- •1. Describe the geographical position of the British Isles, offering an explanation for its advantages and disadvantages. Define the term «continental shelf», its importance for the economy.
- •3. Examine the main stages in the formation of the population of Great Britain (Ancient Britain, Celts, Romans, and Anglo- Saxons).
- •4.Describe the Danish raids of England. The struggle of Alfred the Great and its results.
- •5. Outline the Norman Conquest and the establishment of feudalism in England and further consolidation of the English state. The main dates in the formation of the u.K.
- •10. Discuss the electoral system. Give an evaluation of the «majority electoral system» existing in Great Britain? Comment on the latest general elections. Change of government in 2007. Reasons.
- •16. Characterize the major political parties in the uk (Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats). The position of these parties in the House of Commons today.
- •17. Expand on the role of the church in the life of the British people.
- •1. Geographical position of the us
- •2 .Physical features of the us, climate, lakes and rivers, minerals
- •3. Native Americans
- •6. Discuss the reasons, development and consequences of the War of Independence (1775-1783).
- •7. Expand on the basic values of the American nation. Explain their importance. Expand on the notion "the frontier heritage”, the heroes. What is political correctness?
- •8 Expansion in the 1st half of the 19cent.
- •8. Analyze growing antagonism between the North and the South. Examine the chief events of the Civil war, its consequences.
- •10.Development us after the Civil War. Monroe Doctrine. American expansionism at the end of the 19 cent.
- •11 How and when American constitution was adopted. What caused the necessity of the bill of rights?
- •12 Explain the structure of the Congress – the supreme legislative body. Discuss the election of Senators and Representatives and whom they represent.
- •13 Institution of American Presidency, main trends of American foreign policy, new policy of Barack Obama
- •14 Presidential elections, Electoral College, Barack Obama – new president
- •15 Explain what is meant by a “strict division or separation of powers” under the Constitution. Outline the structure of the American Constitution.
- •16 Main political parties,
11 How and when American constitution was adopted. What caused the necessity of the bill of rights?
The US, having won its independence, began to develop rapidly. The population was almost rural. Most people lived isolated, with poor books, schools. But the immigrants from the Old World came in great numbers. The government supported them. The Industrial revolution began to make progress. Massachusetts and Rhode Island: textile; Connecticut: tinware and clocks; New York, Pennsylvania: paper, glass, iron. The US was second in shipping after Britain. Political changes aimed at consolidating of central gov-t. The country was governed by Articles of Confederation acc. to which Congress could not make laws or raise taxes. There was no permanent executive or federal judiciary. To this purpose, in May 1787,a convention met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates, headed by G.Wash., Benj.Franklin, James Madison drafted a new Constitution, which established a strong federal gov-t, gave executive power to an elected president and provided for a Supreme Court. Also it established the principle of checks and balances. The Constitution was ratified in 1789.30 Aprile,1789-G.Washington was unanimously chosen president. He served for 2 terms. He organized a national gov-t, developed politics for settlement, stabilized the admission of 3 new states: Vermont(1791),Kentucky(1792),Tennessee(1796)
Bill of rights!
A major conflict took place between the Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton and the Democratic Republicans led by Thomas Jefferson. It concerned the power of the central gov-t. The F-ts favored a strong central gov-t and expressed the interests of the rich and prosperous classes. D Rep-ns defended the rights of the individual states and appealed to the small farmers. Many Americans feared that a powerful central gov-t would violate the basic liberties of the American people and therefore in 1791,the Congress added the first 10 amendments to the Constitution-the Bill of rights, which guaranteed freedom of speech, the right of citizens to bear arms, protection against illegal house searches, the right to a fairy trial by jury and protection against cruel and unusual punishments. Today 27 amendments.1791-G.Wash.retired and was succeeded by John Adams, his vice president.
12 Explain the structure of the Congress – the supreme legislative body. Discuss the election of Senators and Representatives and whom they represent.
The Congress consists of 2 houses:
The upper chamber – the Senate
The lower chamber – the House of Representatives (HP)
The life of any Congress lasts for only 2 years. Originally every Congress would open on the 1st Monday of December, but it has changed – only odd numbers of the year, the 3d of January. Originally the Congress was to be elected by the state legislative bodies, but the 14th amendment gave this right to the Am. people.
Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.
The House has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. They represent the population of "congressional districts" into which each state is divided. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives, while Delaware has one. There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve.
Examine the main functions of the Congress, the process of passing a bill. Comment on how changes in the Constitution are made.
Powers given to the Congress by the Constitution:
To borrow money, collect taxies, regulate trade
To establish inferior courts
To raise the army and navy
To declare war
To establish the Post Office
To make law
The process of passing a bill
Stage 1: introduction. The bill must be introduced to the House. There a member drops his proposal into a “hopper”. In the Senate a member drops a proposal either to the Senate Club or speaks from the floor. A bill can be introduce by a Congressman, Chairman Committee, administration or it can be co-sponsored by several committee members (sponsor- автор законопроекта). A bill supported either by the chairman or the administration has better chances to become law.
Stage 2: the bill goes to a committee. There are 38 permanent committees in the Congress(34 – to the House; 4 – to the Senate). Chairman Committees are extremely influential.
Stage 3: if they decide to consider the bill, it goes to the subcommittee. They may kill it, but if they approve of it they will hold hearings. The purpose of the hearing is not only to obtain information, but also to test public opinion. After the hearings the bill goes back to the subcommittee for debate and introducing amendments.
Stage 4: general debate, mark-up session – members express their opinion.
Stage 5: the bill goes to the Full Committee – they debate the bill + the financial vote is taken (a clean bill – entirely changed by amendments). Sometimes there are reports in favor or against the bill. Then it goes back to the respective chamber – the House or the Senate which resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole.
Final stage: the whole business is considered by the Rule’s Committee (only in the HP). They limit debate to 1-2 hours. Any member speaks no more than 5 minutes. When the bill is passed it goes to the Senate. But the procedure will be a bit easier since every senator has the right to debate the bill without any committee. Senators can talk as long as they wish. The speeches of the senators may not be the topic of discussion.
Article Five describes the process necessary to amend the Constitution. It establishes two methods of proposing amendments: by Congress or by a national convention requested by the states. Under the first method, Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds vote (of a quorum, not necessarily of the entire body) of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Under the second method, two-thirds (2/3) of the state legislatures may convene and "apply" to Congress to hold a national convention, whereupon Congress must call such a convention for the purpose of considering amendments. As of 2007, only the first method (proposal by Congress) has been used. Once proposed—whether submitted by Congress or by a national convention—amendments must then be ratified by three-fourths (3/4) of the states to take effect. Article Five gives Congress the option of requiring ratification by state legislatures or by special conventions assembled in the states. The convention method of ratification has been used only once (to approve the 21st Amendment). Article Five currently places only one limitation on the amending power—that no amendment can deprive a state of its equal representation in the Senate without that state's consent.