蒙大英语国家-美国概况教案02 Ameican Political System

1、 American Political System ( By Kong Lingyu)Part 1. Constitution and the State System The focus of teaching: the composition of American revolutionary constitutionsTeaching aim: let the students know the general knowledge of American constitution, and the state system Teaching style: instruction and

2、 group discussionTeaching procedure:1. warming-up exercisesGeneral introduction of American constitution and the state system by PowerPoint;3. Discussion on the assignment;4. Assignment on information- gathering Warming-up exercises: discuss the following two questions:1. What are the basic principl

3、es of American constitution?2. Do you know any amendment of American constitution? I. American Revolutionary Constitution The USA is a capital republic whose political power belongs to monopoly capitalists. It is a federal union of fifty states. The District of Columbia is the seat of the national g

4、overnment. The form of the government is based on the Constitution adopted on September 17,1787,which came into effect on March4, 1789.A. a. Prior to independence - Charters from the British Crown; b. instructions given by the Crown to royal governorsc. After independence - state constitutions-democ

5、raticd. The most democratic - Pennsylvania constitution of 1776e. The source of political power- the peoplef. legislatures - all-powerfulB. Join or Die Englands colonies in North America were fragmented before the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1788. This illustration highlighted the

6、need to unite as a single nation.C. Constitutional ConventionUnder the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was too weak to govern the states. After several proposals for reform, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write the document that still forms the basis o

7、f the United States government. The new Constitution delegated extensive powers to the central government, especially economic and war powers, but reserved many powers for the individual states.a. ROGER WILLIAMS An English religious nonconformist, founded the American colony of Rhode Island in the 1

8、630s under the principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. b. JOHN LOCKE developed theories of empiricism1 that emphasized the role of human experience in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. Many of Lockes political theories influenced the authors of the Constitution of t

9、he United States.c. James MadisonThe fourth U.S. president. became known as the “Father of the Constitution.” sponsored the first ten Amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Madison, a strong supporter of human rights, was by nature a mediator. II. The U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the Unite

10、d States has been the supreme law of the nation since 1788. Drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, it calls for a government of limited and delegated powers. George Washington was chosen to serve as president of the convention by the 55 delegates, who represented 12 states. The de

11、legates drafted the document and sent it to the Congress of Confederation for approval. It was then sent to the states for ratification. All 13 states had ratified the Constitution by May 29, 1790. The First U.S. Congress drafted 12 amendments, from which the states ratified 10. Those 10 amendments

12、became known as the Bill of Rights.3. The Preamble4. Seven articles5. Twenty- Seven amendmentsa. The first ten of them - the Bill of RightsFirst Through Tenth Amendments: Bill of Rights Because the Constitution of the United States granted the federal government so much power, as compared with the e

13、arlier Articles of Confederation, several states demanded a list of amendments to guarantee individual rights against intrusion by the federal government. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, embody libertarian ideas in the United States. The amendments protect such rights as freed

14、om of speech (First Amendment), right against unlawful search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), and the right to a public criminal trial by jury (Sixth Amendment).b. Abortion Rights Protest Abortion rights advocates demonstrate on the steps of the Capitol in 1989. The Constitution of the United States

15、 provides the national framework for deciding controversial issues such as abortion, school prayer, and gun controlc. Flag burningOn June 11, 1990, the Supreme Court struck down the constitutionality of the 1989 Flag Protection Act, which outlawed flag burning. The Court maintained that flag burning

16、 is a form of political speech and therefore is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. That same year, President George Bush proposed a new, and much criticized, constitutional amendment outlawing flag burningd. Miranda WarningsIn the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, the Su

17、preme Court of the United States ruled that police officers who arrest or detain suspects must advise them of certain legal rights. The so-called Miranda warnings heard here are recited by an actorIII. The State System1. The Federal Systema. delegated powers The central government is allowed to deal

18、 with problems that are national, such as general taxation, foreign affairs, foreign and interstate trade, the armed forces, postal service, coinage, weight and measures, etc. These are the delegated powers. b. residual powersThe state government is left free to handle matters that are of local conc

19、ern, such as raising taxes for state uses, regulating industry and commerce within a state, maintaining law and order, directing education, relief, transportation and communication, supervising local governments, etc. These powers are called residual powers.c. concurrent powersThe powers that are ex

20、ercised by both state and national governments are called concurrent powers.d. The shift of power from the state to the central governmentAfter the civil War and especially during the 20th century there has been a steady rise in the influence and authority of the federal government. In order to push

