential for the government to use its
intelligence and surveillance capacity to monitor the lives of US citizens on
the pretext of the war on terrorism. In the past at least one Administration
misused government agencies for its own political ends.
An Executive Order in 2001 gave the Attorney General, a Presidential
appointment, the power to overrule the courts if the y ordered the release of
any person the Attorney General deemed to be a terrorist or who he said had
links with terrorism. Executive Orders giving a President such an extension
of power were meant to be time limited to the period of an emergency.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
19
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
President Bush intends to retain these powers as long as terrorism is a threat.
This could go on indefinitely because by its nature terrorism may never be
ended.
News articles
Kings in the White House
By Richard Greene
BBC News
The US president is now as powerful as a monarch, according to a new
book by an American professor published to coincide with the start of
George W Bush’s second term.
Even powerful mid-century presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
recognised checks on their authority, says Stephen Graubard, who is old
enough to have attended Roosevelt’s last inauguration in 1945.
But since Ronald Reagan, the powers of a president and his ‘courtiers’ have
become increasingly untrammelled, Professor Graubard told BBC News.
‘He is not totally unchecked but his power is immense,’ he says of recent
presidents, several of whose closest advisers – including Donald Rumsfeld,
Henry Kissinger, McGeorge Bundy and Zbigniew Brzezinski – he has known
personally.
‘FDR worried all the time about other authorities who might try to inhibit his
plans. This man [George Bush] knows nobody is going to check him.
‘He has been made ridiculous by certain films, but does Bush really give a
damn what the New York Times thinks of him? Roosevelt did.
‘A king claims certain prerogatives. He is under the law but he has immense
discretion in what he can do, especially in foreign affairs.’
The age of Reagan
The great early-20th-Century writer Henry James may have dubbed Theodore
Roosevelt ‘Theodore Rex’, but meant it as a joke, the author says.
In his book, The Presidents: The Transformation of the American Presidency
from Theodore Roosevelt to George W Bush, he divides the 20th Century
presidency into three eras.
20
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
The W hite House became extremely powerful un der such towering figures as
the two Roosevelts – Theodore and his cousin Franklin – Woodrow W ilson,
and Harry Truman, he says.
It was much weakened in the 1960s and 1970s but starting in 1980, Reagan
restored to the institution all its previous grandeur and more again, the
historian argues.
‘We are living in the age of Reagan,’ he says, adding that George W Bush –
who begins his second term on Thursday – governs very much in the mould
of the 40th president.
Mr Bush’s displays of patriotism echo Reaga n’s, he says. And he accuses
both of a tendency to inflate the dangers the United States faces.
Few compliments
‘That we have never lived in such dangerous times is – to use a four-letter
word – crud,’ he says, referring to Mr Bush’s claims about the s cale of the
threat posed by terrorism.
‘When you stop and think of our situation in 1942 – those were dangerous
times,’ he says.
But if Professor Graubard is critical of the current President Bush, he is
hardly more complimentary about other recent pre sidents, Republican or
Democrat.
He describes George HW Bush as a stiff patrician who tried and failed to
imitate Reagan’s style, and says Bill Clinton’s over -arching concern was with
self-preservation.
He dismisses Jimmy Carter as ‘the one real non -entity in the book’.
Even the highly-regarded John F Kennedy ‘didn’t have great domestic or
foreign policy achievements’, he says, while Lyndon Johnson may have been
‘the greatest domestic reformer of the century’, but was a failure in foreign
policy.
And although Richard Nixon came to the White House knowing more about
the job than any previous incoming president, Professor Graubard says, ‘he
was a terrible human being’.
Stephen R Graubard, now retired, has been assistant professor of history at
Harvard and professor of history at Brown University. The Presidents is
published by Allen Lane in the UK and by Basic Books in the US, where its
title is Command of Office.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4181799.stm
Published: 2005/01/19 18:11:19 GMT © BBC MMVI
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
21
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Testing US presidential powers
By Paul Reynolds
World Affairs correspondent, BBC News website
President Bush’s defence of a secret programme of wiretaps within the
United States shows that the issue of presidential powers in time of war
is as alive today as it has been throughout American history.
President Bush is testing limits of presidential powers.
It was an issue addressed in the constitution and one that saw decisions by
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt tested in the courts.
Cicero’s comment that ‘in time of war, the laws are silent’ is therefore being
constantly challenged.
Under the programme, Mr Bush authorised the National Security Agency
(NSA) to listen in to international phone calls and intercept the international
e-mails of American citizens and others inside the US without warrants from a
special court.
Normally the NSA is allowed to freely intercept only those communications
that are wholly outside the US (a task in which it is helped by the British
GCHQ at Cheltenham). Anything monitored domestically and likely to involve
a US citizen or permanent resident has to be approved by a specia l court
known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA).
As president and commander-in-chief, I have the constitutional
responsibility and the constitutional authority to protect our country.
Article II of the constitution gives me that respo nsibility and the
authority necessary to fulfil it.
President Bush
However, after the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr Bush decided that FISA
was too cumbersome an instrument. It had been set up for the more leisurely
monitoring required during the cold war, he argued, and could not cope with
the rapid demands of the war on al-Qaeda.
A FISA warrant can approve a wiretap retrospectively but the administration
decided that even this would be too slow – and was apparently nervous that
some requests might even be turned down.
So the president allowed the NSA to pick up calls and e -mails being made
from and to the US. Purely domestic calls still have to be authorised by a
FISA warrant.
The programme was revealed by the New York Times recently, a decision Mr
Bush called ‘shameful’.
22
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Presidential defences
According to the Times, about 500 people are subject to monitoring at any
one time and there have been successes.
‘Several officials said the eavesdropping programme had helped uncover a
plot by Lyman Faris, an Ohio trucker and naturalised citizen who pleaded
guilty in 2003 to supporting al-Qaeda by planning to bring down the Brooklyn
Bridge with blowtorches. W hat appeared to be another Qaeda plot, involving
fertiliser bomb attacks on British pubs and train stations, was exposed last
year in part through the programme, the officials said,’ the Times reported.
At a news conference at the White House on Monday, Mr Bush offered two
defences of his decisions.
‘As president and commander-in-chief, I have the constitutional responsibility
and the constitutional authority to protect our country. Article II of the
constitution gives me that responsibility and the authority necessary to fulfil
it. And after September 11th, the United States Congress also gra nted me
additional authority to use military force against al -Qaeda,’ he stated.
Article II of the constitution says the president will swear an oath of office
with these words: ‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute
the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ It also
appoints the president as Commander in Chief.
Those therefore are the powers Mr Bush says he is exercising.
The additional authority granted to him by Congress, to which he also
referred, was a resolution passed on 14 September 2001.
This authorised the president ‘to use all necessary and appropriate force
against those nations, organisations, or persons he determines planned,
authorised, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on
September 11 2001, or harboured such organisations or persons, in order to
prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by
such nations, organisations or persons.’
Issue of oversight
Mr Bush also said that senior members of Congress had been briefed on the
programme and that there was therefore congressional oversight of it.
