1、Chapter 2 The Political System in the United StatesExercisesI. Explain the following:1. the Articles of Confederation2. a federal system3. the making of the U.S. Constitution4. the legislative branch5. the executive6. the judicial branch7. the Bill of RightsII. Fill in the blanks:1. After the War of
2、 Independence was won, the national government was called _ , and the agreementthat guided the government was_.2. The city where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where the U.S. Constitution was made is_3. The Constitutional Convention was held in the year of and the president of the Co
3、nvention was_.4. The Constitution set up a federal system with_.5. A federal system is one in which_ is shared between and _ with some rights reserved to each.6. The U.S. federal government consists of the following three branches:_ ,_ and_.7. The Congress is divided into_ with_ members who serve tw
4、o-year terms, and_ with _ - lawmakers who serve six-year terms.8. Groups who try to persuade Congressmen to vote for or against a bill are known as_.9. The Supreme Court is composed of _ chief justice and_ associate justices.10. The Supreme Court has the function of determining whether Congressional
5、 legislative or executive action violates the Constitution. This power is called_11. There are_ amendments to the U.S. Constitution.12. Two major political parties ,are_ , which is thought to be more liberal, and _, which is believed to be more_.III. Choose the correct answer of the following questi
6、ons:1. Which of the following statements was NOT co17rect? When the War of Independence was over,A. each new suite had its own government.B. each new state made its own laws anal handled all of its internal affairs.C. the national government was called the Congress with little power.D. the relations
7、hips between the states and the national government were clearly defined.2. According to the author, the Articles of Confederation failed because of the following reasons. Which is not True?A. The new states did not cooperate with the Congress or with each other.B. Some new states wanted to be free
8、from the Union.C. The Congress could not raise money to pay the national army and to pay debts owed to France and other nations.D. The Congress had no power to tax any citizen.3. Which of the following states refused to participate in the Constitutional Convention?A. Virginia.B. Rhode Island.C. New
9、York.D. Maryland.4. Which of the following statements was NOT correct? When the Constitution was written.A. there was a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.B.there was no Bill of RightsC The Constitution did not have any words guaranteeing the freedoms or the basic rights and privileges of citizens.D
10、 a “Bill of Rights“ was added to the Constitution 4 years after the Constitution was made.5. Which of the following is the only branch that can make federal laws, and levy federal taxes?A. The executive.B. The legislative.C. The Judicial.D. The president.6. Which of the following is NOT a power of t
11、he president?A. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress.B. The president has the authority to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur.C. The president can make laws.D. The president has broad powers, with the executive branch, to issue regulations and directives regarding work of the
12、federal departments.7. The Bill of Rights consists ofA. 10 very short paragraphs in an amendment.B. 10 amendments adopted in 1787.C. 10 amendments added to the Constitution in 1791.D. the amendments concerning the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and the freedom of religion.8. Which of th
13、e Following is NOT guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?A. The freedom of religion.B. The freedom of searching a persons home by police.C. The freedom of speech and of the press.D. The right to own weapons if one wishes.9. The following were NOT written into the Constitution in 1787 exceptA. the Bill of
14、 Rights.B. the judicial review.C. the political party systemD. the powers of the president.10. The New Deal was started by -A. Franklin Roosevelt.B. J. F. Kennedy.C. George Washington.D. Thomas Jefferson.Questions for Thought1.Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? Was it necessary to change th
15、e Articles of Confederation and write a nconstitution for the new nation of the United States at the time?2 What is a federal system? What are some of the major differences between a federal system acid a confederation?3. What are some of the major powers of each of the three, branches of the U.S. g
16、overnment? How are the three branch supposed to check and balance each other?4. What is the Bill of Rights? Do you think that it was necessary to write the Bill of Rights explicitly into the U S Constitution ,5. What are the two political parties in the United States“ Do you think they are fundament
17、ally different?Key:Chapter 2I. Explain the following:1. the Articles of ConfederationAfter- the War- of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress. Each state had its
18、 own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs. The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other. The Congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either. As a result, the Art
19、icles of Confederation failed.2. a federal systemA federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each.3.making of the U.S. ConstitutionThe Articles of Confederation failed. The Congress decided to hold a constitutio
20、nal convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to participated) gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 and ended up in writing a new constitution and set a federal system with a strong central government. The Constitution provided that an electio
21、n of the president would be called, federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate and a Supreme Court would be set up. This new Constitution was finally approved by the majority of the citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put i
22、nto effect in 1787.4. the legislative branchThe legislative branch of the federal government is made up of elected representatives from all of the states and is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes and declare war or put foreign treaties into effect. It consists of a Congre
23、ss that is divided into the House of Representative and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 members who serve two-year terms. The Senate comprises 100 lawmakers who serve six-year terms. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators.5. the executiveThe chief executive is the pr
24、esident, who is elected to a four-year term. A president can be elected to only two terms according to an amendment passed in 1951. The president can propose legislation to Congress. He can veto any bill passed by Congress. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses. The presiden
25、t can appoint federal judges as vacancies occur. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president has other broad authorities in running the government departments and handling foreign relations.6. the judicial branchThe judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court with a chief just
26、ice and 8 associate justices. The federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising out of the Constitution and other cases which do not arise out of individual states. The Supreme Court has the judicial review power, the power of determining whether congressional legislation or executive action v
27、iolates the Constitution.7. the Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in1791. The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to o
28、wn weapons and so on.II. Fill in the blanks:I. the Congress ; the Articles of Confederation2. Philadelphia3. 1787; George Washington4. a strong central government5. power; a central authority; its constituent parts6. the executive; the legislative; the judicial7. the House of Representatives; 435; the Senate; 1008. lobbies9. 1; 810. judicial review11. 2612. the Democratic party; the Republican party; conservativeIII. Choose the correct answer in each of the following questions:1.D 2.B 3.B 4.A 5.B 6.C 7.C 8.B 9.D 10.A
