1、A Survey of the UK & the USA,大连职业技术学院,OBJECTIVES,12/3/2019,Quotation,Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. John Kenneth Galbraith,STARTER,1. The Judicial Branch is headed by _. the Supreme Court B. Congress C. President D.Citizen
2、2. The general election in America is held every _ years. A. 5 B. 4 C. 6 D. 3,4. _ has the sole right to interpret the Constitution. A. The Cabinet B. The Supreme Court C. President D. Congress5. The symbol of the US Republic Party is _. Tiger B. Elephant C. Donkey D. Monkey,The United States is a f
3、ederal union of 50 states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government.,The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and activities, and defines the relationship between the national government and individual state governments.,P
4、ower is shared between the national and state (local) governments.,Within each state are counties, townships, cities and villages, each of which has its own elective government.,Look at the pictures below. Could you distinguish each central government mansion? And make sure about the exact name of e
5、ach.,the USA,1.US. Government,2.State Government,3.Local Government,4.Politiacal Parties,5.The Flag,6.The Pledge of Allegiance,7.Summary,judicial,the legislative,executive,U.S. Government (three branches),In this system of a “separation of powers“ each branch operates independently of the others, ho
6、wever, there are built in “checks and balances“ to prevent a concentration of power in any one branch and to protect the rights and liberties of citizens.,,2007. 01,What is the role of the US congress? What is the criticism of the Congress in the American Press?,,The American Constitution is the old
7、est written constitution in force in the world. The authors of the Constitution built in a provision for amending the document when political, social or economic conditions demanded it. Twenty-seven amendments have been passed since ratification. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, called t
8、he Bill of Rights, assure individual rights and freedoms.,1,4,3,2,The Executive Branch,The chief executive of the United States is the president,As a result of a 1951 constitutional amendment, a president may be elected to only two terms,The presidents powers are formidable but not unlimited.,The pr
9、esident is commander-in-chief of the armed forces.,As the chief formulator of national policy, the president proposes legislation to Congress and may veto any bill passed by Congress.,The executive branch of the Government is responsible for enforcing the laws of the land .,The Vice President, depar
10、tment heads (Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies assist in this capacity,Unlike the powers of the President, their responsibilities are not defined in the Constitution but each has special powers and functions.,Skill Builder,Using the following picture to illustrate the cabinet of th
11、e 44th president of the USA Obama.,The Legislative Branch,The legislative branch - the Congress - is made up of elected representatives from each of the 50 states.,It is the only branch of U.S. government that can make federal laws, declare war and put foreign treaties into effect.,Members of the Ho
12、use of Representatives are elected to two year terms.,The judicial branch is headed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the only court specifically created by the Constitution.,In addition, Congress has established 13 federal courts of appeals and 95 federal district courts.,The president has the au
13、thority to appoint federal judges as vacancies occur, including justices of the Supreme Court.,The federal courts hear cases arising out of the Constitution, federal laws and treaties and maritime cases;,The Judicial Branch,You Have Know,The legislative branch represented by Congress,The executive b
14、ranch represented by the President,The judicial branch represented by the Supreme Court,Skill builder,Could you use the picture to illustrate the functions of each?,State Government,The state governments follow the same pattern as the federal government, with power divided among the executive, legis
15、lative and judicial branches.,In general, matters which lie entirely within state borders are the concern of state governments.,internal communications,regulations relating to property, industry, business and public utilities,the state criminal code,working conditions within the state.,Thinking crit
16、ically,What are the main features of the State government?,Local Government,The U.S. Bureau of the Census (part of the Commerce Department) has identified no less than 78,218 local governmental units in the United States .,More than three-quarters of the citizens of the United States now live in tow
17、ns, large cities or their suburbs .,municipalities,counties,townships,school districts,special districts,two major political parties,The Democratic Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1782.,The Republican Party, established in the 1850s by Abraham Lincoln and others who opposed the expansion of sl
18、avery.,Minor political parties, referred to as third parties, occasionally form in the United States, but their candidates are rarely elected to office.,Third parties often call attention to an issue that is of interest to the voters but that has been neglected by government.,At the national level,
19、elections are held every two years, in even-numbered years, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.,The Flag,The resolution read:,“Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field r
20、epresenting a new constellation.“,I,It was not until April 4, 1818, when President Monroe accepted a bill that prescribed the basic design of the flag which would assure that the growth of the country would be properly symbolized.,In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling for a
21、 nationwide observance of Flag Day on June 14, the birthday of the Stars and Stripes.,During the night of September 13, 1814, the British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry in the harbor at Baltimore, Maryland.,The Pledge of Allegiance,The Pledge of Allegiance received official recognition by Congress in
22、an Act approved on June 22, 1942. However, the pledge was first published in 1892 in the Youths Companion Magazine in Boston, Massachusetts to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.,In its original version, the pledge read “my flag“ instead of “the flag of the United States.“,T
23、he change in the wording was adopted in 1923.,The phrase “under God“ was added to the pledge by a Congressional act approved on June 14, 1954.,The Pledge of Allegiance received official recognition by Congress in an Act approved on June 22, 1942.,Summary,The United States is the worlds oldest surviv
24、ing federation. It is a constitutional republic,Federal and state judicial and cabinet officials are typically nominated by the executive branch and approved by the legislature, although some state judges and officials are elected by popular vote.,In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local.,The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the countrys supreme legal document.,
