The United States
of America
Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
The United States of
America
Chapter 10
Government
Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
CONTENTS
1
US Constitution
2
Federal System & Government
3
Political Parties
4
Election
5
Foreign Policy
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1. US Constitution
 Constitution—basic instrument law, drawn up in
1787, came into effect in 1789.
 Two characters:
 separation of powers, check and balances;
 specified exactly what power the central government
had and which power was reserved for the states.
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1. US Constitution
 Significance of the Constitution
 Taking precedence over all state constitutions and
laws, and over laws made by the congress;
 First of its kind in the world, it has inspired dozens
of other countries to seek political reform.
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2. Federal System & Government
What is federalism?
What is the separation of powers?
What are the qualifications for a US
President?
How do you understand the power of
American President?
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2. Federal System & Government
2.1
The Federal Government
2.2
The Executive Branch
2.3
The Legislative Branch
2.4
The Judicial Branch
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2.1 The Federal Government
 The Federal Government—the central government.
 Three equal and separate branches：
 The Executive branch
 The Legislative branch
 The Judicial branch
 They are checked and balanced by one another.
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2.1 The Federal Government
Judicial
Branch
Government
Executive
Branch
Legislative
Branch
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2.2 The executive branch
2.2.1
Departments & White House
2.2.2
Functions of The President
2.2.3
Qualifications of The President
2.2.4
President and Scandal
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2.2.1 Departments & White
House
 The executive branch consists of 14 departments and
many independent agencies；
 Cabinet is formed by department heads—secretaries；
 source of advice and assistance to the president
 President is chief of the executive.
 first citizen
 his wife—First Lady
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2.2.1 Departments & White
House
Official presidential
residence
The president works
and lives here and the
offices of most of his
staffs are also located
there, such as White
House Staff, National
Security Council and
the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA), etc.
The White House at Christmas night
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2.2.2 Functions of The President
 As Chief Executive, he is given the authority or
duty:




to command the armed forces and grant pardons;
to make appointments to certain offices;
to conclude treaties;
to send and receive diplomatic and consular
officials;
 to inform Congress on the “state of the Union”;
 to recommend legislation, approve or veto bills
passed by Congress, and ensure the execution of
laws.
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2.2.2 Functions of The President
 The president’s limits:
 major appointments with approval of the Senate;
 veto overridden by Congress with two-thirds consent
of the Senators;
 all appropriations legislated by Congress;
 can be impeached by Congress if abusing power or
committing crimes; no power to dismiss Congress;
 his policy can be vetoed and abolished by The
Supreme Court.
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2.2.3 Qualifications of The President
 Natural-born American citizen of and over 35 yearsold;
 Being resident within the US for at least 14 years;
 Serve one or two successive terms of four years.
 Franklin D. Roosevelt—the only president who served
more than two successive terms.
 After World War II, Congress adopted an amendment
limiting a president to two successive terms only.
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2.2.4 President and Scandal
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal
occurred in 1972.
It remains one of the top
presidential scandals of
modern time.
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2.2.4 President and Scandal
 To defeat his adversary, Nixon hired five burglars to
set up wiretaps to get confidential information in the
Democratic National Committee offices;
 It was exposed and became the biggest political
scandal in the history of America;
 Because of the pressure of public, Nixon was
impeached and resigned in 1974.
Listen to the Audio: Watergate
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2.3 The Legislative Branch
 What qualifications are prescribed for a
Representative and a Senator?
 What are the functions of the Congress? Briefly
state the legislative process—how does a bill
become law?
 What do you know about the Judicial Branch and
the Jury System?
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2.3 The Legislative Branch
2.3.1
Congress
2.3.2
The Senate
2.3.3
The House of Representatives
2.3.4
The Function of Congress
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2.3.1 Congress
Capitol
 Law-making and the
supreme legislative body；
 Two houses:
• the Senate
• the House of
Representatives
 The Capitol is no longer
opened to the public
after the terror event on
Sept. 11th, 2001.
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2.3.2 The Senate
 100 voting members, two from each state;
 They may be reelected for an unlimited number of
six-year terms, chosen by a direct election;
 Qualifications for being a senator:
 over 30 years old;
 a US citizen for at least 9 years;
 resident in the state from which he is elected.
