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The Governmental and Political SystemMount Rushmore. Gutson Borglum memorial of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt.Read and translate the words and word combinations:to be in forceto have drives“check and balances” powersnational party conventionsa succession of state primaries and caucusesto specifyto amend (amendment)to go to the pallsto correct wrongsto run for presidentfellow citizensto vote the straight ticketto strike downa national conventionto override a vetonominate (nominee)to be bound to party programto reach a compromiseto be subject toelectoral collegeto vote a “straight ticket”lobby (lobbying)a constituencya number of civic groupsThe governmental systems of the United States – federal, state, country, and local arequite easy to understand.
The operation of these systems is based on the US Constitution, whichwas adopted by US Congress in 1785.The Constitution the oldest still in force in the world sets the basic form ofgovernment: three separate branches, each one having powers (“check and balances”) over theothers. It specifies the powers and duties of each federal branch of government, with all otherpowers and duties, belonging to the states.To meet the changing needs of the nation, the constitution has been repeatedlyamended. Ten amendments in the Bill of rights (1791) guaranteed the basic rights of individualAmericans.
The other sixteen amendments included the one besides banning slavery (1865) togive women the right to vote (1920)The Bill of RightsThe first 10 amendments to the Constitution and their purposeProtections afforded fundamental rights and freedomsAmendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the right to petitionthe government.Protections against arbitrary military actionAmendment 2: Right to bear arms and maintain state militia (National Guard).Amendment 3: Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime.Protections against arbitrary and court actionAmendment 4: No unreasonable searches or seizures.Amendment 5: Grand jury indictment required to prosecute for a serious crime.
No“double jeopardy” – being tried twice for the same offence. Forcing a person to testify againsthimself or herself prohibited. No loss of life, liberty without due process.Amendment 6: Right to speedy, public, impartial with defense counsel, and right tocross-examine witnesses.Amendment 7: Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds 20 dollars.Amendment 8: No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishments.Protections of states’ rights and unnamed rights of the peopleAmendment 9: Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied.Amendment 10: Powers not delegated to the United States of denied to states arereserved to the states or to the people.Although the constitution has been amended 26 times it is still the “supreme law of theland” which has been fought for and won.The constitution provides for three main branches of government which are separateand distinct from one another; the executive branch (the president, the vice president, thecabinet), the legislative branch (the Congress) and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court).The powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two.
Eachbranch serves as a check on the others. This is to keep any branch from gaining too much poweror from misusing its powers. The chart below illustrates how the equal branches of governmentare connected and how each is dependent on the other two.The Separation of Powers. The Policy of Checks and BalancesThe USA Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act ofCongress. Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a two-thirds vote in each house.
Congresscan also refuse to provide funds requested by the President. The President can appoint importantofficials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate. The courts have thepower to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and tostrike down those they find unconstitutional.The system of checks and balances makes compromise and consensus necessary.Compromise is also a vital aspect of other levels of the US government.The system of “check and balances” protects against extremes.
It means forexample, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish.Political Parties.The US Constitution says nothing about political parties, but over time the US hasdeveloped a two-party system: the Democratic and Republican parties. Other small partiessuch as the Liberation Party and the Labor Party do not play any important role in nationalpolitics. The president-day Democratic Party was founded in 1828 representing Southernplanters. The Republican Party, founded in 1854, united industrial and trade bourgeoisie fromNortheast. Later after the Civil War the differences between the two parties became minimal.Sometimes, the Democrats are thought of as associated with labor, and the Republicanswith business and industry.
Republicans also tend to oppose the greater involvement of thefederal government in some areas of public life, which they consider to be the responsibility ofthe states and communities. Democrats, on the other hand, tend to favor a more active role of thecentral government in social matters.Yet it is still more difficult for ordinary Americans to distinguish between the parties.Furthermore, the traditional European terms of “right” and “left”, or “conservative” and “liberal”do not quite fit the American system. Someone from the “conservative right”, for instance,would be against a strong central government. Or a Democrat from one part of the country couldbe very “liberal”, and one from another part quite “conservative”.
Even if they have been electedas Democrats or Republicans, Representatives or Senators are not bound to a party program, norare they subject to any discipline when they disagree with their party.While some voters will vote a “straight ticket’ in other words, for all of theRepublican or Democratic candidates in an election, many do not. They vote for one party’scandidate for one office, and another’s for another one. As a result, the political parties havemuch less actual power than they do in Britain.In the U.S., the parties cannot win seats, which they are then free to fill with partymembers they have chosen.
Rather, both Representatives and Senators are elected to serve theinterests of the “people-and the areas the represent, that is, their “constituencies”. In about 70percent of legislative decisions, Congressmen will vote with the specific wishes of theirconstituencies in mind, even if this goes against what their own parties might want as nationalpolicy.
It is quite common, in fact, to find Democrats in Congress voting for a RepublicanPresident’s legislation, quite a few republicans voting against it, and so on.ElectionsAll American citizen, (at least 18 years of age), may take part in elections. Before theelections take place the Americans who want to vote must register.There are 50 different registration laws in the U.S ( one set for each state). Both voterregistration and voting has dramatically increased during the last twenty years, especially as aresult of the Civil Rights policy. Some civic groups, e.g.
the League of Women Voters, areactively trying to get more people involved in the electoral process and have drives to register asmany people as possible.Legislators (Senators and Congressmen) are elected from geographical districts directly bythe voters according to the principle “one person, one vote”. Under this principle, all electiondistricts must have about the same number of residents. Almost all elections in the USA follow“the winner – take – air principle”: i.e., the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in aCongressional district is the winner.The national presidential election consists of two separate campaigns: one is for thenomination of candidates at national party conventions.
The other is to win the actual election.The nominating race is a competition between members of the same party. They run in asuccession of state primaries and caucuses (which take place between March arid June). Theyhope to gain a majority of delegate votes for their national party conventions (in July of August).At the party convention having now almost theatrical character (bands, balloons, lot of noise,etc.)the party’s official candidate for the presidency is selected.
The follows presidentialcampaign that follows after begins very early and continues until election in early Novemberwhen the candidates make final television appearances and appeal for the votes. Presidentialcampaigns also include major expenses, apart from TV and radio and the press advertising, suchas the travel costs of the candidate and his staff, their salaries and campaign literature. Suchpublicity items as campaign pins and bumper stickers are also widely used. All these tremendouscampaign costs are financed with federal funds with equal amounts of money for each majorparty.
At the time of the primary campaigns the competing candidates may also receive privatecontributions. Every campaign attracts hundreds of unpaid workers at the grass roots, or localpolitical level.In November of the election year (years divisible by four, e.g. 1988, 1992, 1996, etc.), thevoters across the nation go to the polls. If the majority of the popular votes in a state go to thePresidential (and Vice - Presidential) candidate of one party, then that person is supposed to getall of that state’s “electoral votes”. These electoral votes are equal to the number of senators andRepresentatives each state has in Congress.
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