However Democratic Senator John D Rockefeller, vice cha irman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee, has written to Vice President Dick Cheney
complaining that the briefings are inadequate. He said that ‘given the security
restrictions associated with this information, and my inability to consult staff
or counsel on my own, I feel unable to fully evaluate, much less endorse
these activities.’
And the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen
Specter has said he will hold hearings on the issue, especially as Judge
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
23
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Samuel Alito, the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court, has said that
he doubts if the oversight offered is adequate.
However the Acting House Republican Majority leader Roy Blunt said he was
‘personally comfortable’ with what he knew of the programme.
Meanwhile the Washington Post has reported that one of the eleven FISA
judges, US District Judge James Robertson, regarded as a liberal, has
resigned in protest at the president’s move.
Lincoln and Roosevelt
Mr Bush is not the first president to test the limits of his consti tutional
powers. In 1861 Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus (the requirement
that a prisoner be brought to a court for detention to be justified) in Maryland
and some other areas of the Union as the capital W ashington itself came
under threat.
He did so under the article of the constitution which says: ‘The privilege of
the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of
rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.’
Lincoln’s order was declared illegal by Justice Ro ger Taney sitting in the
Maryland federal Circuit Court who said that only Congress could do this, but
Lincoln, who regarded Taney as a man of the South, took no notice. However
after the Civil War, the US Supreme Court itself limited the effect of a
suspension by ruling that this did not automatically allow recourse to military
courts.
Internment of Japanese-Americans
In W orld War II, President Roosevelt issued an executive order to lock up
120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps. This was upheld in by the
Supreme Court, though with a strongly argued minority dissent, in a case
brought by 22-year-old Fred Korematsu, who had refused to report to an
assembly point.
The presidential order remained a matter of great controversy and in 1983
Korematsu’s conviction was overturned.
In 1988 President Reagan signed into law a Civil Liberties act which included
this apology:
‘For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional
rights of these individuals of Japanese ancestr y, the Congress apologises on
behalf of the nation.’
Paul.Reynolds-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4545540.stm
Published: 2005/12/21 13:07:35 GMT © BBC MMVI
24
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Senate blocks Patriot Act clauses
The US Senate has rejected an attempt to reauthorise several sections
of the main US anti-terror law.
A bipartisan group of senators opposed the Patriot Act measures as infringing
too much on Americans’ civil liberties.
The bill’s supporters in the Senate were able to muster only 52 of the 60
votes needed to stop it being blocked.
The vote is a blow to President George Bush and Republican leaders, who
had pushed for most of the expiring Patriot Act provisions to be made
permanent.
Unless a compromise is reached, several key parts of the legislation, passed
after the 11 September 2001 attacks, are due to expire at the end of the
month.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Mr Bush was determined to
maintain a law that had helped break up some terror cells in the US.
‘The president has made it very clear that he is not interested in signing any
short-term renewal,’ he said.
‘The terrorist threats will not end at the end of this year, they won’t expire in
three months. We need to move forward and pass this critical legislation.’
‘Checks and balances’
The W hite House had lobbied determinedly for the provisions to be passed
and hoped to satisfy critics by adding new safeguards and expiration dates
for the most controversial elements.
These include roving phone taps and secret warrants for documents from
businesses and hospitals, and for records of library books t aken out by
private citizens.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist warned: ‘We have more to fear from
terrorism than we do from this Patriot Act.’
But the Republican majority failed to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate to
prevent a threatened filibuster, a technique used to delay debate and stop the
bill’s passage to law.
During the debate, senior Democrat Patrick Leahy called out: ‘It is time to
have some checks and balances in this country. We are more American for
doing that.’
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
25
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
It came as the New York Times reported that Mr Bush had allowed security
agents to eavesdrop on people inside the US without court approval after
9/11.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said he had done nothing illegal.
She did not address the specifics of the repor t.
Republican and Democratic opponents of the legislation said they could
swiftly reauthorise the legislation if it were altered to give greater protection
to civil liberties.
The BBC’s James Coomerasamy in W ashington says the vote against
extending the 16 provisions in question is the second embarrassing climb down for the White House in 24 hours.
On Thursday, it was forced to accept a bill sponsored by Republican Senator
John McCain which explicitly bans cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of
terrorist suspects.
These developments seem to reveal a growing and potentially significant split
between Congress and the W hite House over the balance to be struck
between ensuring the nation’s security and protecting civil liberties, our
correspondent says.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4536418.stm
Published: 2005/12/16 19:54:09 GMT © BBC MMVI
26
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE USA
Activities
1.
Explain the following terms.
•
•
•
•
•
Constitution
Federal Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
2.
Describe how the three main functions of government are
separated in the USA.
3.
Explain why this is important in a democracy.
4.
How is the power of each of the following limi ted?
• Federal Government
• President
• Congress
5.
Write down all the powers of the President.
6.
Write down all the checks on the powers of the President.
7.
Try to find some recent examples of:
• the use of Presidential powers
• limitations on Presidential powers
Practice question
The President is the most powerful person in the USA.
Discuss.
15 marks
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
27
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
Section 4
Political parties and their support
Voting patterns
For the past 150 years the two main political parties in the USA hav e been the
Republican Party and the Democrat Party. Recently they have gained most of
their support from different geographical areas and different groups of
people.
Most support for the Democrat Party has come from states on the east coast
such as New York, and throughout New England, and on the west coast in
states such as California and Oregon. The Republican Party has got most
support in the South including Texas and Florida and in the states of the
Midwest and West. The Republican support is mainly i n rural, suburban and
small-town America while Democrat support is concentrated in many of the
larger cities.
Poor people tend to vote Democrat while the more affluent middle America
tends to be Republican. A majority of women tend to support the Democrat s
whereas men tend to be more Republican. The ethnic minorities in the US
tend to favour the Democrats. Those people who may be described as liberal
on many issues tend to vote Democrat while people with conservative views
are more likely to be Republican Party voters.
In the 2004 Presidential election 36% of the voters were white men. Of these
men, 62% voted for the Republicans and only 37% for the Democrats. The
Republicans also got 55% of white female votes. White women accounted for
41% of all voters. However, 67% of non-white men, who make up 10% of the
electorate, voted for the Democrats; 75% of non -white women, who make up
12% of the electorate, voted Democrat.
28
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
National Exit Poll Presidential Election 2004
Source: cnn.com
For 40 years until 1995, the Democrat Party was the majority party in
Congress. In the USA, political party representatives are not controlled by
party leaders as they are in the UK. Often Democrats and Republicans vote
against Democrats and Republicans. However, the D emocrat Party had more
influence than the Republican Party on the political life of the USA.
But since 1995, the Republican Party has been the majority party in both
Houses of Congress and it appears that it is poised to become the more
influential party of the two in the foreseeable future. It appears that the
Republican Party is more in tune with a more conservative mood that has
grown in the USA.
