1、Section Three,Government and Politics,American Dream,Liberty & Equality,I. Basis of the U.S. Political Theory (government principles),First, the supremacy of the people and popular consent贊成, embodies John Lockes idea that sovereignty主權(quán) (supreme power) did not reside in the state but with the people

2、. p.s John Lockes idea: all the people are born good, independent, and equal.,Second, federalism聯(lián)邦制 and separation of powers（checks and balance). Each American is subject to從屬于 2 governments, The Federal government and The state government , & each has its own distinct function. This division of pow

3、ers by a constitution between the central government and state governments is called federalism聯(lián)邦制.,The Federal government（central, or national) at Washington is concerned with foreign affairs & with matters of general concern to all the states including commerce貿(mào)易 between the states. The state gove

4、rnment has, under the Constitution, the primary functions of providing law & order, education, public health & most of the things which concern day-to-day life. In fact, the Federal government has been active in the fields of social services, education, research of many kinds, & the ordinary product

5、ive processes.,Third, the government should have adequate足夠的 powers for achieving its appropriate適當(dāng)?shù)?purpose.,Under the principle of separation of power, the federal government as well as the state government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.,The Three

6、Branches of Government,The legislative branch represented by Congress The executive branch represented by the President The judicial branch represented by the Supreme Court,Checks and Balances,The Legislative Branch-Congress,The Constitution憲法 The system of government is laid down in the Constitutio

7、n of the United States, which was framed in Philadelphia in 1787 and ratified批準(zhǔn) in 1789. American constitution is called “a living constitution”, in that amendments修正 can be added to it.,The Two Principles of Constitution,The federal system -meaning there is a division of powers between the federal

8、government and the state government. The Separation of powers. -meaning there is also a division of powers among the three branches of the federal government.,Father of the Bill of Rights/Constitution -James Madison,The functions of the U.S. Congress:,1) Defense防御and foreign affairs. Citizenship and

9、 naturalization入籍. 2) The regulation管理of commerce with foreign countries and among the states. 3) The power to collect taxes to pay debts, to provide for the common defense and general welfare. 4) The Chief Function is to: Make laws.,Congress,The bicameral兩院制 system : the Senate參議院 the House of Repr

10、esentatives眾議院. According to the Constitution, the two houses are of equal importance and check each other. The annual session of Congress begins on Jan. 3rd each year. Two sessions each term.,the Senate參議院,The Senate has 100 Senators Each of the 50 states elects two Senators The term for Senators i

11、s six years, but one third of them are elected every two years. A senator must be over 30 years old and must have been an American citizen for at least nine years.,The Senate Building,The Vice-President,The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President who serves chairman when the Senate is

12、in session. Party leaders of the Senators, also known as floor leaders議會政黨領(lǐng)袖.,the House of Representatives眾議院.,The number of representatives from each state is fixed according to the size of the population the state has. The state is divided into Congressional districts, with each district electing

13、one Congress man. The total number of Representatives has been fixed at 435（a permanent membership). At present there is one Representative for over 500,000 people, but a state with a population less than that should elect one.,The House of Representatives,The life of a congress is two years and Rep

14、resentatives come up for reelection every two years. There is no limit on the number of terms. The presiding officer of the House is known as the Speaker who is concurrently同時 the leader of the majority party in the House. The Republican共和黨 and the Democratic民主黨 parties have their leaders in Congres

15、s and they are called floor leaders. Congressman must be at least 25 years old.,The House of Representatives,Formal Organization of Congress,How a Congressional Bill Becomes a Law.,The Executive Branch - the President.,The executive branch consists of 11 departments and many independent agencies.,Th

16、e president, chief executive, the most important figure of the government:,1). The head of the government； The head of state；The Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces 2). Negotiates談判 foreign treaties. 3). Appoints government officials, ambassadors大使, judges and department heads. 4). Commands the a

17、rmed forces. 5). Sends and receives diplomatic officials. 6). Sees to it that laws are carried out. 7). The leader of his political party. 8). Submits a “State of the Union Message”, budget message. 9). Introduces legislative bills into Congress.,The president should be a citizen born in the U.S. te

18、rritory, at least 35 years old. The president and the vice president are the only officials elected by all the citizens of the United States, both serve four-year terms and the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution limits the presidency to two terms. The president is called the First Citizen, with his

19、wife being called First Lady.,The White House, official presidential residence. White House Staff, National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A) located there.,The Cabinet,It is made up of the heads of the government departments. The cabinet advises the President and does not ma

20、ke up any decisions. The president is free to consult or ignore their advice.,Fig 1. The Executive Branch of the Federal Government,The Judiciary and Legal System.,The Judicial Branch refers to the federal law court that is composed of three tires. The Judicial Branch of the government is headed by

21、the Supreme Court which is the only court created by the U.S. Constitution. The second tier, created by Congress, refer to the eleven federal courts of appeals while the third tier, also crested by Congress, refers to the 91 federal district courts.,The Supreme Court is the court of last resort in t

22、he U.S. Its composed of one Chief Justice and eight associate justices. The nine justices are granted equal power and decisions are made by the majority, with the principle being “one man one vote”. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life long. The Chief Justice is the highest judicial

23、officer of the U.S.,The major powers of the Supreme Court:,1) Interprets說明 laws 2) Can hear appeals from any federal court cases. 3) Can hear appeals from state court cases that involve the Constitution or national laws. 4) May declare a law unconstitutional違反憲法的. 5) May declare a presidential act u

24、nconstitutional.,The powers of the Supreme Court can be limited by:,1) The President: appoints judges 2) Congress: approves the appointments of judges,The State Court System,The Federal Court System,Political Parties and Elections,The two-Party System. The two parties established in 1789. the Federa

25、l Party & the Republican Party The two parties emerged in the middle of the 19th century. the Democratic Party & the Republican Party,The Symbols of the Two Parties,The Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In 1847, artist Thomas Nest drew a donkey representing the Democratic Party and an eleph

26、ant representing the Republican Party.,The Democratic Party was founded in 1828, representing the interests of the slave-owners. Republican Party was a party of the northern capitalist資本家.,In February, 1856, the National Congress of the Republican Party was held in Pittsburgh匹茲堡. In 1860, the Republ

27、ican candidate, Abraham Lincoln was elected President and Civil War broke out. After the Second World War, the two parties have held the presidency in turn.,The two major parties gradually lost their differences:,1) Each political party is actually a loose association of the Party organizations. 2)

28、Each party is more interested in winning elections than in putting across a particular policy or law.,The Democratic and Republican national committees and the functions:,1). Organize the Partys national meetings. 2). Assist in election campaigns. 3). Provide services 4). Help in various activities.

29、,No special requirements for membership:,1) No membership card 2) No dues會費 3) No initiation ceremonies入會儀式. 4) Not required to attend meetings. 5) Do not have to vote for party candidates 6) Do not have to give money to pay of party expenses.,Election Process,Voting for: a Representative a Senator

30、the governor the major holders of public offices Voting age: 18 years old.,Two step process:,1) Registering登記 to vote 2) Casting the ballot投票.,Electing President,Every natural-born American citizen of 35years of age and older can run for the presidency. The general election is normally divided into

31、3steps: primary election, party conventions, and the campaign for the general election. The general election, held in November in each election year.,1) The major parties hold conventions慣例 to choose candidates for President and Vice President. And to determine the parties platforms黨綱. 2) The campaigning stage. radio, television, newspapers, and personal communications. 3) C