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6 U.S.A. Federal Republic of 50 states + District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)
6 System of Government based on WRITTEN CONSTITUTION (1787)
Executive ± THE PRESIDENT
Divided in Legislative- THE CONGRESS
3 branches
Judicial- THE SUPREME COURT

Power is balanced so no single

institution can dominate others.

6 Since 1787 many amendments guarantee the civil right of people and rights of states.
1st amendment freedom of religion, speech and of the press
2nd amendment right to keep arms
Other amendment« abolished slavery and gave voting rights to women.
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6 Head of state
è RepresentS the country abroad
è Responsible for foreign policy
è Appoints ambassadors (Senate¶s approval)

6 Head of armed forces

è Can send the military on missions abroad (only Congress
can declare war)

6 Head of the federal government

è Appoints all important officials
(members of the cabinet: Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of
Defense, Education, Commerce, Interior, Justice, etc.)- must be APPROVED BY
THE SENATE
£ 



£

Moreover«.
è is elected by the people every 4 years; can serve only 2 4-year
terms
è election is national, but candidates contest each state separately;
è each state has a number of votes- IN PROPROTION TO ITS
POPULATION- in the national ³electoral college´ that chooses
the president;
è cannot be removed except through impeachment by Congress
6 Two U.S. presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, the
seventeenth chief executive (after Lincoln¶s assassination), and William J.
Clinton, the forty-second, though not convicted. Richard Nixon went away with
it as he resigned before.
  




  





100-member Senate
2 houses
435-member House of Representatives

6 Senators- 2 from each state regardless of size and population

è Serve 6 ± year terms
è Every two years ѿ come up for election

6 Representatives
è Elected from state congressional districts (which all have about the same n. of
people)-è i.e. California has more districts than Idaho--è more representatives
è re-elected Every two years
£  

6 MAKEs THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY

6 New laws:
Approval from both houses of Congress as well as the signature of the
President;
President can impose a veto on new legislation, which can only be
overturned by a majority of at least Ҁ of the members of the Congress;

6 Senate more powerful than the House

= its approval required for key federal appointments (nomine-cariche) and
for treaties with other countries)
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6 Defends and interprets the US constitution

6 FUNCTIONS
è to check the actions by the president and laws passed by Congress or state legislatures are constitutional
è To ensure a correct balance between the powers of President and Congress
è To ensure a correct balance between the central Federal Government and stare institutions

6 9 judges appointed by president, with the Senate¶s approval;

è they serve on the court for the rest of their lives;
è can only be removed through impeachment by Congress;

6 Decisions of Supreme Court can have huge influence on national life:

è ex. 1954 racial segregation in school vs the Constitution
è Ex. 2000 disputed presidential election of G. J.Bush
6 .


 


6 Each of the 50 states IS

è divided in COUNTIES AND CITIES with their own local
governments
6 has
è its own constitution
è system of government (elected governor, legislature, supreme
court, local taxation powers) -è powers of self-government=
è They each make their own laws on EDUCATION, WELFARE,
TRANSPORT, HEALTH CARE, POLICE, PRISONS ETC)
è ---è differences from state to state across the USA: EX.
ABORTION, DIVORCE, DEATH PENALTY.
è IN FACT, Any power which is not specifically assigned to the
federal government IN THE CONSTITUTION automatically
belongs to the individual states.



 

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6 ORIGINALLY the Federal government

concentrated on
è FOREIGN AFFAIRS
è NATIONAL DEFENCE
6 SINCE THE 30S
è Active on state affairs
è Criticized by the Republican party-è to limit the
role of central government


6 Since the 1850s there are 2 big competing parties,

6 the Democrats
6 the Republicans,
è both with liberal and conservative wings.
è |







 
è

è The now-famous 



was first associated with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828
presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use
the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used
the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.
è