Many Americans have turned away from policies that were intended to help
those suffering from inequality in US society, such as welfare and
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
29
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
Affirmative Action Programmes. These are issues that were traditionally
identified with the Democrats. Increasingly Americans support workfare
programmes with lifetime limits on government help and are stressing the
importance of individuals supporting themselves by their own endeavours.
Increasingly, middle America as well as significant numbers in the minority
groups are turning against policies that favour abortion and homosexual
rights and are emphasising the importance of the family to restore some of the
traditional values that they believe are being lost in American society. The
Republicans, who have presented themselves as the champions of more
conservative social values and who have deliberately cultivated the su pport of
the religious right in the USA, have won over more and more voters. The
Democrat Party, whose traditional support is among the minorities, liberal
Whites and women, has found its support base shrinking.
The Republicans have also gained support because of the war on terrorism.
Americans tend to be very patriotic. However, as the number of American
lives lost in Iraq passes the 2000 mark, and the inadequacy of the
government’s response to the events following Hurricane Katrina begin to
influence American voters, the Republican Party might yet lose significant
amounts of support.
News articles
A Hurricane of Differences
By Glen Ford and Peter Gamble, The Black Commentator
Posted on January 10, 2006, Printed on January 12, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/30605/
Hurricane Katrina may mark a watershed in black perceptions of the African
American presence and prospects in the United States. ‘It could very well
shape this generation of young people in the same way that the
assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King shaped our generation,’
said Prof. Michael Dawson, of the University of Chicago whose team
conducted a survey of black and white reactions to the disaster between
October 28 and November 17, 2005. ‘It suggested to blacks the utter lack of
the liberal possibility in the United States,’ said Dawson, the nation’s premier
black social demographer.
Huge majorities of blacks agreed that the federal government’s response
would have been faster if the victims of Katrina in New Orleans had been
30
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
white (84 percent), and that the Katrina experience shows there is a lesson to
be learned about continued racial inequality (90 percent).
But only 20 percent of whites believe that the federal government’s failure to
respond had anything to do with race, and only 38 percent think there is
something to be learned about racial inequality from the Katrina disaster.
Federal Gov. response faster if
victims had been white
Katrina shows there’s a lesson to
be learned about continued racial
inequality
Black
84
White
20
% difference
64
90
38
52
The differences of perceptions based on an event to which the entire nation
was exposed in living color, are staggeringly instructive. Blacks and whites
saw the same images, but perceived them differently. The Dawson poll, which
included approximately 500 whites and 700 blacks, shows a 64 percent
difference between black and white perceptions on the federal response to
Katrina, and a 52 percent divide on the disaster’s significance in terms of
racial equality in the United States.
A Grand Canyon looms between the way African Americans and white people
view the world, despite the fact that both groups are privy to the same
information and images.
However, there is a degree of murkiness in these figures, just as exists in the
minds of human beings. Dawson’s group surveyed black and white reactions
to the statements of Kanye W est, the rapper, immediately after the Katrina
fiasco. W est said:
‘I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says,
‘They’re looting.’ You see a white family, it says, ‘They’re looking for food.’
And, you know, it’s been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of
the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a
hypocrite because I’ve tried to turn away from the TV because it’s too hard to
watch. I’ve even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I’m
calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amoun t I
can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people
down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help
— with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less
well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they
can. W e already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now,
fighting another way — and they’ve given them permission to go down and
shoot us! George Bush doesn’t care about black peop le!’
Curiously, a large number of whites, although a minority, agree with Kanye
West, that George Bush doesn’t care about black people. In light of other
indicators, one wonders what proportion of these whites is glad that the
president doesn’t care.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
31
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
Kanye W est’s comments unjustified
Black
White
% difference
9
56
47
It is clear that overwhelming numbers of blacks agree with Kanye, that Bush
is hostile to black people. The nine percent figure who think that Kanye is out
of line is just about right for what we at BC call the ‘crazy quotient’ — the
nearly indivisible number of African Americans who are irrevocably lost to
reality, like the majority of whites (but certainly for different pathological
reasons).
‘Blacks and whites see two different worlds ,’ said Prof. Dawson, whose team
found that ‘blacks are overwhelmingly supportive to bring people home and
restore the city, while whites are overwhelmingly against federal government
spending, and in favor of fiscal responsibility.’
Fiscal responsibility is a code phrase. It means, Don’t spend money on black
folks.
‘Fiscal responsibility is a code word for whites for anti -black policy,’ said
Dawson. ‘Reagan used it, Bush used it, and the people who overthrew
Reconstruction used it. It is one of the oldes t code words in American politics.
It’s right up there with “law and order”.’
The corporate media constantly speak of Americans ‘coming together’ in
times of crisis. However, such has never happened, across racial lines —
because of white intransigence.
‘I don’t think that the Katrina disaster brought people together,’ said Dawson.
‘I think it is abundantly clear that blacks and whites represent polar opposite
views in how to understand major social and political dislocations and
traumas in this country.’
Glen Ford and Peter Gamble are the publishers of The Black Commentator. They are
writing a book to be entitled, Barack Obama and the Crisis in Black Leadership .
© 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/30605/
32
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
New Orleans plan angers residents
A group of New Orleans residents has expressed anger at proposals to
rebuild the city, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina las t August.
They were upset by a recommended four-month moratorium on rebuilding
homes in some affected districts.
The Bring New Orleans Back (BNOB) commission has spent three months
assessing the city’s future.
The commission, set up by Mayor Ray Nagi n, made its suggestions for
residents public on W ednesday.
The scheme is part of a plan to restore the Louisiana city to its former glory,
which may prove to be the costliest rebuilding programme in US history.
‘Scheming’
Mr Nagin said the flood-ravaged US city’s residents would have to face ‘harsh
realities’ about its future.
This report is controversial – it pushes the edge of the envelope
Ray Nagin
New Orleans mayor
The moratorium is designed to make sure enough homeowners move back
into the areas that had been affected the worst by the flood, so that the
communities are viable and not surrounded by derelict homes.
But there has been anger directed at officials such as developer Joseph
Canizaro.
‘I don’t know you, but Mr Canizaro, I hate you ,’ said resident Harvey Bender
of the Lower Ninth Ward. ‘You’ve been in the background scheming to take
our land.’
‘Our neighbourhood is ready to come home,’ said property owner Jeb
Bruneau.
‘Don’t get in our way and prevent us from doing that. Help us cut the red
tape.’
Over the next nine days the commission will outline plans to revamp key
areas including health, education and infrastructure.
Mr Nagin said: ‘This report is controversial. It pushes the edge of the
envelope. Let’s, as a community, t ake the time. Let’s discuss it, let’s debate
it, let’s analyse it and let’s tweak it.’
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
33
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
The full report – which will eventually be presented to the federal government
– is thought to include plans for a 53-mile light railway system and a new jazz
district, as well as recommendations on how to prevent future flooding.
Property buy-out
There was an outcry in December when a group appointed by the commission
said that the city should concentrate the rebuilding effort on higher ground –
deferring rebuilding of the worst-hit areas.
