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LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK

USEFUL INFORMATION

James Madison(March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836) was an American politician and the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817), and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Considered to be the "Father of the Constitution", he was the principal author of the document. In 1788, he wrote over a third of the Federalist Papers, still the most influential commentary on the Constitution. As a leader in the first Congresses, he drafted many basic laws and was responsible for the first ten amendments to the Constitution (said to be based on the Virginia Declaration of Rights), and thus is also known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights". As a political theorist, Madison's most distinctive belief was that the new republic needed checks and balances to limit the powers of special interests, which Madison called factions. He believed very strongly that the new nation should fight against aristocracy and corruption and was deeply committed to creating mechanisms that would ensure republicanism in the United States.

The Articles of Confederation -the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The present United States Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation on March 4, 1789.

TERMS AND NOTIONS

Enumerated powers (delegated powers) - powers specifically listed in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution as being granted to the Congress.

Supremacy clause- Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution, which states that the "Constitution, and the laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof ... shall be the supreme law of the land." Thus, if any state laws come into conflict with the Constitution, then the Constitution must win out.

Express powers - powers which are directly specified in the Constitution.

Implied powers - powers which are not explicitly stated in the constitution, but which are implied through the "necessary and proper" clause in Article I, Section 8.

Inherent powers - powers which the national government naturally has to represent the country in relations with other countries.

Revenue bill focuses on methods for raising money, e.g. taxes, user fees, customs duties, and tariffs Under the U.S. Constitution, federal revenue bills are required to be initiated in the House of Representatives. Many state statutes have similar statutes, requiring revenue bills to originate in a particular house of the legislature, or that revenue bills must be passed before a certain number of days prior to the expiration of the legislative session.



Subject-mattern. – the matter or thought presented for consideration in some statement or discussion; that which is made the object of thought or study.

The cause, the object, the thing in dispute.

 

TASK Ia) Look up the following words from the text in a dictionary:

Active Vocabulary

vest v. (sth. in sb.), vest v. (sb. with sth.)

list v.

set out phr v.

raise v.(an army)

grant v.

empower v.

abolish v.

provision n.

outlaw v.

annul v.

clause n.

excess n.

check n., v.

b) Study the following words and word combinations:


Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1128


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