1. Society and Cultures of Major English-speaking Countries
Wang Yan
College of Foreign Languages
Shenyang University

2. Society and Cultures of Major English-speaking Countries--- Approaching the US
Politics & Economy

3. Politics
The Constitution
&
The Federal System

4. Politics Formed in 1789, the US government is one of the world’s first
constitutional republic .

5. Constitution Adopted on June 21, 1788, US constitution is the oldest
written constitution
still in use

6. The constitution defines three branches of government as follows:
the legislative branch, which enacts laws;
the executive branch, which enforces those laws;
and the judicial branch, which interprets laws

7. Congress The US Congress is made up of two groups of legislators ---
the Senate
&
the House
of Representatives

8. The House of Representatives
The House of Representatives, has 435 voting members, all of whom are elected every 2 years.
The number of the representatives from each state is determined by that state’s population.

9. The US president is the nation’s chief Executive.
The President
The US president is the nation’s chief Executive. .
The first US president---
George Washington

10. The President The president is the commander-in-chief of the military;
can veto legislative bills before they become law;
appoints the members of the Cabinet and other officers;
spends much of his time making decisions about foreign policy.

11. The Judicial Branch

12. The Judicial Branch
the Judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval,
The Supreme Court and lower federal courts interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.
Federal laws cannot violate the terms of the Constitution.
Federal laws are in some way, controlled or affected by all three branches of the government--- the Congress makes them; the president approves and enforces them; and the courts determine what they mean and whether they are constitutional.

13. Two-party Political System
Politics
Two-party Political System
the Democratic Party
&
the Republican Party

14. The Democratic Party oldest political party
the largest political party
from 2008, numbers
down by 3.9%
considered center-left
or liberal

15. The Republican Party the Grand Old Party, GOP
the second largest political party
numbers declined in
21 of 28 states
considered center-right
or conservative

16. Two-party Political System
The Republican Party is considered center-right or conservative
The Democratic Party is considered center-left or liberal.
The states of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as “blue states”, are relatively liberal.
The “red states” of the South and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative.

17. Election of President
Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Since the Civil War, only one third-party presidential candidate—former president Roosevelt, running as a Progressive in 1912—has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.

18. Election of President The president serves a four-year term;
May be elected to the office no more than twice;
The president is elected by an indirect electoral system;
The President and the Vice President are elected together in a Presidential election
Presidential elections occur on Election Day, the Tuesday between November 2 and 8

19. Election of President The winner of the 2008 President election,
Democrat
Brack Obama

20. Economy The world’s largest national economy since at least the 8190s
The U.S. economy also maintains a very high level of output, making the U.S. one of the world’s wealthiest nations.
Of the world's 500 largest companies, 133 are headquartered in the US.
It has been the current industrial, economic and technological giant.

21. Economy
It maintains a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate, and high levels of capital investment.
The labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world.
It is the largest trading nation in the world, especially with Canada, China and Mexico.

22. Economy
The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.
It lays emphasis on pprivate ownership and private businesses to produce most goods and services.
Two thirds of the output goes to individuals, while one third is bought by government and business.

23. The Advantage of the US Location
North: Canada
South: Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico
East: the Atlantic Ocean
West: the Pacific Ocean
Alaska: connected with the central part of North America
Hawaii: separated from continental United States

24. The Advantage of the US Location
Alaska
The United States has extensive
coastlines on both the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, as well as on the
Gulf of Mexico
Hawaii

25. The Advantage of the US Location
Rivers & Lakes of the U.S.

26. Society and Cultures of Major English-speaking Countries: Approaching the US
Thank you very much for your attention!