Some residents feared the Urban Land Institute’s recommendations would
create a blueprint that eliminated mostly black neighbourhoods.
But the commission was to say that a powerful new public agency should be
created to buy condemned homes and redevelop the most badly damaged
areas.
Some areas of the city may not attract enough people back to form viable
communities and in those cases the proposed redevelopment agency would
buy out condemned homes.
Mayor Nagin is expected to have all of the proposals ready by 20 January.
It was estimated that the rebuilding effort outlined in the report would cost at
least $17bn, with $12bn of that devoted to buying condemned properties.
Only a fifth of New Orleans’ population of half a mil lion has returned since the
mass evacuations in the wake of the 29 August hurricane and subsequent
flooding of the city.
Most people are living in areas that did not suffer flood damage and where
services have been restored, yet vast swathes of the city hit by deep flooding
are still without power.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4604204.stm
Published: 2006/01/12 04:25:26 GMT
© BBC MMVI
34
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
Blacks and the political parties
Black representation has increased in the House of Representatives since
1993 when the number of Black members increased from 25 to 38. This was
because the Democrats had introduced majority-minority Districts. These
were gerrymandered boundaries in which there were overwhelming majorities
of either Blacks or Hispanics so that minorities would be a shoo -in* at an
election. It did increase the number of Blacks elected but overall it reduced
the number of Democrat Party members elected and reduced the influence on
Black voters.
Although there were more Black representatives there were fewer Congress
members as the result of support from Black voters. If an area returns three
members, each of whom depends on Black voters to win their District, then
the three elected will be White Democrats, each of whom is sympathetic to
Black aspirations. Black voters overwhelmingly vote for Democrat
candidates. If the boundaries are redrawn to put all Black voters in one
District then it will elect a Black Democrat and increase Black representation
in Congress by 1. However, the other two representatives will be elected by a
White electorate that tends to favour the Republican Party so therefore two
White Republicans will be elected, neither of whom has any interest in Black
issues because they depend only on White votes. Consequently the next
session of the House of Representatives will have one extra Black Congress
member but two new Republican members. Therefore the majority -minority
Districts reduced the influence of the Black electorate in Congress, although
the number of Black representatives increased. The Democrats lost their
majority in the House and the Republicans have been the majority there ever
since.
In 2005, Blacks were 10% of the House which is just short of their 12% of
the population. In the Senate they were 1% of the Senate with the election of
Barack Obama as the only Black Senator. So Blacks are still underrepresented
in the Federal Government.
However Blacks do have influence in Congress. The 42 elected Blacks are all
Democrats and have joined together to form a Black Caucus. This group
meets to discuss issues and how it intends to vote. If they vote as a group
they have 20% of the votes necessary to pass or defe at a Bill – 218 votes are
needed for a majority in the House of Representatives (which has 435
members).
The Black Caucus is the biggest united group in the House so other members
will offer their support on issues favoured by the Black Caucus, in order t o
get the Black Caucus to support them on votes they want to win. President
Bush has met the Black Caucus to discuss issues with them despite the fact he
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
35
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
is a Republican and they are Democrats because on certain issues he can
secure their support in return for his backing on issues important to them.
Black voter turnout averages between 5% and 10% below that of the White
voter turnout. Many Blacks doubt the political system has any value for them.
They remain economically and socially disadvantaged. Voti ng has not
changed that. Also many feel that the politicians have little interest in them.
They feel the Democrats take their votes for granted and the Republicans are
against them particularly as the majority are poor.
Blacks have lower levels of education so are less likely to vote and because
many are concentrated in areas where the election outcome is often a
foregone conclusion they do not bother to turn out.
There was a great deal of Black anger at the Presidential Election vote in
Florida in 2000 where they felt that they were disenfranchised. Florida
practises felony disenfranchisement. If a person has been jailed for a crime at
some time in the past they are not allowed to vote. More Blacks are jailed
than Whites so they feel that felony disenfra nchisement is a form of race
discrimination. Secondly many complained of electoral malpractices. They
were not sent polling cards, some claim they were intimidated to stay away
from the polls, and some claim they were illegally denied their vote because
some electoral officials invented fictitious problems in their voter registration
to deny them the right to vote.
Many Blacks therefore do not vote because they cannot be bothered or are
prevented by something in the system. In order to encourage more Blac ks to
register to vote, the Democrats introduced Motor -Voter laws in the mid
1990s. The aim was to allow voter registration when people went to do some
other official business such as license their car. However, it was Republican
Party supporters who took more advantage of this scheme, perhaps because
more White Republican supporters are car owners. The result was that there
was an increase in Republican supporters registering and voting and the
Republican Party has become the majority Party in both Houses of Congress
since 1995.
As already noted, the Black voter turnout is relatively low and it
overwhelmingly supports the Democrat Party. However, the Republican Party
is interested in winning some of the Black vote so that it can undermine
support for the Democrats in certain states. The Black vote is concentrated in
particular areas and the Republican strategists hope to increase their support
among young middle-class Blacks under 35. In 2005, the chairman of the
Republicans met with various Black organisations and church groups many of
whose members found favour with the Republican Party’s views on family,
anti-abortion, anti-feminism and anti-gay rights. The Republicans hope to win
36
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
another 5% to 10% of the Black vote from the Democrats and believe tha t, if
they do, they could unseat several Senators and make it much more difficult
for the Democrats to win a Presidential Election.
A signal that the Republican Party recognises the importance of the Black
vote is the fact that President Bush appointed s everal Black people to run
State Departments and sit on his Cabinet, including Condoleezza Rice who
replaced Colin Powell as the National Security Adviser.
Hispanics and the political parties
As with the Blacks, the introduction of majority -minority Districts increased
the number of Hispanic members of the House of Representatives. Since then
the number of Hispanic representatives has risen in both Houses.
In the past neither political party bothered much with the Hispanic vote.
Hispanic turnout was very low at around 25%. Most Hispanics were in the
USA for economic reasons and had little time for politics. Consequently
politicians did little to address Hispanic issues in order to win their votes, and
Hispanics saw little in politics to help them.
In the 1990s, during an economic downturn, there was a growing mood in the
USA against continued immigration. The Republican Party became identified
as being anti-immigrant and anti-immigration. When California voted for
Proposition 187, many Hispanics voted against the Republican Party because
they felt the measure was racist. The Republicans saw the danger. The
Hispanic community is the fastest-growing community in the USA. If it
continued to vote for the Democrats then the Republicans could face the
future as the second party.
The Republican Party set about modifying and changing its policies to appeal
to the Hispanic vote. It began to introduce policies designed to appeal to
Hispanics and issued party political broadcasts in Spanish. Between 1996 and
2000, the Republicans increased their share of the Hispanic vote. For many
years the Republicans had won support from the Hispanic population of
Florida because of their anti-communist position but in 2000 they began to
win over middle-class Mexican American voters in Texas, California and the
other border states.
