Часть 2. The Monroe Doctrine
Napoleon’s conquest of Spain in 1808 caused the Latin Americans to rise in revolt (восстание) against the Spanish colonizers(поселенцы) in Latin America. A vast territory (from Argentina and Chile in the south to Mexico and California in the north) had won independence from the mother country. In 1822 President James Monroe recognized their independence as new countries.
Russia, Prussia and Austria formed the Holy Alliance to protect their colonies and territories from revolution (because they didn’t want them to become independent or smth else). But when the Alliance announced its intention of restoring former colonies to Spain (Spain lost Florida in the Seven Years’ war between Britain and France because in this war Spain supported France but France was defeated!France relinquished(уступать, сдавать тер-ю)all of Canada and the ter. of Louisiana) and Russia to consolidate (укрепить) its hold to the South of Alaska.
President James Monroe DECLARED in 1823 that the USA would not tolerate any further extension of European domination in the Americas and that the western hemisphere(полушарие) was within the special interests of the USA and any action taken by any European power would be regarded “as manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the US”
Часть 3.American Expansion at the end of the 19th century.
1)in 1867 the US purchased Alaska together with adjacent islands from Russia.
+Alaska is rich in natural resources
+enhanced the strategic position of the US in the Pacific
2) the seizure(захват)by the US of the Hawaiian Islands 1898 together with the priceless Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
3) The US was interested in Spanish colonies, especially in Cuba in whose economy the Americans had invested a great deal of capital. The local population was opposed to the corrupt and tyrannical Spanish administration. In Cuba the national-liberation was uprising and the independence movement in another Spanish colony – The Philippines with the population wanting independence the US though it’s a great opportunity to intervene.
!!!!After the American battleship Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor in 1898 under mysterious circumstances →the US declared war on Spain
The Spanish-American war and its results
The war lasted 10 weeks, Spain lost this war, under the peace treaty signed in Paris the US annexed (включила в состав) Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
+Spain relinquished (уступила) its domination of Cuba.
4)In 1993 the US obtained an excellent site for a military base at Guantanamo Bay which is held by the US to this very day.
5) The US was also interested in the new insular(островной) possessions and the Panama gateway.
The US was interested in the Panama Canal because it could solve the problem of quickly transferring the American navy from one ocean to another.
But: The Panama isthmus (соединяет две части, переешек - исмэс) belonged to Colombia→in 1903 the Roosevelt administration supported a revolt against Columbia and send a cruiser to help the rebels.
The US quickly recognized the independence of the newly formed Republic of Panama which signed a treaty with the USA granting the latter exclusive rights to dig a canal across the isthmus.
It was a 10-mile zone (the Canal zone) – this canal furthered American hegemony(господство) in the Caribbean.
11. The 1st attempt to establish a new government was the Articles of Confederation(1777-1787). It was the 1st constitution. But the problem with it was that the government had very limited power and proved to be insufficient. It had only one legislative branch (Congress with 13 members representing the 13 states and each state had 1 vote. To pass a law they needed 9 votes.), the government couldn’t impose taxes, couldn’t regulate trade between states and so on.
Confederation – is an alliance of independent states. So the individual states retained their sovereignty and had all the power while the national government had none.
On May 25, 1787 delegates from 12 states (except Rhode Island) met at a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles of Confederation but decided to draft a new constitution and a strong central government. It was ratified only in 1789 as they needed 9 states to vote on it.
In 1787 the process of creating a new government wasn’t easy as delegates from the large states argued with those from the small states about representation in the national legislature. They came up with the Great Compromise (Connecticut) eventually. ---Congress was divided in 2 houses: House of representation in which the representation is based on population. The more people you have the more votes you get. And The Senate in which every state gets 2 votes or 2 senators as the point of is equality.
The Constitution set up a federal system with a strong central government. A Federal system is one in which power is divided between a central authority and states.
Under the Constitution, power was divided among the 3 branches of the national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President) and judicial (The Supreme Court). These 3 powers established a so-called system of checks and balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other 2.
