英语国家概况Chapter-9

1、a guide to english-speaking countries,英语国家概况,the united states of america,chapter 9 government,英语国家概况,contents,the treaty of paris (1783): recognized the independence of the us and the former 13 british colonies.,articles of confederation联邦条款,when the war of independence was over, each new state had

2、 its own government and was organized like an independenet nation. however, these states would raise money to pay off debts of the war, establish a money system and deal with foreign nations in making treaties. the agreement that set this plan of cooperation was called the articles of confederation,

3、the articles of confederation failed because the states did not cooperate. the congress at the time had been given no authority to force any state to do anything.,the american constituent assembly,this draft constitution in philadelphia at the constitutional convention on the approval of the represe

4、ntatives, and shortly thereafter be at that time the united states has 13 state special approval of the meeting. （该宪法草案在费城召开的美国制宪会议上获得代表的批准，并在此后不久被当时美国拥有的13个州的特别会议所批准。,1) time: may 25, 1787- sept. 17, 1787(116 days) 2) place: in independence hall in philadelphia 3) people: george washington presided

5、 over the convention james madison was called the father of the constitution,james madison (the 4th america president )was called the father of america constitution.,father of the constitution,1. american constitution,1、the constitution of the united states is the basic means of america.,3、the const

6、itution of the united states is the worlds first written constitution.,2、it lay a legal foundation of the american political system.,a written constitution is a formal document defining the nature of the constitutional settlement, the rules that govern the political system and the rights of citizens

7、 and governments in a codified(编成法典) form.,the preamble of the united states constitution is composed of 52 words.,we the people of the united states, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, a

8、nd secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america.,我们合众国人民，为建立更完善的联盟，树立正义，保障国内安宁，提供共同防务，促进公共福利，并使我们自己和后代得享自由的幸福，特为美利坚合众国制定本宪法。,however, no words to guarantee the freedoms and privileges of citizens “bill of r

9、ights” was added to the constitution in 1791. ten amendments.,there were 16 other amendments to the constitution as of 1991. so, there are 26 amendments to the u.s constitution.,bill of rights,2. federal system levy tax; borrow money,national government coin money declare war conduct foreign relatio

10、ns oversee foreign and interstate trade,state government ratify amendments manage public health and safety oversee trade within the state education,the constitution does not clearly list the powers of the states. instead, it says that all powers not specifically granted to the national government ar

11、e reserved to the states.,one person or group might become too powerful. a government consisting of three parts, or branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial was set up.,another fear,checks and balances (制约与平衡),separation of powers the division of the law-making(立法), law-enforcing(执法

12、) and law-interpreting(司法) power. legislative branch executive branch judicial branch,the legislative branch is made up of elected representatives from all of the states and is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war or put foreign treaties into effect. it consist

13、s of a congress that is divided into two houses:,the senate,house of representatives,chief official: president of the senate (vice president of the usa.),chief official: the speaker of the house,2.2 the legislative branch,the senate comprises lawmakers who serve six-year terms. each state, regardles

14、s of population, has two senators. that assures that the small states have an equal voice in one of the houses of congress. the terms of the senators are staggered, so that only one-third of the senate is elected every two yeas. that assures that there are some experienced senators in congress after

15、 each election.,the senate,the house of representatives comprises lawmakers who serve two-year terms. each house member represents a district in his or her home state. the number of districts in a state is determined by a count of the population taken every 10 years. the most heavily populated state

16、s (california) have more districts and, therefore, more representatives than the smaller states, some of which have only one. there are 435 representatives in the house of representatives.,speaker of the house calling the house to order at the beginning of a session of congress.,the house of represe

17、ntatives,the main reading room inside the library of congress,library of congress,bill the senate the house of representatives the president,law-making process,2.3 executive branch,the president: the chief executive; elected to a four-year term for only two terms. the vice president: to serve as the

18、 presiding officer of the senate; the vice president may vote in the senate only in the event of a tie.,13 departments,state treasury defense justice interior agriculture commerce,国务院 财政部 国防部 司法部 内政部 农业部 商务部,labor health and human services housing and urban development transportation energy educatio

