Year 13 Politics Trip
Congress to Campus at the British Library
On Tuesday 16 of October, year 13 politics students went to the British Library for a conference surrounding US politics, with 5 different talks analysing the party political balance in Washington, the relationship between the president and Congress, the role of the presidency, the Supreme Court, and interest groups within US politics. The topics discussed throughout the conference were incredibly relevant and helpful for us as we study US politics this year. The experience was even more authentic as two former Senators were present to answer any questions we had.
The first talk we heard discussed the balance between the two major parties in Washington. This was particularly topical not only because of the 2020 presidential election, but also as the midterm elections occur next year, with all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 seats in the Senate up for election. The speaker, Professor Philip John Davies, also provided us with many thought-provoking pieces of evidence that we will be able to use in our essays. The presence of the two former Members of Congress was incredibly insightful during this talk as they provided their own first-hand accounts of the ideological differences between the parties, and their own accounts were very interesting in illustrating the increased polarisation seen between the Democrats and the Republicans in America.
After a short break, Professor Andrew Moran debated whether or not the president can be described as an imperial or unconstrained individual, or whether they are subject to more scrutiny than we think. This talk was likely the most useful for us, as this topic of the imperial vs imperilled presidency is a key section of our presidency topic. The detailed notes the speaker gave us will no doubt be helpful for us as our exams approach.
My favourite talk was definitely the discussion surrounding the increasingly conservative nature of the Supreme Court, which was held after lunch. This talk was very engaging and once again played into a large aspect of our US politics paper. With Donald Trump’s 3 Supreme Court nominations (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett) the Court has swung in favour of the conservatives, who have a 6-3 majority of Justices. Professor Robert McKeever discussed with us the consequences of this, such as the threat of the Court repealing Roe v Wade (1973), which nationalised abortion rights, due to the anti-choice ideology of the majority of the Justices. The speaker emphasised how the possibility of this has become worryingly more real with the restrictive Texas Heartbeat Act (2021), and the impact that the upcoming Supreme Court Cases in 2022 surrounding abortion rights may have on the Roe ruling. We also discussed the possibility of gun control legislation and how the Court may rule if such a case arose.
Overall, the trip was a very enjoyable, relevant, and insightful day out. A massive thanks to Ms Ellis and Ms Gall Gray for taking us, as well as to the British Library for hosting the conference.
Mathilde - Year 13
Tony was one of only 3 in his extended family of 80 who survived the Holocaust and was 14 when the second world war started. His story highlights the tragedy of the Holocaust in which an estimated 6 million Jews were murdered including 1.5 Millon children. Tony Chuwen spoke of the lack of value placed on human life and described the slave labour camps he was kept in as 'a slaughterhouse'. Gloria recounted with vividness Tony's long 3 year journey to safety which took him from his family in Poland to a camp in Germany, his escape from a running train and finally to him joining the German army as an electrician to escape persecution from the Nazis. While serving on the Russian front, he managed to escape to Finland in a fishing boat, eventually skiing across the frozen gulf to Sweden, an undertaking which took him 3 days. From there he was taken to Stockholm and eventually reached Edinburgh in November 1944. By this time he was only 20, had lived through the most devastating and frightening experiences and had lost everyone he had loved. Through his sheer courage and tenacity, his ability to speak 7 languages, he managed to forge a new life for himself.