The Constitution provided the election of a national leader, or president. In 1789 George Washington became the 1st president of the US. It also provided that federal laws would be made only by a Congress consisting of representatives elected by the people.
The constitution set up a national court system headed by a Supreme.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONSTITUTION.
It consists of the Preamble, 7 articles and 27 amendments.
It has 6 basic principles:
1)all states are equal 2)3 branches of government 3)all men are equal before the law and that anyone, rich or poor, can demand the protection of the law…. and other 3 or 4
When the constitution was adopted American people were unhappy about the fact that it did not contain any guarantees of basic freedoms and individual rights. It recognized slavery. So under strong public pressure. Congress was forced to adopt the first 10 amendments to the Constitution knows as the Bills of Rights.
From these amendments (поправка) the Americans received guarantees of such basic rights as freedom of speech, press, religion, the right to protest, assembly, to bear guns, freedom from unreasonable search and arrest and so on.
3 people contributed to writing the Constitution: George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton.
12. The congress consists of 2 houses: The Senate and the House of Representatives.
Its residence is on Capitol Hill, in the centre of Washington. The Congress meets in regular sessions, beginning with January 3, almost all year round.
The legislative work of Congress is done mostly in standing (permanent) committees. Today there are 16 committees in the Senate and 22 in the HOR. Those standing committees have subcommittees. Each standing committee specializes in certain spheres of lawmaking: foreign affairs, defense, finance, agriculture, commerce and etc. The majority party in each House controls the committee work and minority parties are represented in the committees. Bills can be suggested by the President.
Each house has the power to introduce bills on any subject. After introduction all bills are sent to certain committees. When a committee is in favor of a bill, it is sent to the Congress for open debate. When the debate is over, members vote on it. When a bill is passed by one House it’s sent to the other. After the bill is passed by both houses it’s sent to the President for approval.
13. The President of the USA is the head of the executive power or the Chief Executive. His official residence and office of the president is the White House, Washington D.C.
The qualifications for the presidency are: the P. must be at least 35, a resident of the country for at least 14 years and a national born citizen. The president is elected for a 4-year term. He can only serve 2 terms.
If a President dies or unable to carry out his duties, he is succeeded (сменяет сексид) by the VP ►next in line of succession ►The speaker of the HOR ►The secretary of State
The presidential term of 4 years begins on January 20. He starts his official duties with an inauguration ceremony and takes an oath of office (the words of the oath are provided by the Constitution).
In 1947 the National Security Council (“the super cabinet”) was formed, which includes the President, the VP, the Secretaries of State and Defense. It is the main centre of planning the American foreign and military policy.
Home and foreign policy of the present administration
14. In a typical direct election citizens vote for presidential candidates and the candidate with the most votes wins. This is not how the US president is elected. Instead the Electoral College voting system is used. The Electoral College is an indirect system of electing the president. This means that citizens don’t actually vote for the president, they vote for electors, then the electors vote for the president. This system was created by the Founding Fathers in Article 2, Section 1 of the Constitution. Every 4 years on the 1st Tuesday following the 1st Monday of November, each state holds an election in which citizens vote for a “ticket” that includes a president and a VP.
The Founding Fathers (Madison, Hamilton and Washington) didn’t trust the ability of the majority of citizens to choose the best candidate. If citizens prefer someone unfit to be president, the Electoral College can select a different candidate.
There are 2 types of votes that are counted in the presidential election. The popular vote refers to whom citizens vote for. The electoral vote refers to whom electors vote for.
The popular vote decides who the electors are. The electoral vote decides who wins the presidency. When citizens vote, they see the presidential candidates’ names, but they are actually voting for electors who pledge to vote for a particular candidate. The electors that represent each presidential candidate are chosen by the political parties in each state. The candidate who receives the most popular votes in the state receives all of that state’s electoral votes. It’s called a “winner-take-all” system. Maine and Nebraska are the exceptions: they can divide their Electoral College votes proportionally (the voting results may be different in each district). The electors of a political party whose candidate has won the majority of the electoral votes in this particular state gather in the state capital and cast their votes for their party’s leader to whom they have pledged.