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2.3.3 The House of Representatives
 435 voting members plus a non-voting representative
from Puerto Rico, Guma and the District of Columbia;
 State legislature divides each state into
congressional districts, each district electing one
Representative;
 Qualifications for being a representative:
 at least 25 years old;
 a US citizen for no less than 7 years;
 serve for a term of two years.
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2.3.4 The Function of Congress
 Function of Congress—passing laws for the Union;
 Either house may introduce legislation on any
subject except the revenue bills which must originate
in the House of Representatives.
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2.3.4 The Function of Congress
 The constitution is generous in its grant of powers to
Congress;
 Among these powers are：
 the power to “spend and tax in order to provide for the
common defense and general welfare of the United
States”;
 the power to borrow money;
 the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations
and among states;
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2.3.4 The Function of Congress
 the power to declare war, raise and support armies,
and provide and maintain a navy;
 the power to establish post offices and post roads;
 the power to set up the federal courts under the
Supreme Court;
 the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary
and proper for carrying into execution”.
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2.4 The Judicial Branch
 The judicial branch consists of a series of courts:
 the Supreme Court
 the courts of appeals—12
 the district courts—94
 The Supreme Court—highest court;
 One Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices;
decisions are made by the majority.
 appointed by the President with the Senate’s
approval;
 only removed from office by Congress through
difficult impeachment.
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Jury System
 In most criminal justice systems and some civil cases,
panels are initially selected at random from the adult
population of the district. A person who is serving on (is a
member of) a jury is known as a juror.
 The number of jurors is usually twelve, though smaller
cases may require only six. Some alternate jurors are
nominated to follow the trial when jurors do not complete
the trial for health or other reasons (but they do not take
part in deciding the verdict).
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Jury System
 The role of the jury is the “finder of fact”, while the
Judge has the sole responsibility of interpreting the
appropriate law and instructing the jury accordingly.
 Occasionally, a jury may find the defendant "not guilty"
even though he violated the law if the jury thinks that
the law is invalid or unjust.
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3. Political Parties
 What are the differences between the two major
parties?
 What are the functions of the major parties when
the general election comes?
 How the president is voted in the US?
 What is the “winner-take-all” system?
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3. Political Parties
3.1
Symbols of the parties
3.2
The Democratic Party
3.3
The Republican Party
3.4
Function of Parties
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3.1 Symbols of the parties
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party
Donkey & Elephant
In 1847, American artist
Thomas Nest drew a
political picture with a
donkey representing the
Democratic Party and an
elephant representing
the Republican Party.
From then on, they became the symbol of the two parties.
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3.2 The Democratic Party
 The Democratic Party—liberal;
 Government—playing an important role in the
economy and emphasizing full employment;
 Favor civil rights laws, a strong social security
system and less restrictive abortion laws, etc.;
 More disposed to search out a method of living
with Russia and China and to look for reduction
in arms spending.
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3.3 The Republican Party
 The Republican Party—conservative;
 Favor an economic system—giving enterprises a
greater freedom and demand the government to
control inflation;
 Stress the need for law and order;
 Oppose complete governmental social programs and
free choice of abortion;
 Favor a strong military posture and assertive stands
in international relations.
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3.4 Function of Parties
 To nominate candidates for office and help them in
their election campaigns.
 find the most suitable candidates;
 help candidates to collect the money needed, mobilize
the party activists or hire people to help them with the
propaganda;
 urge the public to vote for them and undermine the
rivals by exposing their personal flaws or attacking
their policies.
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4. Election
 There are many kinds of elections in the United
States.
 When an American votes in November in the
presidential election each leap year, he is voting in
several other elections as well;
 He also votes for a Representative or a Senator;
 At regular intervals he votes to choose the governor of
his state, the mayor of his city and the holders of
several local public offices.
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Presidential Election
 Only the candidates nominated by the two major
parties have the chance to win a Presidential election;
 The election process is complex;
 The Presidential election (four stages):
 The first stage: the major parties hold conventions to
choose candidates for President and Vice-President
and to determine the party's platform.
Listen to the audio: American youth supports Democratic Party
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Presidential Election
 The second stage is the campaigning stage.