The Republicans continued to fight for the Hispanic vote between 2000 and
2004 and among other things they appointed several Hispanics to high ranking positions in the Bush Administration, for example C arlos Gutierrez to
Commerce Secretary and Alberto Gonzalez as Attorney General.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
37
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
In 2004, the Republicans won 45% of the Hispanic vote and several Hispanics
were elected as Republicans to the House of Representatives and the Senate.
In the 2004 Presidential Election only 28% of the Hispanic population turned
out to vote. This looks very poor. However, many Hispanics in the USA are
not citizens and are not entitled to vote. There were 27 million Hispanics in
the US in 2004, but only 16 million were eligibl e to vote. The number who
turned out rose from 6 million in 2000 to just over 9 million in 2004.
Therefore if we discount non-citizens then the real turnout figure was 47%
which is much closer to the 56% of Blacks who voted and the 68% of Whites.
Another point that makes the Hispanic vote increasingly important is where it
is concentrated. In 2004, Hispanics accounted for only 8% of all US voters
but in New Mexico, for example, they were 30%. This made them the swing
vote in several states. The biggest concentration of Hispanic voters is in
California, Florida, Texas and New York. These four states have over 100
votes in the electoral college for the election of a President, or nearly half the
electoral college votes that a candidate needs. If the Hispanics become the
swing voters in these states then their influence in the political parties will
increase even more.
In the past the Democrats were identified with issues that appealed to the
majority of Hispanics, especially poor Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans.
These were issues such as better welfare provision, funding public education
and health care.
However, Hispanics are upwardly mobile and many second - and thirdgeneration Hispanics have lived the American Dream and have become
middle-class Americans. They are then more likely to identify with the more
conservative Republican Party positions on private enterprise and
individualism. Whereas, in the past, the Democrats were identified with the
Catholic vote and therefore attracted Catholic Hispanics, the Republican
values of family, and a religious-based belief in anti-abortion and antifeminism, appeals to the family-oriented macho culture of the Hispanics.
In 1996, the Democrats got 70% of the Hispanic vote, in 2000 they got 62%
and in 2004 the Democrat share fell to 55%. The Republican share rose to
45% in 2004 from 35% in 2000. Therefore among those Hispanics entitled to
vote, it appears that the Republicans are poised to take the majority share of
the votes.
The Republicans are continuing to court the Hispanic vote and have trimmed
and changed their policies to win more of it, including allowing illegal
immigrants to get legal status and eventual citizenship. The Republicans
38
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR SUPPORT
believe they can win enough Hispanic votes to make it impossible for
Democrats to win majorities in the border states, and some believe that in the
near future they can win in California and New York – two of the strongest
Democrat strongholds.
Activities
1.
Draw up a table to show the variation in support for the Democr at
Party and the Republican Party. Consider:
•
•
•
•
•
Geography
Socio-economic group
Gender
Ethnic group
Social outlook/attitude
2.
Outline the reasons why the Republican Party currently dominates
US politics.
3.
Explain why majority-minority districts were both good and bad for
Black representation.
4.
What is the Black Caucus and why is it influential?
5.
Black voters are still disenfranchised.
Makes notes on why the Black vote is still low.
6.
What action has been taken by both parties to gain the support of
Black voters and with what success?
7.
Why was the Hispanic vote largely ignored until recently?
8.
What factors have led to the increasing interest in the Hispanic
vote?
Practice question
Assess the importance of the ethnic minorit y vote to the main political
parties in the USA.
15 marks
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
39
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Section 5
Social and economic inequality in the USA
Usually in this section the Higher examines either equality between the ethnic
groups or progress over the past few years. Also, social an d economic issues
are usually examined together. However, it is possible for the examiners to
pose questions which deal with either economic or social issues on their own.
So we must be able to differentiate between the two.
Economic inequalities
• Income levels including welfare
• Unemployment rates
• Promotion
Social inequalities
• Housing
• Family structures
• Education
• Health
• Crime
These social and economic factors are closely related and one affects the
other.
Poverty
Blacks and Hispanics, and to a lesser extent Asians, do not enjoy social and
economic equality with the majority White group in the USA. Between 1990
and 2001, all three groups reduced their poverty levels, but Blacks remain
three times more likely to be poor compared with Whit es, and Hispanics are
only marginally better off. However, Asian poverty rates are much closer to
white levels.
The reasons for these poverty levels are different in each case. Black poverty
is a consequence of long-term discrimination and the development of a black
underclass. 70% of the Blacks living in the major cities of the north and west
have become trapped in the ghettoes. As a consequence of the cycle of
poverty and barriers to progress, many poor Blacks face multiple problems of
poor education, unemployment, substance abuse, crime, limited work
opportunities and negative peer pressure, leading to continuing poverty,
which moves down through the generations.
40
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
This Black underclass developed in the last 50 years of the twentieth century.
The characteristics that make it an underclass were identified by the Urban
Institute and include: single female-headed households; welfare dependent;
marginally educated (high-school dropouts or less); chronically unemployed;
and criminal recidivists (always in and out of jail). The Urban Institute said
the Black underclass increased from 900,000 in 1980 to 2.7 million in 1995
and was 8% of the Black population.
Hispanic poverty is different. Hispanic upward mobility is better than for
Blacks. Many Hispanics become middle class by starting up their own
businesses or by working in blue-collar jobs and pooling their incomes with
others in the extended family to invest in their business ventures or to buy
better houses. Studies have shown that ‘White flight’ takes place in
communities when the number of Black inhabitants reaches 8% whereas the
figure for Hispanics is closer to 20%. Therefore second - and third-generation
Hispanics can more readily rise out of their initial poverty than ghetto Blacks.
Much of Hispanic poverty is the result of immigration, particularly from
Central and South America. These poor economic migrants who secure low paid jobs in the USA are mainly responsible for the Hispanic poverty figures.
Poverty is not equally distributed through the Hispan ic community. For
example, the Cuban population is relatively stable and has developed a
significant middle class. Far fewer Cubans are poor immigrants compared
with Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans. In 1999, 17% of Cubans were
classed as poor which is 5% below the Hispanic average although it is still
double the rates for White poverty.
What is poverty?
In the USA the official measure of poverty is the Federal Poverty Level
(FPL). In 1964, when it was introduced, officials worked out the annual cost
of a family’s food budget and multiplied this figure by 3 because the average
family in those days spent one-third of their income on food. In 2001, the
average yearly cost of food for a family was $6,000, so using the same
formula, the FPL was set at $18,000.
However, in 2001 the amount spent by the average family on food had fallen
to one-fifth of their income so if the same approach is to be taken to
measuring poverty, then in 2001 the official level of poverty should have
been set at five times the cost of food spending: $30,000. Therefore the FPL
is a vast underestimate of the true extent of poverty in the USA.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
41
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Another problem with the FPL is that the cost of living is not uniform
throughout the USA. Other measures of poverty suggest that a more a ccurate
analysis would show variations between $23,000 in Tennessee for a single
parent with two children to $52,000 in Washington DC.
Income and unemployment
The cause of poverty is lack of income. In 2001, 26% of Blacks lived on
incomes that were less than $20,000. This is almost double the percentage of
Whites (14%). The two main sources of income are from paid employment
and welfare. Low income in the Black community is largely due to a high
level of welfare dependancy.