The electors represent their states. Each state gets electors equal to its number of Senators (Each state gets 2 senators regardless of its population.) + the number of representatives which is based on a state’s population. Each state is split into districts and each district votes for 1 representative. The number of districts depends on the population of each state. The size of a district (constituency) is 530,000 people. The census is conducted every 10 years, so every time the census happens states might gain or lose a few electoral votes.
States with larger population get more electoral votes anyway.
The number of electors in the Electoral College is based on the total number of Senators + the total number of members in the HOR= 100+ 435+ 3 electors for Washing D.C. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
To become the president a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes. If the Electoral College is tied 269 versus 269, then the HOR breaks the tie, each state gets a vote, not each representative so the representative have to decide as a group.
►There’s a possibility of faithless electors. It’s someone who promises to vote for candidate A, but actually votes for candidate B. But they have a right to do that under the terms of the American Constitution.
►The popular vote winner may loose the election
It happened 4 times in the American history when the candidate who won the most electoral votes didn’t win the popular vote. In 2000 Al Gore won 500,000 more votes nationwide than George W. Bush but Bush got the most electoral votes and became the president.
►There are certain states that a have a long history of voting for a particular party. These are known as “safe states”. Presidential candidates don’t go to states with campaigns which are likely to vote for them. They are more likely to go to the so-called “swing states” – states that vote for one party in some elections and a different party in other elections. The swing states must also have big population to interest the candidates. Because the candidates’ main target to win over the population of big states with many electoral votes.
►If you live in a safe republican state and you are a democrat, then there’s no point in voting for you. Because any vote not cast for the candidate who wins the most votes in this state doesn’t count!
►Its difficult for 3rd parties to win.
Comment on the results of the presidential elections of the year 2012.
+INAUGURATION DAY is January 20
Nominee
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
15. Under the constitution of the US power was divided among the 3 branches of the national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (The president, VP and Cabinet) and judicial (the Supreme Court). These 3 powers established a so-called system of checks and balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other two. The president has the power to veto acts passed by Congress, but the Congress may override the veto by a 2/3s majority. But the Supreme Court has the power to declare Acts of Congress/the actions of a president to be illegal.
The writers of the constitution didn’t want one branch of government to be more powerful than the other branches. So the constitution calls for a separation, or division of powers in government. There are 3 main parts to the separation of powers idea:
No person may serve in more than one branch at a time.
The President of the US cannot be a member of Congress. Any member of Congress who wishes to become president of the US must resign from that body before accepting the presidency.
The constitution lists the powers and duties of each branch of government in articles.
Each branch has enough power to check the power of the other 2.
Separation of power keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful
Because of the checks and balances system one branch cannot work alone. All 3 branches must work together.
The checking power of |
||
the president 1)can impose a veto on any act passed by congress 2)can suggest new laws + approves laws passed by Congress 3)as the head of the political party has much influence over members of Congress who belong to the same political party as the president. 4)the commander-in-chief of the American military 5)can appoint federal judges(from the district court to the Supreme court) but! The 9 justices of the Supreme Court serve in the Court for life unless they retire, resign or are removed by Congress. 6)can grant a pardon to smn convicted of a crime 7)decides how much money should be spent by government 8)treaties with foreign countries |
the congress 1)can override the veto by a 2/3 majority 2)makes laws 3) can impeach a federal official+ the president
5)approves the appointments made by the president, can impeach a federal judge 7)approves the president’s budget
8)approves treaties 9)can amend the constitution 10)declared war on countries. |
the judicial 1)can review the president’s actions, limit his actions, stop him from doing smth or force him to do smth 2)makes sure the laws passed by congress are constitutional. 3)can impeach political leaders and officials. |
John locke natural rights and Montesquieu
Checks and balances is a mechanism to limit the power of the federal government
The
HOR impeaches the president and the Senate hold a trial (Bill
Clinton) regarding that impeachment. You need a 2/3s majority to
throw the president out, to remove. A
federal official impeached by the HOR stands trial in the senate.