è Nast invented another famous symbol²the 




  . In a cartoon that appeared in
Ô


in 1874, Nast drew a donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at
the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled ³The Republican Vote.´ That's all it took for
the elephant to become associated with the Republican Party.
è Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans say the elephant is strong
and dignified.
è
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6 GENERALLY
6 more socially conservative,
6 Policies to Stimulate private business
6 reduce government regulation,
6 support strong national defence;
6 support from white, Protestant, high-income
voters, the West and South.
"



6 more in favour of a larger role of the government

in solving the country¶s economic and social
problems;
6 Protecting civil and political rights -è
6 considerable support from racial minorities and
women
6 Support from urban voters- è industrial North ±
East and Mid-West
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6See table
pages 148-9
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è ]

è Makes laws affecting the whole country
è Has the authority to declare war
è Approves the members of government
è Can remove the president from office
è Makes new laws valid within a state
è Is re-elected every two years (Representatives)
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è Decides if a law is unconstitutional
è Acts as referee between president and Congress
è ë



è Has executive power within a state
è Chooses the members of government
è Chooses the members of the Supreme Court (with Senate¶s approval)
è Is responsible for administering foreign policy
’ 
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è The gay rights movement

è Liberal attitude to gay marriage
è People earning very low salaries
è Against tax cuts for the rich
è Favour national health care insurance for everybody
è Black civil rights groups
è Support affirmative actions
è Scientists involved in medical research
è Support liberalising stem-cell research
è Feminist/women¶s liberation groups
è Support abortion rights
è Greenpeace and other environmental protection groups
è Favour international efforts to reduce greenhouse gases
"

£ 

Example (Ex A pag 150)

6 0
 What about your policies on the environment? What will your
first priority be if you win re-election?
6 ]

If I am re-elected, I will immediately introduce new laws to clean
up air and water Pollution. This is a growing problem. If we don¶t take action
now, in a few years time the situation would become intolerable.
6 0
 : The Republicans say these new laws would be very expensive
to operate. If the cost of doing business rose, a lot of people would lose
their jobs.
6 ]

 Yes, there will be extra costs but what is the alternative? If the
Republicans took control, they would relax all pollution controls. Health
standards would inevitably decline if we lost that protection
"

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]
6 If we give a tax credit for each child, we will prepare young people for the future.
6 If we ban the sale of guns, we will reduce violent crime.
6 If we introduce a free health care system, we will protect the old and the sick.
6 If we introduce a minimum wage, we will improve working conditions.
6 If we reduce taxes, we will help families.
6 If we increase spending on training, we will stimulate the economy.


6 If the Government refused to employ more police, it would reduce the crime
rate.
6 If the Government cut military spending, it would get weaker our defences
forces.
6 If the Government spent less on antidrug education, it would reduce the number
of drug addicts.
6 If the Government didn¶t introduce anti-pollution laws, it would get worse air
pollution.
6 If the Government didn¶t want to give loans to students, young people wouldn¶t
be able to finish their education.
’ 
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è The National Rifle Association (for American gun-owner)

è Oppose gun control

è People earning high salaries

è Support big tax cuts
è Favour private health care insurance

è Christian fundamentalists
è Opposed to marriage between gays
è Favour limiting rights to abortion
è Support limits to stem-cell research
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Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current president of the USA. He is the
first African American to hold the office.
He was elected to the United States Senate in November 2004. During his
tenure as senator, he served on several committees, including the Foreign
Relations, Environment and Public Works, veterans¶ affair, health, education
and pensions and homeland security and governmental affairs.
With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was
born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961.
He is also the first new president since terrorists attacked New York and
Washington on September 11, 2001, the first to use the Internet to decisive
political advantage, the first to insist on handling a personal smartphone while in
the White House. So striking was the novelty of his rise that he embraced it
himself: as a candidate he called himself ³a skinny kid with a funny name´ and
the theme for his campaign was ³change.´ Mr. Obama arrived at the White
House with a resume that appeared short by presidential standards: eight years
in the Illinois State Senate, four years as a senator in Washington.
(The New York Times)