Compared with Blacks, more Hispanics are likely to be in work but a high
proportion are in low-paid employment. In 2001, 64% of Hispanics were
economically active compared with 67% of whites but only 58% of Blacks.
So the low Hispanic income is largely the result of many having low-paid
jobs as opposed to being unemployed and living on welfare. In 2003, Black
unemployment was nearly 11% whereas Hispanic unemployment was just
over 8%. While both were higher than White unemployment at 5.4%, the
higher rates of Black unemployment ma ke that the more important reason for
their low income.
42
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Unemployment levels are not distributed equally throughout the Hispanic
community. Cuban unemployment rates in 2002 were 6.7% compared with
7.5% for Mexican Americans and 9.4% for Puerto R icans. This demonstrates
that the stability of a population, i.e. whether or not there are significant
numbers of immigrants, has an important impact on Hispanic poverty.
Asians have the highest income because they have the lowest levels of
unemployment and have made best use of the US education system to get
high salaries in the business and education world. Also many Asians have
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
43
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
very successful business ventures. In 2001, only 12% of Asians earned less
than $15,000 compared with 14% of Whites while, at the other end of the
income spectrum, 34% of Asian households had incomes over $75,000
compared with only 26% of White households.
Blacks had the lowest median income in 1999, at just under $28,000 while the
Hispanic median income was 10% higher at nearly $31,000. So more
Hispanics had higher income levels than Blacks. Both lagged behind the
Whites whose median income was $42,500 but the group with highest median
income was the Asians with nearly $10,000 more than the Whites.
Higher levels of Black unemployment mean that more are forced to live on
welfare. However, there have been significant changes in the welfare system
in the USA since the mid 1990s, which have affected the level of income for
those who depend on it.
Workfare and poverty
In 1996, the Welfare Act introduced Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF). It replaced a Federal system with Federal funding for
individual States each of which had to run their own system. However, each
state had to incorporate certain features.
Welfare was to have a lifetime limit of five years for a claimant. Once a
claimant had accumulated five years of claims throughout the course of their
life they could claim no more help. Also claimants had to do some work in
return for their welfare. The State would decide what they were to do and it
could not be turned down on the grounds that it did not match the claimant’s
skills or it was too far away or for any other reason. Lone parents were
entitled to child support. Also claimants were required to undertake t raining
to get skills necessary to get work. This system became known as Workfare.
The Food Stamp Programme was kept. Poor households get coupons to
exchange for food in specified local stores.
Between 1996 and 2000 the number of families claiming TANF fell by half
from 4.4 million to 2.3 million. Between 1996 and 1999, those claiming Food
Stamps fell from 26 million to 18 million. During this period there was an
increase in the number of elderly and disabled households claiming Food
Stamps, so the reduction of 8 million people was in families with children. So
more than 8 million children were affected.
44
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
As 80% of families receiving TANF are Black compared with 17% for Whites
and only 1.3% for Hispanics, these changes hit the Black community
disproportionately. Studies show that only 60% of families leaving Workfare
find employment in low-paid jobs earning between $12,000 and $17,000
annually, which is below the current FPL. The other 40% are not employed
but receive no income from the state. Again thi s hit Blacks most of all.
The number of children classed as extremely poor – living in families with
less than $9,000 per year (50% below the poverty line) increased in the five
years following the introduction of TANF. In the same period, 27 major US
cities reported huge increases in emergency assistance for hunger and
homelessness. Poverty is wider and deeper as families are pushed off
Workfare and lose cash and Food Stamp assistances as well as access to
Medicaid. Some hospitals have reported ‘dramatic increases in food
insecurity’ and malnutrition among infants and toddlers in families pushed
off Workfare.
In 2003, the 1996 Welfare Act was amended to increase the level of
compulsion in the system while freezing the finance for the support
programmes such as child care, transport costs and job training.
Reasons for unemployment
Changes in the economy affect all groups. If the economy is doing well then
more people are employed, while during a recession unemployment increases.
However, those in lower-paid unskilled jobs are usually the first to be fired
during an economic downturn and the last to be hired during an upturn. As
Blacks on average are more likely to have limited skills and have least length
of service they tend to suffer more than most from ‘last in, first out’.
Although a significant number of Hispanics will also fall into this category,
far more are self-employed and therefore fewer become unemployed during a
recession.
Educational attainment is another important factor influencing emplo yment
and income levels. The higher a person’s level of education, the less likely
they are to be unemployed and the higher the income they can expect to
receive. In 2002, the unemployment rate among Blacks who dropped out of
high school was 14%, compared with 9% of those who graduated. In 2003
20% of Blacks dropped out of high school compared with 15% of Whites.
Race discrimination is also a factor. While the unemployment rate was 13.3%
for Black high-school dropouts, it was only 7.6% for White dropouts. Also
nearly twice as many Blacks who gained high school diplomas (9%) were
unemployed in 2003 compared with White graduates (5%). This is true for
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
45
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
unemployment rates across the education attainment spectrum.
Unemployment for college graduates was 2.7% for Whites and 4.2% for
Blacks. This is evidence that, at all levels, discrimination is also a factor in
employment and income, and therefore poverty.
However, the group that regularly records the highest high -school dropout
rates by far is the Hispanics. In 2003, 43% of Hispanics dropped out of high
school before they graduated. Yet they do not suffer from as low incomes or
as high unemployment rates as Blacks. In 2003, of those who had no high school diploma, Hispanics earned an average $18,981 with Whit es just ahead
with $19,981 while Blacks earned significantly less with an average $16,516.
Again this shows that Hispanics drop out of high school for different reasons
than Blacks. Hispanics drop out and go into work, often in the family
business. They are often self-employed and so do not appear as
unemployment statistics. In 2002, the unemployment rates for those who had
no high-school diploma was 7.6% for Whites and 7.7% for Hispanics.
Education and income
The higher the level of a person’s educati on the higher their income. Those
with professional degrees such as doctors, lawyers, mathematicians and
economists command the highest salaries. So the average income of someone
with a professional degree is much higher than a person with a school
diploma.
Blacks brought up in the ghetto suffer educational disadvantage. Inner city
schools tend to suffer substantially more problems including the fabric of the
school, less equipment such as books and computers, and the staff they attract
are often of poor ability or disillusioned. Also many teachers are from
different race backgrounds than their students and research suggests this can
put these students at a disadvantage.
Many Blacks in the ghetto have a negative attitude to education and disrupt
the education of those who might wish to do well. Education costs money and
poor Blacks cannot afford entry to expensive university and college courses
such as maths, science, the law and medicine that lead on to lucrative
employment.
Those Blacks who successfully study for degrees still find discrimination in
income and promotion. The average income of a Black person with a
bachelor’s degree is 25% below that of a White person with the same
qualification while at professional degree level the difference is 37%. Th is
indicates that discrimination exists even at the highest level of educational
attainment.
46
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
The group that has made most out of the US education system is the Asians.