The Senate sits as the jury. The senate may vote to remove the
official from office. It takes a 2/3s majority to do this.
Congress passes a law and the president has the power to veto that law, but the Congress may override the veto by a 2/3s majority.
If the president makes a treaty with a foreign country, the Senate has to approve it.
If there’s a tie in Electoral College votes, the HOR decides who will become the president.
The president is the commander-in-chief of the American army, but only the Congress can declare war and allocate the budget.
Congress must approve all federal judge appointments. Congress also has the power to impeach a federal judge.
Congress has the power to change the number of federal judges, change the salaries of the federal judges.
Congress can amend the constitution.
Judiciary:
The checking power of the judicial branch is called judicial review.
The court can review the president’s actions. A federal court can limit the actions of the president or stop what the president plans to do. A federal court can also force the president to do something. This is called placing an “injunction” (судебный запрет) on the president’s actions.
All state laws must agree with federal laws and the constitution. Federal courts check the laws.
The people’s checking power.
People can check the power of government by 1)voting 2) people who feel very strongly about a certain issue can join together and form an “interest group”
The people in a neighborhood may get together because of a common complaint. They may try to put pressure on city leaders to change a city law.
Lobbying – putting pressure on government leaders
Лоббизм – форма давления на законодательный орган, правительство или полит.курс
Interest groups and lobbying form an important part of the political process.
Unions – are interest groups made up of workers.
Lobby – verb обрабатывать, пытаться воздействовать
Unions lobby for laws that favour workers. Businesses also belong to interest groups.
The free press also has the power to monitor the actions of any branches
The checking powers of the people are 1)voting 2) interest groups and unions 3) lobbying 4)the free press
16. Main political parties
The USA is largely a two-party system: the Republicans and the Democratic Party. The Democratic party was formed by Andrew Jackson in 1828.
The Democratic Party: Thomas Jefferson founded the Dem. Party in 1792 as a congressional assembly to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the Federalist Party. In 1798, the “party of the common man” was officially named the Dem.-Republican Party and in 1800 elected Jefferson as the 1st Dem. President of the US. Jefferson was followed by James Madison in 1808 who strengthened America’s armed forces by defeating the British in the War of 1812. James Monroe was elected president in 1816.
The election of John Quincy Adams in 1824 led to a split among Dem. – Republicans. A result of the split was the emergence of Andrew Jackson as a national leader. The Jacksonian Democrats created the national convention process,the party platform, and reunified the Dem. Party with Jackson’s victories in 1821 and 1832. It was Andrew Jackson that institutionally consolidated the Dem. Party as a political organization in the modern sense of the world.
W. Bryan >led a movement of agrarian reformers; supported the right of women’s suffrage;
W. Wilson >led the country through ww1, fought for the League of Nations, passed the 1st labour and child welfare laws;
F. Roosevelt ‘s New Deal brought water to California’s Central valley, electrified Appalachia and safed farms across the Midwest. (pulled America out of the Depression);
H. Truman >the fight to bring down the final barriers of race and gender; establishing the Marshall plan and NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization);
In the 1960s, President John Kennedy and his followers challenged an optimistic nation to build on its great history (proclaimed a New Frontier, dared Americans to put a man on the Moon, created the Peace Crops, negotiated a treaty banning nuclear weapons,
Lyndon Johnson > followed Kennedy’s lead and worked to pass the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, declared war on Poverty, formed a series of Great Society programmes, creation of Medicare);
In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected president, helping to restore the nation’s trust in government following the Watergate scandal;
In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected the 42th President of the USA (his policies were a success and resulted in economic expansion helped to decrease the budget deficits, reduced unemployment and crime);
In 2000 the democratic party’s candidate Al Gore won the country’s popular vote but lost in electoral college votes and the republican party candidate G. W. Bush became the president.
In 2004, John Kerry lost the presidential race to George W. Bush.
PLATFORM.