• By early fall the presidential race is on. From
that time until the election day, voters are
bombarded from all sides—by radio, television,
newspapers, and personal communications with
political material.
• There are whistle stop tours by train, by plane,
and by car. The candidate delivers countless
speeches and shakes countless hands. This is
a very important stage in the general election.
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Presidential Election
 The third stage is the time for voters to choose
the list of presidential electors for the state.
• The number of electors of each state is equal to
that of its senators and representatives in
Congress.
• There are altogether 538 presidential electors,
535 from the states and 3 from the District of
Columbia (without seats in Congress).
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Presidential Election
 All the candidates of Presidential electors are
party nominees. People will vote their party
candidate for the presidency. As a result, a voter
is actually choosing a President when he casts
his vote for an elector.
 “Winner-take-all” principle
 If the candidates of a party for “electors” in a given
state receive a majority of the total vote, then the
party is entitled to have all the electoral votes for
that state.
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Presidential Election
 When the presidential electors are chosen out in the
presidential election year, people have already
known who is going to be the US president in the
next four years.
 Although the result is already known, the electors still
meet in their state capitals and cast their votes for
President and vice-President on the first Monday after
the second Wednesday in December. That is the
fourth stage.
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Presidential Election
 On November 2nd, 2004, George Walker Bush was
reelected as America’s forty-third president. But he is the
first in sixteen years to win a majority of the popular vote.
The last one was his father, in 1988.
President Bush & his wife, Laura
Senate Kerry & his wife, Teresa
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Presidential Election
O’Bama and Hillary
The two most likely Democratic candidates for 2008 Presidential Election.
With the withdrawal of Hillary Clinton, O’Bama’s success is on the way.
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5. Foreign policy
5.1
Neutrality
5.2 Containment and Intervention
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5.1 Neutrality
 “Declaration of Neutrality”；
 America entered the war—German government
resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917；
 Wilson submitted Fourteen Points in 1918;
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5.1 Neutrality
 Fourteen Points
 abandonment of secret international agreements;
 freedom of the seas; free trade between nations;
 reductions in national armaments (军备、武器);
 adjustment of colonial claims in the interests of the
inhabitants affected;
 self-rule for subjugated (使屈服、征服) European
nationalities;
 the establishment of an association of nations to
afford “mutual guarantees to great and small
states alike”.
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5.1 Neutrality
 With the outbreak of World War II, isolationist
sentiment increased；
 Neutrality legislation—prevent the involvement of the
war；
 prohibited trade in arms with any warring nations;
 required cash for all other commodities;
 forbade American merchant ships from carrying those
goods.
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5.1 Neutrality
 Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7,
1941;
 America declared war with the Axis powers—
Germany, Italy and Japan.
 The nation rapidly readied itself for mobilization of
its people and its entire industrial capacity；
 Wartime objectives—total destruction of the Axis
powers and the establishment of a world order.
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5.2 Containment and
Intervention
 The US dominated global affairs after World War II;
 “American Century”:
 confident of its mission at home and abroad;
 to maintain the democratic structure and to share the
benefits of prosperity.
 Containment—postwar policy affirmed by President
Truman：
 Communism was a threat to the United States;
 His statements inspired a wave of hysterical antiCommunism throughout the country.
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Cold War
 Cold War—waged by Eisenhower
 placed new emphasis on nuclear strength to prevent
the outbreak of war;
 authorized the CIA to undertake covert actions to
overthrow unfriendly governments or protect reliable
anti-Communist leaders whose power was threatened;
 the CIA helped topple the governments of Iran in 1953
and Guatemala (危地马拉) in 1954;
 Eisenhower helped to create a non-Communist
government in South Vietnam.
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Historic Step
 Nixon administration’s historic step—closer ties with
Communist countries：
 New relationship with China—the most dramatic move;
 Nixon— first US President to visit Beijing;
 The “Shanghai Communiqué”:
• There was one China，Taiwan was part of China;
• A peaceful settlement of the dispute by the Chinese
themselves was American interest.
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US Domination
 Berlin Wall fell in 1989, former Soviet Union broke up
in 1991;
 The US remained the most powerful country;
 Europe, Russia and probably China can attain
comparable status in the future international affairs.
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The United States of
America
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