19、n,劳工部 卫生与公共事业部 住房与城市发展部 交通部 能源部 教育部,white house the official home and principal workplace of the presidents of the united states,the president,qualifications: be a natural-born citizen of the united states be at least thirty-five years old have been a permanent resident in the united states for at l

20、east 14 years,george washington, the first american president after the revolutionary war,george w. bush, american president now.,barack obama, to be the first african-american president in january, 2009,the power of the president,administration: manage state affairs and the federal governments all

21、kinds of work release the decree and appoint officials commander in chief of the armed forces and raise the national guard,lawmaking: veto any bill of congress unless two-thirds people overturn his veto judicature: appoint the supreme judicial officials, but shall obtain approval in the senate. fore

22、ign affairs: manage diplomats, sign the treaty with other countries,2.4 judicial branch,supreme court, created by the constitution,the chief justice,eight associate justices,federal courts,supreme court (9 members),the courts most important function consists of determining whether or not the laws an

23、d acts of the other two branches are in accordance with the constitution.the power is called judicial review,judicial branch (司法机构),the supreme court 11 federal courts of appeal 91 federal district courts federal judges are appointed for life or voluntary retirement, and can only be removed from off

24、ice through the process of impeachment(弹劾) and trial in the congress.,“正是这个设计使这个 稚嫩的国家在草莽中崛起， 迅速成为也许你不喜欢但却 不能轻视的超级大国。这样 一个精巧的设计，在二百多 年前由一群蛮荒大陆上的乡 巴佬创造出来，实在是令人 惊叹不已。” 易中天,美国成功的秘密不在于华尔街和硅谷，不在于空军和海军，不在于言论自由和自由市场 美国的成功在于长盛不衰的法治及其背后的制度。美国强大的真正力量在于，我们所继承的良好的法律与制度体系。”“有人说，这是一种由天才们设计，并可由蠢才们运作的体系。” 汤姆斯弗里德曼,3

25、. political parties,the democratic party the donkey the republican party the elephant,two major political parties,the donkey and the elephant,republican party,1854； grand old party (gop) 大老党 center-right the partys platform generally reflects american conservatism.,democratic party,1824 ； center-lef

26、t the partys platform is more liberal and progressive in the u.s. political spectrum. the party has the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the united states.,differences,economic policies,social policies,voter base,economic policies,emphasize the role of free markets and individual achieve

27、ment as the primary factors behind economic prosperity oppose to increase in the minimum wage oppose a government-run single-payer health-care system and in favor of a personal or employer-based system of insurance support giving government grants to faith-based and other private charitable organiza

28、tions to supplant welfare spending,economic policies,favor a higher minimum wage, and more regular increases oppose tax cuts and incentives to oil companies, favor a policy of developing domestic renewable energy support more government spending on social services while spending less on the military

29、 call for affordable and quality health care, and many advocate an expansion of government intervention in this area.,social policies,oppose government recognition of same-sex unions such as with same-sex marriage. pro-life（反堕胎） and oppose elective abortion（流产） support school choice through charter

30、schools and school vouchers for private schools,social policies,support for same-sex marriage and lgbt (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) believe that all women should have access to birth control and call for abortion to be safe, legal and rare support equal opportunity for all americans regardl

31、ess of sex, age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed , or national origin,voter base,vs,gender,age,family status,income,men,women,older americans,younger voters,whites from married couples with children living at home,single, separated but not divorced, or divorced,high-income

32、 voters,low-income voters,* americans do not have to join a political party in order to vote or to be a candidate for public office. however, running for office without the money and campaign workers a party can provide is difficult.,4. election,can you be mr. or miss president?,the procedure,june,j

33、anuary,primary election,july,august,national representatives conference,november,election,running,inaugural address,january,1. primary election: for the nomination of candidates at national party conventions 2. national representatives conference: partys official candidate for the presidency is sele

34、cted by casting votes 3. running: nation-wide presidential campaigns by the candidates.,4. election: general electionthe voters across the nation go to the polls. electoral college winner-take-all feature, majority of electors. (选举团投票）,538 electors,100 senators,435 congressmen,3 electors the distric