The Dem. party has a long history of claiming to represent and protect the interests of working Americans and guaranteeing personal liberties for all. The National Platform is an official statement of the Party’s position on a wide variety of issues. Each issue included in the Platform is a “plank” . A new Platform is adopted every 4 years by the Democratic National Convention.The 2000 National Platform emphasized 3 key Dem. Party ideas: Prosperity, Progress, Peace.
The Donkey is the emblem of the Democrats. During the election of 1828 Andrew Jackson’s slogan was “let the people rule” so his opponents called him a “jackass”(donkey)
The Republican Party: The Republican party was formed in 1854 as an anti-slavery party. It united the industrialists of the North, the free farmers and many inhabitants of the towns. Abraham Lincoln became the leading figure in the party.
The Rep. Party was founded in 1850’s by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that the government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. In 1856, the Rep. became a national party when John Fremont was nominated for President under the slogan “Free soil, free labour, free speech, free men, Fremont”. The actual emergence of the Rep. Party is associated with Abraham Lincoln who became its leader and won the presidential elections of 1860 to become the 16st US President. During the Civil War in 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.
The Rep. passed 13 amendment which outlawed slavery
14 which guaranteed equal protection under the laws
15 amendment which helped secure voting rights for African-Americans
In 1896 Republicans were the 1st major party to favor women’s suffrage.
A Civil Rights Act in 1866 which recognized blacks as US citizens;
Republican presidents were in office during most of the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 2nd half of the 20th century. Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George H. and George W. Bush.
There’s the Republican National Committee, each state has their own RSC.
The Basic principals of the Republican party: individuals, not government, can make the best decisions, all people are entitled to equal rights. They believe that governmental interference is supposed to be minimal in the life of the state. The Republican has always fought for individuals’ rights in opposition to a large government.
The symbol of the RP is the elephant. Thomas Nast created a political cartoon in which a donkey was dressed as a lion at the zoo and this donkey was scaring away all the other animals including the elephant which was labeled “the republican vote”. Both symbols stuck.
The republican party is also referred to as the “GRAND OLD PARTY”
With the election of Abraham Lincoln, The republicans held onto the White House for 60 of the next 100 years.
The Lincoln administration established the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Internet Revenue, Lincoln passed the Homestead Act offering public lands grants, donated land for agricultural and technical colleges to the states.
The Republicans passed a Civil Rights Act n 1866 recognizing blacks as US citizens.
The Republican Congress passed the National Eight Hour Law which applied only to government workers limited the work day to 8 hours.
Roosevelt tried to break business monopolies with the anti-trust act, but it remained mainly on paper.
In1903Roosevelt became involed with foreign policy and his actions resulted in the treaty that permitted construction of the panama canal. He negotiated the treaty of Portsmouth, ending the conflict between Russia and Japan. As a peacemaker he received The Nobel Prize.
Roosevelt created the Department of Labour to regulate labour relations in the country.
In 1919 The Equal Suffrage(сафридж – право голоса) Amendment was passed, granting women electoral rights.
Republicans believe:Equal rights, justice and opportunities for all;
The strength of the nation lie with the individual; Free enterprise, lower taxes
Any voter may become a Republican or a Democrat by simple declaration, members are not registered, don’t pay membership dues. Parties unite every 4 years for the presidential election.
17.THE FLAG consists of 13(7 red and 6 white ones) horizontal stripes of red alternation with white which represent 13 original colonies that rebelled against the British crown and became the first states of the Union. The red color in the flag symbolizes courage, the white – purity, and the blue colour – firmness and justice.
A blue rectangle in the left top corner has 50 white 5-pointed stars representing the 50 states.
THE GREAT SEAL (Большая государственная печать) is used to authenticate (удостоверять) certain documents issued by the US government. The great seal has 2 sides: the eagle which is the national coat of arms (герб) on the obverse (лицевая сторона) and the pyramid on the reverse. The national coat of arms is used on passports, military insignia (ордена), embassy placards and so on.
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM: is called the Star Spangled Banner
There’s also the official CREED.