In 2000, 44% Asians were college graduates compared with only 26% of
whites. In California, when the University ended Affirmative Action for
admission, the number of Whites, Blacks and Hispanic undergraduates was
reduced and it was the Asians who increased their percentage of entrants to
31% of all undergraduates – this from a group who form only 4% of the
population.
In Texas, where competition for University places is based on being in the
top 10% of a school graduation group, many White parents are taking their
children out of the high-achieving schools because they are frightened of the
competition from Asian children.
The Asian community values education very highly. Proportionately more
Asians are currently entering and graduating from colleges and universities
than Whites, which in the future will lead to Asians earning higher income s
and being the wealthiest group in the USA. A population distribution map for
Asians in the USA clearly shows that Asians are concentrated in areas such as
Silicon Valley in California with its electronic and science -based industry,
Boeing Engineering in Seattle, around the space centre in Houston, Texas,
and in several prestigious campuses of higher learning throughout the USA.
Health
There are significant differences in health in the USA. The life expectancy of
Blacks (72.2) in 2000, is five years less than for Whites (77.1). The infant
mortality rate is over twice as high for Blacks than Whites. Both of these
indicate poorer health suffered by Blacks. The proportion of babies of low
birth weight in 2002 showed that fewest Hispanic babies (6.5%) were of low
birth weight compared with 6.8% for White babies and 13.3% for Black
babies.
25% of Blacks do not have health insurance because they do not get insurance
as part of their job, or their income is too low to afford it. Therefore many
have no access to medical care. In 2001, just under 10% of Whites had no
health insurance.
This is made worse by the relatively unhealthy lifestyle of Blacks in the
ghetto. There are twice as many Black teenage mothers than White and nearly
70% of all Black births are to unmarried mothers. These children have low
birth weight due to their mother’s poor diet, smoking, drinking or drug
dependency during pregnancy.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
47
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Poverty and poor-quality housing also contribute to ill health. Obesity is a
major threat in the USA and is a particular problem in the Black community.
Crime also has a major impact. The most common cause of death among
young Black males is being shot.
AIDS is also a major health problem among Blacks. Between 1981 and 2000,
Blacks had 47% of all reported cases of AIDS in the USA.
More Hispanics are without health insurance than any other group, mainly
because they are economic migrants and have no residency rights to get
access to Medicare or Medicaid and are working in low -income jobs. In 2001,
Hispanics were more likely to than Whites to die from stroke, chronic liver
disease and cirrhosis, diabetes, HIV, homicide (128%), cancers of the cervix
and stomach, and obesity. These problems were linked to income, lifestyle
and employment. Hispanics record some of t he poorest statistics for diet,
alcohol intake, smoking and lack of health screening. The problems of
language and a different cultural attitude to the use of traditional medicine
rather than conventional medicine also contribute.
Asians in America live longer and have a lower death rate than any other
group. The main health problems for Asians are stomach cancer (from eating
pickled vegetables, dried fish and Kimchi), carbon monoxide poisoning,
tuberculosis and leprosy. Asians have the lowest rates of de ath from ‘modern
causes’ such as AIDS and cancer. This is most likely to due to the high level
of self-discipline in the Asian culture where few births are to teenage or
unmarried mothers and few take drink or drugs when they are pregnant or at
other times. Relatively few Asians commit murder, or engage in activities
that lead to AIDS, and most have a general aversion to risky occupations and
sports which contributes to a low rate of accidents.
Housing
Nearly two-thirds of Whites own their own homes in the USA compared with
less than 50% of Blacks. Blacks find it more difficult than whites to get a
mortgage. Blacks on average have lower incomes but studies have shown that
they also find it twice as difficult to get a mortgage than a White person. Also
many Blacks are the victims of ‘redlining’. Financial institutions draw a red
line on a map around an area of a town where they feel offering a loan is too
much of a risk and refuse to give mortgages on properties in these areas
despite the individuals’ personal circumstances. Many Blacks live in these
areas.
Most Blacks have to rent housing in the inner city because prices are too high
for them to buy. In an effort to improve inner -city housing, many cities
48
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
demolished old housing and built what became kn own as ‘the projects’.
However, these housing developments created more social problems than they
solved because they created high-density housing with few social facilities to
serve these enormous communities. They also destroyed older housing that
might have become owner-occupied.
Housing in the cities of the North and Midwest is heavily segregated because
of ‘White flight’. Many Whites deserted the inner city to live in the suburbs
because of the increasing post-war affluence and because they did not want to
live beside the growing number of Blacks who were moving to the inner city.
In time, when more affluent Blacks tried to move to the suburbs, Whites
again took steps to prevent them from moving into their suburbs. If Blacks
did move in, Whites again moved away to all-White suburbs. The suburbs
around the perimeter of the metropolitan areas became a series of segregated
housing areas.
Between 1991 and 2001, the number of Hispanic households increased by
57% in the USA. During that time the Hispanic ho me ownership rate
increased until it peaked at 47% in 2001. The main problem facing Hispanics
is affordability as housing costs have risen faster than incomes. The average
Hispanic household spends more than one -third of its income on housing.
More than twice as many Hispanics than Whites report problems with the
quality of the buildings they live in.
A report by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
found that between 1989 and 2000 both Blacks and Hispanics experienced a
decrease in the level of discrimination when trying to a buy a home. There
was also a modest decrease in discrimination toward Blacks trying to rent
housing. However, there was no evidence of a reduction in discrimination
towards Hispanic renters.
The main form of discrimination against Hispanics and Blacks is being told
houses are unavailable when they are still available to non -Hispanic Whites.
Hispanics and Blacks are also shown fewer available houses than Whites.
Housing agents give Hispanics less help with getting f inance and, between
1989 and 2000, there was an increase in quoting Hispanics higher rents for
properties.
The same report also found that Asian and Pacific Islander prospective
renters experienced adverse treatment relative to Whites on 21% of
occasions. Prospective Asian and Pacific Islander homebuyers experienced
adverse treatment relative to Whites 20% of the time, with systematic
discrimination occurring in housing availability, inspections, financing
assistance and agent encouragement.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
49
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Family life
Black family life in the USA falls into two distinct types. Most middle -class
Blacks experience traditional family life of two parents and children.
However, in the ghetto, ‘traditional family life’ has disappeared. Over 80% of
Black households in the ghetto are single parent. Only 36% of Black children
live with both parents, and nearly two -thirds of children born in the Black
community are to unmarried mothers.
In the ghetto the lifestyle has created a dependency culture. There are few
permanent males of working age in households. It is common for women to
have several children while they are still in their teens, often by a succession
of males.
Respect for women in the ghetto has all but disappeared. Men father children
and move on. Their children, particularly the male children, have little
respect for the female head of the household.
In 1997, this deteriorating role for women led to a mass demonstration in
Philadelphia. It was a reaction to the social and economic problems that
women faced. It was ordinary women fed up with crime, unemployment,
teenage pregnancy and the other social problems in the ghetto. 700,000 Black
women marched through Philadelphia in 1997 with the motto ‘we will no
longer tolerate disrespect’. However, it had little impac t on life in the ghetto.
