The-Political-System-in-the-United-(use)

1、 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.2 Pre-reading questions Focal points Detailed study of the text Assignments -a very new nation constantly renewed by the additional elements of population and of new States. -a very old nation has the oldest written constitution, the oldest continuous federal system,

2、 and the oldest practice of self-government of any nation. America 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.4 1. Do you happen to know of the name of George Washington? Is he_? (a) one of the founding fathers of the United States (b) the first Governor of the State of New York (c) the author of the Declarati

3、on of Independence a 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.5 2. The U.S. government consists of three branches: _. (a) the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch (b) the State Department, the Department of Defense, and the Energy Department (c) the White House, the Senate, and t

4、he Supreme Court a 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.6 3. Who is Abraham Lincoln? What was he famous for? _. (a) Uncle Toms Cabin (b) The Federalist Papers (c) The Emancipation Proclamation c 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.7 4. What is the idea behind checks and balances? _. (a) To help the president

5、 get more power (b) To restrict governmental power and prevent its abuse (c) To help the Congress to derive more authorities b 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.8 5. Which of the following political parties is American in origin? _. (a) The Republican Party (b) The Green Party (c) The Labor Party a 20

6、21-5-4Political System in U.S.9 The Articles of Confederation The making of the U.S. Constitution The three branches of the federal government Checks and balances The Bill of Rights Political parties 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.10 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.11 After the War of Independence

7、was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress. Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs. The states did not cooperate with the Congress a

8、nd with each other. The Congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either. As a result, the Articles of Confederation failed. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.12 The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the C

9、ontinental Congress on November 15, 1777. This document served as the United States first constitution, and was in force from March 1, 1781, until 1789 when the present day Constitution went into effect. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.13 The Articles of Confederation failed. The Congress decided to

10、 hold a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to participated) gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 and end up in writing a new constitution and set a federal system with a strong central government. 2021-5-4Political System

11、 in U.S.14 The Constitution provided that an election of the president would be called for, federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate and a Supreme Court would be set up. This new Constitution was finally approved by the majority of the citi

12、zens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1787. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.15 set up a federal system with a strong central government call for the election of a national leader federal laws will be made only by a Congress(representatives elected by the people) a nat

13、ional court system(headed by a Supreme Court) 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.16 * A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. * to protect citizens from tyranny, a “Bill of Rights” was added to the Consti

14、tution in 1791. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.17 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.18 1. one person or group, including the majority, might become too powerful or be able to seize control of the country and create a tyranny. To guard against this possibility, the delegates set up a government consis

15、ting of three parts, or branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each branch has powers that the others do not have and each branch has a way of counteracting and limiting any wrongful action by another branch. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.19 2. the new central government might

16、weaken or take away the power of the state governments to run their own affairs. To deal with this the Constitution specified exactly what power the central government had and which power was reserved for the states. The states were allowed to run their own governments as they wished, provided that

17、their governments were republican. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.20 the government is set up by We, the People and its purpose is to promote the general welfare and secure the blessing of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.21 The U.S. is a federal union of 50 s

18、tates. The Constitution follows two principlestwo principles: Federal system The 50 states have the right to self-government; In other words, there is a separation of powers between two levels of government -the federal government and the state government Separation of powers Refers to the political

19、 power is divided into 3 branches: 1. legislative - exercises by the Congress 2. executive - headed by the President 3. judicial - executed by the Supreme Court 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.23 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.24 The legislative branch is made up of elected representatives from all

20、 of the states and is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes and declare war or put foreign treaties into effect. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.25 It consists of a Congress that is divided into the House of Representative and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435

21、 members who serve two-year terms. The Senate comprises 100 lawmakers who serve six-year terms. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators. The Capitol 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.26 The main duty of the Congress is to make laws, including those which levy taxes that pay for the work

22、 of the federal government. A law begins as a proposal called a bill. It is read, studied in committees, commented on and amended in the Senate or House chamber in which it was introduced. It is then voted upon. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where a similar procedure occurs. 2021-5-4Po

23、litical System in U.S.27 Members of both houses work together in conference committees if the chambers have passed different versions of the same bill. Groups who try to persuade congressmen to vote for or against a bill are known as lobbies. When both houses of Congress pass a bill on which they ag

24、ree, it is sent to the president for his signature. Only after it is signed does the bill become a law. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.28 The executive branch is the president, who is elected to a four-year term. A president can be elected to only two terms according to an amendment passed in 1951.

25、 The president can appoint federal judges as vacancies occur. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president has other broad authorities in running the government departments and handling foreign relations. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.29 State Treasury Defense Justice Interior A

26、griculture Commerce 國務(wù)院 財政部 國防部 司法部 內(nèi)政部 農(nóng)業(yè)部 商務(wù)部 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.30 Labor Health and Human Services 衛(wèi)生與公共事業(yè)服務(wù)部 Housing and urban development 住房與城市發(fā)展部 Transportation Energy Education 勞工部 交通部 能源部 教育部 31 The President The powers of the president 1. All government departments, agencies, a

27、nd offices are led by and responsible to him. 2. The president is not bound to be responsible to congress. 3. The Cabinet only advises the president. 4. Free to consult or ignore 32 The powers of the president 5. Carry out the government programs 6. A veto power 7. Have the power of appointing offic

28、ers 8. Conduct foreign affairs 9. Send out personal agents 10. Make treaties with foreign countries 11. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces 33 The powers of the president 12.Declare war upon other nations The Spanish American War The Korean War of 1950 The War in Vietnam in 1960s The Gulf War

29、 in 1990s 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.34 The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court with a chief justice and 8 associate justices. The Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising out of the Constitution and other cases which do not arise out of individual states. The Supreme Cour

30、t has the judicial review power, the power determining whether congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution. (pp. 57-58) 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.35 * System of “checks and balances (制約與平衡 的原則)” of the three-part national government works to keep serious mistakes fr

31、om being made by one branch or another. See the examples on p. 58. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.36 Weakness of the Constitution: no one word guaranteeing the freedom or the basic rights and privileges of the citizens “Bill of Rights” was added to the Constitution in 1791 2021-5-4Political System

32、in U.S.37 another basic foundation in the U.S Constitution - consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791. - passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on. 20

33、21-5-4Political System in U.S.38 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.39 Political parties: organized groups of people who share a set of ideas about how the U.S. should be governed and who work together to have members of their group elected in order to influence the governing of the country. When membe

34、rs of a political party form a majority in Congress, they have great powers to decide what kinds of laws will be passed. With exceptions, presidents tend to appoint members of their party or supporters of the views of their party to executive branch positions, including those of secretaries (heads of federal executive agencies) within the presidential cabinet. 2021-5-4Political System in U.S.40 2021-5