21、 the policies at home and abroad, the ruling class has gradually strengthened the position of the federal government and assumed direct control.The United States is a union of 50 states. There is a division of political power between two levels of government state and national. The constitution says

22、 that all powers not granted to the central or federal government are to be kept by the individual state government.The shift of power from the state to the central government is not only the result of the political ideologies and conspiracies, but is caused by the inexorable pressure of economic cr

23、isis or depressions2, new means of communication, urbanization, industrialization, technology and all other factors that have shrunk the size of the world and created problems so big and urgent that people have thought fit to push them up to the nation level for handling. This shift of power is stil

24、l growing today.2. Separation of powersa. It means that the political power of the federal and state governments is divided into three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Congress exercises the legislative power, the President the executive power, and the Supreme Court the ju

25、dicial power. This is a system of check and balance based on the theory of separation of powerb. system of check and balance It is the power of Congress to make laws; it is the power of the President to exercise laws but he has a veto on laws passed by Congress; and the Supreme Court is vested with

26、the authority to declare a law to be constitutional or unconstitutional. Each branch has its respective power but each would be tied into the other two branches and share the power together with them, so that each tries to prevent any one of them from taking over the supreme power. Under this federa

27、l system, the central government acts on the people without going through the state government. The system of check and balance or separation of powers is in essence a means of softening the conflicts within the ruling classA list of new words and expressions: Abortion n. 堕胎Amendment n. 【美国宪法的】修正案Bi

28、ll of Rights 人权法案Charters 【英国的】宪章check and balance 权利的制约与平衡Congress n. 国会Constitutional Convention 制宪会议delegated powers 代表权利empiricism n. 经验主义，经验论preamble n. 序言residual powers 剩余的权利, 州政府的权利Supreme Court 最高法院Culrual Notes:1.empiricism: 一种 HYPERLINK /hy/%E8%AE%A4%E8%AF%86%E8%AE%BA t _blank 认识论学说，认为人类知

29、识起源于感觉，并以感觉的领会为基础。经验主义诞生于古希腊。2. the great deprssion in the 1930s deeply influnced the role of government in American economy. Governments role in economy greatly increased ever since then. Assignment1.What is the state system of the United States? 2. How do you understand the statement that America

30、is the most democratic land in the world? Part 2. The Federal GovernmentThe focus of teaching: the composition of American government, the President, and CongressTeaching aim: let the students know the general knowledge of American Federal government，basic knowledge of the two wars and significances

31、.Teaching style: instruction and group discussionTeaching procedure:1. warming-up exercises 2. General introduction of America government by PowerPoint;3. Discussion on the assignment;4. Assignment on information- gathering warming-up exercises: discuss the following question in groups：whats the mea

32、ning of “separation of powers” ? I. The American governmenta. The American government functions: to further the common interests of the people.b. Democracy in America is based on six ideals: (1) People must accept the principle of majority rule. (2) The political rights of minorities must be protect

33、ed. (3) Citizens must agree to a system of rule b law. (4) The free exchange of opinions and ideas must not be restricted. (5)All citizens must be equal before law. (6) Government exists to serve the people, because it derives its power from the people. These ideals form the basis of the democratic

34、system in the United States, which seeks to create a union of diverse peoples, places, and interests.c. To implement its essential democratic ideals, the United States has built its government on four elements:(1) Popular sovereignty, meaning that the people are the ultimate source of the government

35、s authority.(2) representative government;(3) checks and balances; (4) federalism, an arrangement where powers are shared by different levels of government.(a)The first principle shows that the citizens collectively represent the nations authority. They then express that authority individually by vo

36、ting to elect leaders to represent them in government(b)The second of U.S democracy is representative government, In a representative government, the people delegate their powers to elected officials. In the United States, candidates compete for the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Represent

37、atives, as well as for many state and local positions.(c)The third principle of American democracy is the system of checks and balances. The three branches of governmentthe legislative, the executive, and the judicialrestrain and stabilize one another, through their separated functions. The legislat

38、ive branch, represented by Congress, must pass bills before they can become law.(d)The fourth principles of democracy in the United States are federalism. In the American federal system, the states and the national government system, the states and the national government divide authority. This divi

39、sion of power helps curb abuses by either the national or the state governments.II. The Executive Branch The PresidentResponsibilities of the President In the United States today, the chief executive has many responsibilities. The president appoints personnel-including ambassadors, White House staff

40、, and members of various boards and commissions-to more than 3,000 positions; oversees many components of the executive branch of government; and proposed legislation to Congress-including the yearly federal budget. In conducting foreign policy, the president is helped by professionals at the State

