英语中级阅读笔记.docx

Presidential ElectionThe Presidential Elections occur quadrennially (=every four years 每四年地)(the count beginning with the year 1792, 1789 is the first)Any Presidential Election year can be divided by four.The typical periods of the Presidential Election are as follows:1. Spring of the previous year.Candidates(候选人) announce their intentions to run, and (if necessary) file(档案) their statement of candidacy(参选声明) with the Federal Election Commission.The federal law requires that a candidate who intends to receive contribution up to more than $5000 among others, must first file a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.This had led presidential candidates, especially member from the two major political parties, to officially announce their intentions to run as the previous year so they can start raising or spending the money needed for their national campaign.Eligibility Requirements: Article Two of United States Constitution stipulates that for a person to serve as president, the individual must be a natural-born citizen(出生在美国) of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years.The Vice-President must meet the qualifications of being a president.A candidate may start running his or her campaign early before turning 35 years old or completing 14 years of residency, but must meet the age and residency requirements by Inauguration Day（就职日）.2. Summer to December of the previous yearPrimary(候选人初选会) and caucus(党团会议) debates.(以政党为单位)3. January to JunePrimary and caucuses held in each state.4. July to SeptemberNominating(全国提名大会)conventions(全国代表大会) (including those of the minor third parties)Two major parties: a series of presidential primary elections.This is a indirect election progress.Presidential nominee 总统被提名人Rubber-stamped5. Late September and October6. Early NovemberElection Day,(选举日) On the Tuesday between November 2 and 8.The qualifications of voters:（1）The 1787 constitution did not make specific regulation, but most states: white, male citizen with a certain amount of property.（2）In the 1830s, most states cancelled the property as a right to vote.（3）After the Civil War, the 15th amendment to constitution cancelled race, color and slavery as a limit. But it was not in reality.（4）In 1920s, female have the right to vote.（5）In 1960s and 70s, relaxing the qualifications.（6）Voting Rights Act of 1970: citizen of United States， At least 18 years old, and a resident of the US for a period of no less than 30 days, not deprived of political right.The election of the president and vice president of the United States is an indirect vote in which voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the US. Electoral College(选举人团):these electors in turn directly elect the president and vice president.Party memberdelegatepresidential nomineeCitizenvoterelectorThe US Electoral College is theEach state is allocated a number 7.8. Early January of the followingCalendar yearCongress counts the electoral votesIn early January, the total Electoral College vote count is opened by the sitting Vice President, acting in his capacity as President of the Senate, and read aloud to a joint session of the incoming Congress, which was elected at the same time as the President.Presidential InaugurationThe inauguration of the president of the United States-a ceremonial event marking the commencement of a new four-year term of a president of the United States. The day a presidential Inauguration occurs on January 20th (or 21st if the 20th is a Sunday, allowing people to worship on Sunday)Prior to the 20th Amendment, the date was March 4, the day of the year on which the Constitution of the United States first took effect in 1789; the last inauguration to take place on the older date was Franklin D. Roosevelts first one on March 4,1933. Until 1973, presidents were not sworn in until March 4 (four months after election day) because it took so long to count and report ballots, and because of the winners logistical issue of moving to the capital. With better technology and the 20th Amendment being passed, presidential inauguration were moved to noon on January 20allowing presidents to start their duties sooner.前两任是March 4, 1933. March 4, 之后 January 20th The only inauguration element mandated by the US Constitution is that the president make a oath or affirmation before that person can enter on the Execution of the office of the presidency.However, over the years, various tradition have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to a day-long event, including parades, speeches and balls.The US Presidential Inauguration is often administered by the Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court 美国首席大法官（终身制）When Inauguration Day has fallen on a Sunday, the chief justice has administered the oath to the president on the Sunday privately, and then again the next publicly.The vice president would normal ascend to presidency upon the death, resignation, or removal of the president.When a new president takes over mid-term due to the death or resignation of a president, the oath of office is administered but formal, public inauguration events have not been held.The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution also set a term limit: a president cannot serve more than 2 terms with 4 year per term.A term for a US Congress Representative is 2 year, for a Senator is 6 years, every two years approximately one-third of the Senate is up for election.(由每个州的选民直接选出)United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representative. Both senate and representatives are chosen through direct election. Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators.American RevolutionThe American Revolution was a political upheaval that took place between 1765 and 1783 during which colonists in the Thirteen American Colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy, overthrew the authority of Great Britain, and founded the United States of America.1.Starting in 1765, members of American colonial society rejected the authority of the British Parliament to tax them without any representative in the government.2.The First Continental Congress In late 1774 the Patriots in each of the 13 colonies formed a Provincial Congress to better coordinate their resistance efforts against Great Britain.At this stage, the aim of the congress is to fight against those unreasonable laws instead of being independent.3.American Revolutionary War(1775-1783)The conflict then evolved into a global war, during which the Patriots ( and later their French, Spanish and Dutch allies) fought the British and Loyalists in what became known as the American Revolutionary War.4.The Declaration of IndependencePatriots claimed King George s rule to be tyrannical and infringing the colonists “rights as Englishmen”, the Continental Congress declared the colonies free and independent states in July 4, 1776. ( further aim) “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” - the basic demand is for every individual.5.Treaty of Paris on Sept.3, 1783The American victory in the Revolutionary War led to a peace treaty with British which confirmed the new nations completely separation from the British Empire.After the war finally ended in 1783, there was a period of prosperity. However, the national government was too loose-organized and fragile to survive any potential dangers in the eyes of those Nationalists, led by Washington, Alexander Hamilton and other veterans. (No money, on army, no officer)6.At the Philadelphia Convention in 1787, a new Constitution was adopted for a much stronger federal government, including an effective executive in a check-and-balance(制约和平衡) system with the judiciary(司法) and legislature( 立法).The new Constitution established a relatively strong federal national government that included an executive, national courts, a bicameral Congress that represented both states in the Senate and population in the House of Representative. Congress had powers of taxation that were lacking under the old Articles.7.The new government under President George Washington took office in New York in April 1789.This democratically-electedRepresentative government is trying all means to be responsible to the will of the people, but still allowed the southern slaveholders to maintain slavery in America for another eighty years.Continental Congress 大陆会议The predecessor(前身) of the United States Congress, a bicameral(两院制的) legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two houses: the Senate(100) and the House of Representatives(435)Philadelphia (Philly)The largest city in Pennsylvania and the fifth-most populous city in the United States.During the American Revolution, Philadelphia played an instrumental role as a meeting place for Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration ofIndependence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787, Philadelphia was one of the nationals capitals during the Revolution War , and the city served as the temporary U.S. capital while Washington,D.C., was under construction.George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the first President of the United States(1789-97) the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He presided over the convention that drafted the current United States Constitution and during his life time was called the “father of his country”.Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which devised a new form of federal government for the United States. Following unanimous election as President in 1789, he worked to unify rival factions(团结敌对派系) in the fledgling nation(新的国家).Widely admired for his strong leadership qualities, Washington was unanimously elected President in the first two national elections. He oversaw(监管) the creation of a strong, well-financed(资金充足的) national government and won acceptance among Americans of all types.Washingtons incumbency(任职) established many precedents, still in use today, such as the cabinet system, the inaugural address, and the title Mr.President. His retirement from office after two terms established a tradition which was unbroken until 1940.While in power, his use of national authority pursued many ends, especially the preservation of liberty, reduction of regional tensions, and promotion of a spirit of American nationalism.Washingtons Farewell Address was an influential primer(基础读本) on republican virtue, warning against partisanship(党派斗争) , sectionalism(地方主义), and involvement in foreign wars.Upon his death, Washington was eulogized(颂扬) as “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. Revered(尊敬) in life and in death, scholarly and public polling consistently ranks him among the top three presidents in American history; he has been depicted and remembered in monuments, currency, and other dedications to the present day. After victory had been finalized in 1783, Washington resigned as commander-in-chief rather than seize power, proving his opposition to dictatorship(独裁专制) and his commitment to American republicanism(共和政治).Abraham LincolnBackground Information Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1890-April 15,1865) was the 16th (1861-1865) President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865.Lincoln led the United States through its Civil Warits bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.He is well praised for successfully restoring the federal unity of the nation by defeating the secessionist(分离主义者) Confederate States of America(美利坚联盟国, the South) and along the way, playing an important role in ending chattel slavery(传统奴隶制) in United States.However, a number of states rights supporters continue to view Lincoln as a tyrant(暴君) who suspended civil liberties(暂停人身保护令) and suppressed the “legitimate right”(合法权利) to secede.His election promoted 7 southern slave states (altogether 34 states) to declare their secession from the United States and form the Confederate States of America before he was sworn into office.The states that remained loyal and did not declare secession were known as the “Union” or the “North”.The Confederate States of America (CSA or C.S., the Confederacy or the South, existing from 1861-65), grew to include eleven states, and although they claimed thirteen states and additional western territories, the Confederacy was never diplomatically recognized by a foreign country.In these states, economy was mostly dependent upon agriculture, particularly cotton, and a plantation system of production which in turn largely relied upon slave labor. The Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on “King Cotton” that they would intervene; none did.Lincoln warned the South in his first Inaugural Address: “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail(质问) you. You have on oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it.Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union.No compromise or reconciliation was found regarding slavery and secession.The Civil War broken out on April 12, 1861 shortly after Lincoln took office.The American Civil War (the Civil War), was fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, especially the extension of slavery into the western territories.After four years of combat that left over 600,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead and destroyed much of the Souths infrastructure(基础设施), the Confederacy collapsed and slavery was abolished.Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded(通报，预示) an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.KentuckyA state located in the east south-central region of the United States.Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th most extensive and the 26th most populous of the 50 United States.Kentucky is well known for KFC.IllinoisA state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 5th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country.Chicago is the most populous city in Illinois.Emancipation Proclamation 解放黑奴宣言It was presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It was not a low passed by Congress.It proclamation the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion.Theodore RooseveltCited from 1956s Encyclopedia Britannica( 大英百科全书): We can say that: it is Washington who made America and Lincoln who defended America and Theodore Roosevelt who made America restore her vitality(活力).It is mainly owing to his federal governments reformation during his term of office.Theodore Roosevelt often referred to an Teddy or TR, was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States, from 1901 to 1909.The assassination of President McKinley in September 1901 meant that at age 42, Roosevelt had become President of the United States, the youngest in history.He completed the last three years of McKinleys term.In 1904, he was elected President to a term in his own right.Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States during the early years of the twentieth century. The biggest issue facing president Theodore Roosevelt during his presidency was the violent conflict between the working class and the capitalist class.On inauguration day, Roosevelt made a short speech. He said Americas capitalist economic system had done much good for the country. But it also had created a crisis in social relations. And the crisis had to be solved.A leader of the Republican Party, he led the nation into the Progressive Era.He championed(支持) his “Square Deal”(公平交易) domestic policies, promising the average citizen fairness, breaking of trusts( 垄断), regulation of railroad, and pure food and drugs. Making conservation a top priority, he established myriad(无数的) new national parks, forest, and monuments in order to preserve the nations natural resource.His foreign policy led to greater American involvement in world events.His successful efforts (Treaty of Portsmouth) to end the Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 -5 September 1905) won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.Nobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prize created by the Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacture Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature.The related Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was established by Swedens central bank in 1968.Since 1901, it has been awarded annually (with some exceptions) to those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity (friendship) between natio