The Political System in the US

Learning objectives 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

Review questions 1) When did the American war of independence begin and when did it come to an end? 1775-1781

2)The following were the main Reformation leaders except___________. B A. Martin Luther. B. Martin Luther King. C. John Calvin. D. The English King Henry VIII.

3)Columbus discovered the New World in the year of_______. 1492

4) Lord Baltimore's feudal plan failed because___ A. there were more Protestant than Catholics in Maryland . B. the wilderness of the continent made the plan impossible. C. the English king did not like the plan. D. there was plenty of land while labor was scarce.

5) The political theory underlying the Declaration of Independence came from ____ Thomas Jefferson George Washington British philosopher John Locke American philosopher John Locke

6). English puritans who sought religious freedom took the ship Mayflower and left Holland for North America in 1620

Teaching procedure

The Articles of Confederation 邦联条款 After the War of Independence 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 and 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. 这是1777年11月国会通过的美国第一部宪法性文件,规定联合新独立的13个州的松散的邦联政府的职能.1787年美国制订联邦宪法，邦联随之终止.

Constitution 1. What does the constitution set up? What does it call for? 2. How did the delegates handle their two fears?

Legislative branch 1.how is the congress organized? 2.what functions does it perform?

What is the present structure of Judicial Branch? What does Supreme court consist of?

How does each of the three branches of the federal government of the United States counteract the powers of the other two through the system of checks and balances?

What was the new deal in American history?

Political Parties Democratic party Republican party 58 Democrats Two dominant political parties Democratic party Republican party Senate 58 Democrats 40 Republicans 2 Independents caucusing with the Democrats House of Representatives 257 Democrats 178 Republicans Data as of July 2009

The President Head of the executive branch; it carries out the laws passed by Congress. Elected by the people Must be at least 35 years old Must be born in the U.S. Term of office is 4 years Cannot serve more than 2 terms

Presidential Inauguration (watch CNN news,5mins)

Constitution 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 citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1787. 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 Constitution in 1791. The Signers of the Constitution

The Signers of the Constitution

The 3 branches of the U.S federal government The legislative branch(立法) of the Federal government is officially known as the US Congress, which consists of two chambers: the Senate(参议院) and the House of Representatives(众议院). They are granted equal powers and all bills have to pass both the Senate and the House before going to the President for his signature. All the legislative powers granted to the Federal government are vested in Congress.

The executive branch(行政) of the Federal government is known as the Administration. The branch includes the President and his cabinet. Its chief executive officer, the President, is also the head of state. As the most prominent figure in America, the President is also known as the First Citizen, with his wife being called the First Lady. The Vice-President has no constitutional powers except that he serves as chairman of the Senate and performs the role assigned by the President.

The judicial branch(司法) is headed by the Supreme Court (最高法院) 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 Court has the judicial review power, the power determining whether congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution.

这个原则的确立是为了防止专制.但在实施过程中出现了不少问题,比如联邦调查局及中央情报局侵犯人权的事常有发生,也没有得到制约. Checks and Balances 制约与平衡的原则 One power scrutinizing the other of the three-part national government works to keep serious mistakes from being made by one branch or another. 这个原则的确立是为了防止专制.但在实施过程中出现了不少问题,比如联邦调查局及中央情报局侵犯人权的事常有发生,也没有得到制约.

It’s another basic foundation in the U.S Constitution Bill of Rights It’s another basic foundation in the U.S Constitution --- consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791. The Bill of Rights was 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. There were 16 other amendments to the Constitution as of 1991. So, there are 26 amendments to the U.S Constitution.

Two Major Political Parties --- The Democratic Party, which is thought to be more liberal and the symbol of which is the donkey (Under President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, Democrats set up government programs that provided paid employment for people building dams and roads and public buildings and Social Security, which ensures that those who are retired or disabled receive monthly payments from the government ) ---

the donkey and the elephant

The Republican Party, which is believed to be more conservative and the symbol of which is the elephant.（Republicans place more emphasis on private enterprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the government too expensive and of creating too many laws that harm individual initiative.） *

Americans do not have to join a political party in order to vote or to be a candidate for public office. However, running for office without the money and campaign workers a party can provide is difficult 若没有钱和政党所能提供的选举活动者们，想要竞选职位是很难的