The family remains very important in the Hispanic community. Hispanic
births to unmarried mothers run at 30% compared with 26% in the White
community and 62% in the Black community. This social stability is a
reflection of the culture and values in the Hispanic community which are very
strongly based on their Catholic beliefs.
Family values and respect are even stronger in the Asian community, even
among first generation immigrants. Only 15% of babies born in the Asian
community are to unmarried mothers.
Crime and justice
There is more crime in the inner cities. Therefore more Blacks are involved in
crime as perpetrators or victims. Blacks are 8 times more likely than Whites
to be held in prison or jail and 3 times more likely than Hispanics. In 2002,
47% of all jail inmates were Black despite Blacks being just over 12% of the
population.
50
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
These statistics are related to unemployment, street gangs and drugs. Gangs
control territory and provide protection for drug dealers who pa y them with
guns and drugs. Crime is more lucrative than the low -paid jobs that are
available in the ghetto, so it is attractive to large numbers of young
unemployed people.
Blacks are more likely to be arrested for serious crimes than non -serious
crimes whereas Whites are more likely to be arrested for non -serious
offences. This reflects the level of crime in the ghetto and the limitations on
the police and courts in dealing with it. However, the figures also show that
justice is not impartial in the USA. 45% of the prisoners under sentence of
death in the USA are Black despite Blacks being only 12% of the population.
Although this reflects the extent to which crime has become a way of life in
the ghetto, a recent Amnesty International Report found that a Black person
found guilty of murdering a White person is 15 times more likely to be
executed than a White person found guilty of murdering a Black person.
Hispanics are also more likely to be the victims of crime than Whites but are
less so compared with Blacks. Many Hispanics in the barrio become involved
in criminal activity for the same reasons as Blacks in the ghetto. However,
large numbers of poor Hispanics, through the extended family, work hard and
avoid crime. More Hispanics are upwardly mobile and so provide role models
for others to follow.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
51
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
Activities
1.
Summarise the differences in poverty among the main ethnic
groups. Consider:
• rates
• causes
2.
Why should we be wary of the official poverty rates for the
different ethnic groups?
3.
Make notes on the differences in income levels among the main
ethnic groups. Include:
• welfare dependency
• unemployment
• pay levels
4.
What have been some of the negative effects of TANF?
5.
What are the main causes of unemployment for Blacks and
Hispanics?
6.
In what ways are Blacks educationally disadvantaged?
7.
What is the evidence to show that Asians are benefiting from the US
education system?
8.
Look at the main health indicators and note the problems for
Blacks, Hispanics and Asians compared with Whites.
•
•
•
•
•
52
Infant mortality rates
Health insurance
AIDS
Serious illness
Lifestyle
9.
What is ‘redlining’ and how does it affect housing tenure for
Blacks?
10.
What is ‘White flight’ and how has it contributed to racial
segregation?
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE USA
11.
Give further examples of discrimination in housing for Blacks and
Hispanics.
12.
What evidence is there that family life in the Black community is
disintegrating?
13.
What evidence is there that Hispanic and Asian family life is still
strong?
14.
Make notes on some of the statistics that show the Black community
are disproportionately affected by crime.
15.
What evidence is there of discrimination in the justice system?
Practice question
To what extent are ethnic minority groups in the USA soci ally and
economically disadvantaged?
15 marks
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
53
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Section 6
Affirmative action
Affirmative Action was the collective name given to a series of programmes
and measures that were intended to overcome discrimination in employment
and education. Minorities and women were given special consideration in
employment, education and contracting decisions to counterbalance the
barriers to equality they faced.
In the business sector, companies that bid for contracts from the Federal
Government or state governments had to have Affirmative Action
Programmes (AAPs) to eliminate discrimination in hiring and promotion and
had to modify their workforce profile to reflect the population profile of the
area.
In the education sector there were a number of AAPs included busing as well
as university and college admission procedures. Busing was a series of
programmes to transport children across cities to create a more equal race
balance in schools. However, it largely led to hostility in parents and
children, and both the white middle class and the black middle class moved
away to avoid being involved. It was very expensive and prevented other
forms of education funding that could have had a more positive impact on
equality. In 1995 busing was effectively ended following a decision by the
Federal Supreme Court.
Affirmative Action has largely been ended by a series of legal challenges that
led to a number of Supreme Court decisions which are confusing and
contradictory. As long ago as 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that sett ing
aside places for minority students was reverse discrimination. Although it
said that places could not be set aside, it stated that universities could
consider race as one factor in admissions.
Again in 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that Michigan Unive rsity could take
race into account when allocating student places. However, its system of
awarding extra points to ethnic minorities (20 on a scale of 150) was
unconstitutional. So after 25 years the confusion still existed.
54
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
In California, Proposition 209 was passed in 1996. It abolished all public
service AAPs in ‘employment, education and contracting’ in California. The
Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to Proposition 209 so it effectively
ended AAPs in California.
Following California, other states such as Texas, Washington, Georgia and
Florida abolished AAPs. Therefore Affirmative Action as an on -going process
to help minorities secure economic and social equality has largely ended.
The arguments for and against Affirmative Action Programmes continue.
Those against AAPs are the majority of Whites with the support of a minority
of Blacks and Hispanics. They argue that minorities should stand on their
own feet and that after 30 years the problems of the past should have been
overcome. They also argue that the minorities have seen rapid improvements
in their social and economic position and that future improvement should be
on an even playing field. Affirmative Action is reverse discrimination and it
forces companies to employ less capable worker s, so it should be ended.
People do not want to be employed as ‘token’ minorities and some argue that
without these programmes minorities would have made greater advances.
Those who support a continuation of AAPs argue that minorities have made
great advances but they still lag significantly behind Whites. They argue that
AAPs have helped make the USA a more tolerant society. However
successful they have been in the past there is still a great deal more needed.
They also point to the effect on university admissions among minorities
following the ending of AAPs in various states. They believe the gains of the
last 30 years could be lost.
Opposed are those who believe that Affirmative Action was a failure. They
argue that minorities would have made greater advances without AAPs and
that Blacks and Hispanics are still not equal to whites after all this time and
effort. They maintain that employers were forced to employ less capable
workers. They also point to the failure of Busing and the negative impact
these things had on US society. The USA is still not a tolerant society, so
Affirmative Action has failed.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006
55
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Activities
1.
Describe, with examples, how Affirmative Action worked.
2.
Has Affirmative Action ended or not?
3.
Summarise the arguments for and against Affirmative Action in a
table.
Practice question
Critically examine the success of Affirmative Action Programmes in
improving the social and economic position of ethnic minorities in the
USA.
15 marks
Some websites as starters for further research
www.census.gov
www.bbc.co.uk/news
www.washingtonpost.com
www.cnn.com
www.whitehouse.gov
www.dol.gov
www.loc.gov
www.boston.com
56
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES: THE USA (MODERN STUDIES, HIGHER)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2006