Correction L2 in-class exam (Nov. 2014)
I.
As opposed to federalists, who campaigned in favour of a powerful federal government, anti-federalists (such as Thomas Jefferson), wished that more power be reserved to the states / were anxious that Federal power be limited so that states would have greater power.
Cases heard in Federal Courts generally revolve around a federal law question or fall within the category of diversity of citizenship cases that is to say that they involve citizens from different states or a state and a citizen from another state.
Pursuant to the three-fifths compromise it was agreed that the slave population (that lived mainly in five Southern states) should be taken into account to determine the number of seats allotted to each state in the House of Representatives and that a slave should be counted as three-fifths of a citizen.
Since the adoption of the Twelfth amendment in 1804, the President and the Vice-President of the U.S.A. have been elected jointly, in order to make sure that they would belong to the same political party.
II.
Text: Executive order on immigration would ignite a political firestorm
1. Barak Obama is about to take an executive order that will allow 5 million undocumented immigrants to lawfully remain on US soil / on US territory. An executive order is one of the inherent powers of the President of the USA. It is an order that has force of law but which does not need Congress approval to come into effect. It thus enables the President to bypass the legislative branch.
NB: "5 million immigrants" but "millions of people"
In the U.S.A. ≠ On U.S. soil / On U.S. territory
Voc: to bypass something
2. Needless to say, Barak Obama’s move / decision / measure, is particularly unpopular among Republicans, who won a majority in both houses of Congress in the midterm elections in November 2014 / who since the midterms in November 2014 have held a majority of seats both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The midterm elections = the midterms
Since + Present perfect
3. The underlined sentence throws light on the plurality of meanings the term “politique” conveys in French, and which translates in English by either “politics” or “policy” according to context and meaning.
Policy refers to the specific field of a legislative action taken by Congress, or in this case, the President. (The Health policy / the Foreign policy …)
By saying that Obama’s executive order is a good policy, the Journalist approves of the very purpose of the measure, which in his view will be beneficial both to the immigrants that qualify for this plan (concerned by this plan), and to the economy of the USA.
By saying that it is good politics, however, the Journalist does not consider the beneficial or detrimental effects the measure will have on undocumented workers or the U.S. economy. Rather, it focuses on the strategic aspect of the measure from an exclusively political perspective, arguing that this executive order will first and foremost benefit the Democratic Party.
Indeed, the Republicans being in a majority in both houses of Congress, Obama has very little hope of bipartisanship, as he has lost the political clout he needs to force Republicans to broker agreements with the Democratic minority.
His order first enables him to leave his mark on his second term. / His order first enables him to overcome a legislative gridlock, and end his second mandate on a very positive note that will boost his popularity among a section of the electorate.
Besides, this measure is very likely to infuriate Republicans many of whom will speak up against it / or will be tempted to lambast it. Obama thus hopes to discredit the Republicans among a substantial section of the electorate.
By doing so, Obama is already courting the Hispanic vote / tapping into the Hispanic vote in view of the 2016 Presidential election.
NB: "Les prochaines élections présidentielles => The next Presidential election"
Grammar: To benefit someone
Vocabulary: To broker an agreement with someone.
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