35、t of columbia哥伦比亚特区,535 representatives in congress,features of election,winner-take-all policy(胜者全得，赢家通吃) the party that wins most votes in a state wins all the electoral votes for the state,5. inaugural address: the inauguration ceremony (总统宣誓就职仪式)held in front of the u.s. capital.,national repres

36、entatives conference,after national representatives conference, someone is elected as partys official candidate,they began to,introduce,their own partys political claims,their own political programmes,voters,give promises,serve the people,voters,get more support,formal presidental election,formal pr

37、esidental election start on the first monday of september,make campaign speeches across the country,interview voters,debate in public with their rivals,nowadays, competition of president is gradually turning into competition of money.,five ways to get election fund,5 contribution from consortium, en

38、terprise and other interest groups,1 special funds from federal government,2 their own partys financial aid,3 their family and their own money,4 populaces individual contribution,5. foreign policy,neutrality(中立立场),containment and intervention （遏制、干预政策）,neutrality,“declaration of neutrality”(on agu.

39、19th, 1914)； america entered the wargerman government resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in 1917； wilson submitted fourteen points in 1918; abandonment of secret international agreements; freedom of the seas; free trade between nations; reductions in national armaments (军备、武器); adjustment of col

40、onial claims in the interests of the inhabitants affected; self-rule for subjugated (使屈服、征服) european nationalities; the establishment of an association of nations to afford “mutual guarantees to great and small states alike”.,with the outbreak of world war ii, isolationist sentiment increased； neut

41、rality legislationprevent the involvement of the war； prohibited trade in arms with any warring nations; required cash for all other commodities; forbade american merchant ships from carrying those goods.,neutrality,japanese attack at pearl harbor on december 7, 1941; america declared war with the a

42、xis powersgermany, italy and japan. the nation rapidly readied itself for mobilization of its people and its entire industrial capacity； wartime objectivestotal destruction of the axis powers and the establishment of a world order.,neutrality,containment and intervention,the us dominated global affa

43、irs after world war ii; “american century”: confident of its mission at home and abroad; to maintain the democratic structure and to share the benefits of prosperity. containmentpostwar policy affirmed by president truman： communism was a threat to the united states; his statements inspired a wave o

44、f hysterical anti-communism throughout the country.,cold war,cold warwaged by eisenhower placed new emphasis on nuclear strength to prevent the outbreak of war; authorized the cia to undertake secret actions to overthrow unfriendly governments or protect reliable anti-communist leaders whose power w

45、as threatened; the cia helped overthrow the governments of iran in 1953 and guatemala (危地马拉) in 1954; eisenhower helped to create a non-communist government in south vietnam.,historic step,nixon administrations historic stepcloser ties with communist countries： new relationship with chinathe most dr

46、amatic move; nixon first us president to visit beijing; the “shanghai communiqu”: there is one china，taiwan is part of china; a peaceful settlement of the dispute by the chinese themselves is american interest.,us domination,berlin wall fell in 1989, former soviet union broke up in 1991; the us rema

47、ined the most powerful country; europe, russia and probably china can attain comparable status in the future international affairs.,.read the following statement and decide whether they are true(t) or false (f).,1.the bill of right was written into the constitution in 1787. 2.the form of the america

48、n government is based on three main principles: federalism, the separation of powers and respect for the constitution and rule of law. 3.the us congress consists of two houses: the house of commons and the house of lords. 4.the judicial branch of the us federal government consists of a series of cou

49、rts: the supreme court, the courts of appeals and the district courts.,5.the democratic party is conservative in terms of its ideology. 6.the american presidential campaigns adhere to the “winner-takes-all” practice. 7.the american foreign policy throughout world war 2 was neutrality. 8.the american

50、 foreign policy during the cold war period was containment and intervention.,.choose the best answer to complete each of the following statements.,1.the us.constitution came into effect in a. 1787 b. 1789 c. 1791 d.1793 2. the constitution of the united states a. gives the most power to congress b. giv