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US political system
The US Constitution: 1787, Philadelphia (adopted by the states in 1790). Why is it the main law of the country? - it describes the structure of the government - it guarantees the rights/freedoms - no law can contradict it
The Bill of Rights: ratified in 1791, J. Madison. The first ten amendments, which included the freedom of speech, religion and press. Also added the right of trial by jury.
The Structure of the Constitution: - the preamble - 7 Articles - 27 Amendments (including the first ten)
Articles 1, 2, 3: describe the structure of the government as follows: - legislative branch (the Congress) - executive branch (the President) - judicial branch (the Supreme Court)
2 major principles: - the principle of separation of powers: the branches are separate and have different functions. - the principle of checks and balances: all the three branches are equal. Two branches check the third one.
Legislative branch: described in the first Article. The Head: Congress. The Congress is divided into: - The Senate (with Vice-President as the head and Senators) 100 Senators, 2 from each State. 1/3 is elected for a six year-term. The number of terms: unlimited. A senator should be at least 30 years old and should have at least 9 years of citizenship. The Senators are elected directly.
- The House of Representatives (with Speaker as the head and Representatives) 435 members, the proportion depends on the population (ïåðåïèñü íàñåëåíèÿ – ðàç â äåñÿòü ëåò). Elected every two years. Number of terms: unlimited. A Representative should be at least 25 years old and have at least 7 years of citizenship. The election is direct as well.
How come there be 435 members? A fairy-tale is here for you. At first one person represented 30 000 people in the House of Representatives. One day (in 1999) there were 435 members. They all decided: that’s enough! Today one person represents approximately 520 000 people. _________________
Only Congress can.. - ..make laws - ..declare wars - ..allow to spend money - .. impeach (÷òî-òî âðîäå «ñíèìàòü ñ äîëæíîñòè») high officials The seat of the Congress is the Capitol. Executive branch: described in the 2nd Article. The President in US is elected every 4 years. Can serve 2 terms. The only president who served 3 was F. Roosevelt . He was elected for the 4th term as well, but he died. Then they decided they have to limit the number of terms. If the President cannot perform his duties, the Vice-President is there to replace him. The Vice-President can replace him for two years only (in case of the President’s illness, for example). Then the election should be. This way one can be a president for 10 years maximum: replacing the president for two years and being a vice-president + serving two terms, 4 years each.
The President should be 35 years old, US citizenship >=14 years. The President is elected through the electoral college (we didn’t discuss the process, we are supposed to read it on the net), not directly.
The President has his Cabinet, which consists of 14 executive departments. The heads of the departments are approved by the President. They are called the state secretaries.
The President: - appoints federal officials (but the candidates should be approved by the Congress) - can veto legislations passed by the Congress (but the Congress can over-veto his veto by 2/3 vote :D) - is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces - can make treaties – but they have to be approved as well (íå äîïèñàíî, êåì)
The Vice-President has two powers. - He is the head of the Senate. - He replaces the President in case of his death, disability, resignation or impeachment.
The President gets a salary of $200 000, + $50 000 for extra expenses, + $100 000 tax free for travel and official entertainment. He lives in the White House.
Can be impeached for treason, bribery and other high crimes. No US president has been impeached so far, but some were very close: e.g., Andrew Johnson who was accused of treason. But the Senate was against the impeachment. Nixon: not impeached because he was resigned.
Judicial Branch: 3rd Article. The Supreme Court: Chief Justice (= judge) + 8 Associate justices All serve for life.
They have to interpret the Constitution. They make the final decision which cannot be changed. (E.g., that with the National Bank) There were some cases of impeachment among the US justices.
The levels of the US government:
See how it works in different branches.
Judicial branch:
Legislative branch: each level has its own Congress.
Executive branch:
Date: 2015-12-24; view: 780
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