41、and Defense departments, by the National Security Council, by foreign affairs advisers in the White House, and by experts in the NSA and the CIA.2. Executive Branch of Government The President leads the executive branch of government, which comprises 10 offices and councils and 14 departments, as we

42、ll as a number of independent agencies. The heads of these departments, called secretaries, make up the cabinet, a body that advises the president on matters of policy and government administration. There are also 140 executive agencies. The difference between departments and executive agencies is b

43、oth historical and functional. Departments, many of which were created in the 19th century, are authorized by Congress. Executive agencies have expanded in the 20th century to keep pace with a changing society and its growing needs.3. Limitations of Presidential PowerDespite their wide-ranging autho

44、rity, presidents have limits on their power. While the Supreme Court, the media, and public opinion can affect presidential actions, Congress has the greatest ability to limit the presidents power. Another limitation on the power of recent presidents is the independent counsel. In 1978 Congress enac

45、ted a law to authorize the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate any cases of alleged wrongdoing involving the president, vice president, or other major administration officials.II. The Legislative Branch- CongressCongress is composed of 2 chambers with equal powers: the 100-member Se

46、nate and the 435-member House of Representatives. The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills, which are then passed on to the president for approval. The Senate, the smaller of the 2 legislative bodies of the Congress.a. Most Senate campaigns must reach millions of voters, so t

47、hey rely on costly television and newspaper advertisements. Most campaigns also spread their campaign messages through direct-mail leaflets sent to voters homes.b. Members of the Senate often have relatively wealthy backgrounds, and many senators are millionaires. The unusual wealth of senators stem

48、s partly from the fact that about three-fourths of senators work in banking, business, or law before winning election to the chamber.The House of Representatives, larger of the 2 legislative chambers that make up the Congress of the United States, usually called simply “the House”. It consists of 43

49、5 members chosen for two-year terms from district of about equal population.a. House members are usually called representatives; they are also referred to as congressmen or congresswomen, although technically these titles apply to both House and Senate members.House members are elected by voters in

50、congressional districts. Today each House member represents about 650,000 people.b. After every ten-year national census, the U.S. Census Bureau uses a mathematical formula to assign a specific number of representatives to every state. Each state is guaranteed at least one House seat.Most representa

51、tives start their political careers in state or local government before they run for election to the House.c. Advertisements and direct mail are usually the largest expenses in running for a House seat. U.S. Senate elections are usually even more expensive than House races because Senate candidates

52、must try to win votes across an entire state.d. House members tend to come from wealthier family backgrounds than average Americans. Few working class people win election to the House.e. The House has special authority over taxing and spending. All tax laws begin in the House of Representatives.The

53、House lacks two specific powers granted to the Senate. Only the Senate can approve treaties negotiated and submitted by the president.The Committee SystemBecause of its large size, nearly all of the Houses most important legislative decisions are made by specialized committees and subcommittees. Mos

54、t are permanent legislative committees with control over a particular subject area, such as agriculture of the military.The number of committees and subcommittees changes somewhat from year to year. In 1997, for example, the House had 19 standing, or permanent, committees, which in turn had nearly 9

55、0 subcommittees.Party LeadershipIn the House, the party with the most seats in the House selects a Speaker of the House, who presides over the chamber and leads the majority party.House majority and minority parties each choose their own officers, including a floor （议员席） leader and assistants called

56、 whips （议员督导员）. These officers try to organize their party members to support or oppose legislative proposals.In the Senate, the presiding officer is not an important leader and does not exercise influence over proceedings under most circumstances.III. The Judicial Branch-The Supreme Court of the Un

57、ited StatesThe Supreme Court: It is the highest court in the United States and the chief authority in the judicial branch, one of three branches of the United States federal government. The Supreme Court hears appeals from decisions of lower federal courts and state supreme court.Justices: Nine judg

58、es sit on the Court: the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices. The president of the United Stated appoints them to the Court for life terms.Justices serve lifetime appointments. Under the Constitution they can be removed from the Court only by first being impeached by a ma

59、jority vote of the US House of Representatives and then convicted by a two-thirds votes of the Senate.The Supreme Courts authority and major powers: The Supreme Court wields complete authority over the federal courts, but it has only limited power over state courts. The Court has the final word on c

60、ases heard by federal courts, and it writes procedures that these courts must follow.Judicial review enables the Court to invalidate both federal and state laws when they conflict with its interpretation of the Constitution. Judicial review thus puts the Supreme Court in a key role in the American p