A Survey of Major English Speaking Countries 12.ppt

1、A Survey of Major English Speaking Countries,12. Political Institutions,Review,1. WASP 2. When did the American slave trade stop? 3. Why Asian immigrants regarded as role models?,The United States is one of the youngest nations in the world and yet its written constitution is the worlds oldest one i

2、n force. (p156, para.1, line 1) Why?,General Principles,U.S. Constitution and its principles ratified in 1788 six related but distinct principles,Federalism,1) a kind of compromise 2)there is a division of power 3)also with certain shared powers 4)the two levels can cooperate,A vigorous executive,1)

3、 a legislative branch alone was not enough 2)a chief executive was needed 3)potential dangers of concentrating power 4)checks and balances,A supreme national court,1) to police the constitutional structure 2) to enforce the written constitution,Checks and balances,1) to prevent the abuses of powers

4、2) the creation of the Supreme Court 3) a sharing of functions between the executive and legislative branches,A limited government,1) to legislate for the nation 2) to respect the primacy of private institutions and freedom of individual action in other spheres 3) all government was to be limited 4)

5、the national government was to respect the state government 5) both to respect the primacy of the private sector and the liberties of the people,A mixed government,1) pure democracy and tyranny 2) liberty and government stability depended on each other 3) oligarchical elements of the Constitution,Wh

6、ile modifications in various ways have been made, the essence of these principles remains basically unaltered.,The American System of Government,The form of the American government is based on a set of principles: federalism, the separation of powers, the respect for the Constitution, and the rule o

7、f law.,The State Government,What are the primary functions of the state government? Providing law and order, education, public health and most of the things which concern day-to-day life.,The Federal Government,Foreign affairs, matters of general concern to all the states, including the interstate c

8、ommerce.,Power is lodged in three branches - the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary What is the function of the federal courts and the Supreme Court?,The Capitol Building,Congress,1) the legislative branch of the federal government 2) made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives

9、 3) there are 100 Senators, 2 from each state, elected every two years for six-year terms of office 4) the House has 435 members, elected every two years for two-year terms 5) the number of Representatives from each state is based on its population. 6) there is no limit to the number of terms a Sena

10、tor or a Representative may serve.,1) Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. 2) Each can vote against legislation passed by the other. 3) Compromise between both houses is necessary. 4) In principle, Congress decides upon taxes and how money is sp

11、ent. 5) In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. 6) Congress sets rules for the naturalisation of foreign citizens.,The White Hall,served as the 16th President of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865 Led America through the Civil Wa

12、r and ended slavery Famous speech: the Gettysburg Address Republican Party,Abraham Lincoln,“JFK” 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 Served during the Vietnam War (越南戰(zhàn)爭) The only Catholic to have been President One of the most popular presidents kno

13、wn for his youth and good looks,John F. Kennedy,“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Democratic Party,“Tricky Dick” 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 Established relations with China Met with Chairman Mao in 1972 First president to vis

14、it the PRC Resigned from office due to a corruption (貪污） scandal Republican Party,Richard Nixon,43rd president, served from 2001 to 2009 Republican Party Announced the War on Terror following the 9/11 terrorist attacks 2001 invasion of Afghanistan 2003 invasion of Iraq Criticized for handling of Hur

15、ricane Katrina,George W. Bush,Series of suicide attacks by Al Qaeda （基地組織） Led by Osama bin Laden Terrorists hijacked 4 commercial airplanes About 3,000 people died,9/11,October 7, 2001 present (9 years) Response to 9/11 attacks Still havent found Osama bin Laden,War in Afghanistan,March 2003 Bush a

16、nd UK Prime Minister Tony Blair accused Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) (大規(guī)模銷毀武器) Accused Iraq of supporting Osama bin Laden Overthrew Saddam Hussein (薩達(dá)姆侯賽因) 2009 Obama announced he would withdraw troops,Iraq War,44th and current president First African American president Born and

17、 raised in Hawaii Nobel Peace Prize winner Democratic Party,Barack Obama,Current First Lady Graduate of Harvard Law School While working at a law firm in Chicago, she was assigned to mentor Barack Obama Recognized as a role model, known for her intelligence and style,Michelle Obama,Malia and Sasha,T

18、he President,1) elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. 2) elected directly by the voters. 3) the political party with the most Senators and Representative does not choose the President.,1) Midterm election 2) the President remains President

19、even though the majority party changes. 3) any policies proposed by the President must be approved by the House of Representative and the Senate before they can become law. 4) the President must be able to convince the Congressmen, the Representatives and Senators of his point of view. 5) He must ba

20、rgain and compromise.,1) Executive departments: The Department of State, Treasury, Defence, Judiciary, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labour, Health and Human Resources, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, and Land Security. 2) The head of each department is appointed

21、 by the President, and must be approved by the Senate. 3) None of these Secretaries can also be serving in Congress or in another part of the government,Current Secretary of State Head of the department that conducts Obamas foreign policy Former first lady, US Senator Ran against Obama for president

22、 If she won, she would have been the first female president,Hillary Clinton,The Federal Judiciary,1) Its main instrument is the Supreme Court, which watches over other two branches. 2) It determines whether or not their laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. 3) Congress has the power

23、 to fix the number of judges sitting on the Court,1) The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. 2) Once approved, they hold office as Supreme Court Justices for life. 3) A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. 4) In addition, Congress h

24、as established 11 federal courts of appeal and 91 federal district courts.,U.S. Supreme Court,Only in two kinds of cases: 1) those involving foreign diplomats 2) those in which a state is a party The power of judicial review- the right to declare laws and actions of the federal, state, and local gov

25、ernments unconstitutional,The Republican Party,The Democratic Party,Political Parties and Political Elections,1) A two-party system: the Democrats and the Republicans 2) non-major parties largely marginalized and dimly visible 3) One does not need to be a member of a political party in order to run

26、in any election 4) people can declare to be members of one of the two major parties when registering to vote.,The Democrats: labour, minority groups, and the poor; tend to favor a more active role of the national government The Republicans: business, Anglo-Americans, and the rich; tend to oppose the

27、 greater involvement of the federal government in some areas where they consider to be the responsibility of the states.,1) Its often difficult to distinguish between the parties. 2) the conventional terms of “right”, “l(fā)eft”, “conservative” and “l(fā)iberal” do not quite fit the American system. 3) Even

28、 if elected as Democrats or Republicans, Representatives or Senators are not bound to a party programme, nor are they subject to any discipline when they disagree with their party.,1) Both Representatives or Senators are elected to serve the interests of the people and areas they represent. 2) Voter

29、s are not obligated to support any particular party. 3) American political parties have much less actual power than in other nations.,1) Any American citizen, 18 years of ago or over, may vote. 2) Civic groups are trying to get more people involved in the electoral process.,Why has the turnout been

30、so low in the presidential election? 1) inconvenient technical requirements for voter registration 2) too many elections in the U.S. at the state and local levels 3) low confidence of the voters in American political leadership,the national presidential election consists of two separate campaigns: n

31、omination of candidates and the actual election 1) nomination race - a competition between members of the same party a. a succession of state primaries and caucuses b. party convention votes,2) Presidential campaign a. In November of the election year, voters go to the polls. b. “winner-take-all” c.

32、 electoral college d. the candidate with the largest number of these electoral votes wins the election. e. In January of the following year, the new President and Vice-President are officially announced.,U.S. Presidents:,Father and Son,2nd President John Adams,6th President John Quincy Adams,41st President George Bush,43rd President Geo