5. The political system and the Constitution.

The United States of America is a federal state, headed by the President.» According to the US Constitution the powers of the Government are divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

The legislative power belongs to the Congress consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states while the House of Representatives — population. The executive power belongs to the President and his Administration (Vice-President

and Cabinet of Ministers). The Judicial power belongs to the Supreme Court and the system of federal courts.

There are several political parties in the USA. The largest of them are the Republican (symbolized by a donkey) and the Democratic (symbolized by an elephant).

6. The two-party system. There are two major political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Other parties have occasionally challenged these two but without permanent success. One reason for their failure is that in order to win a national election, a party must appeal to a broad base of voters and a wide spectrum of interests.

The two major parties thus tend to be moderate in their programs, and there may often be little difference between them on some issues. Each has a conservative wing, and each has a wing that is considered liberal. The conservative Democrats tend to be more conservative on racial issues, for example, than their Republican counterparts; the liberal Democrats are more radical on economic issues than the liberal Republicans.

The national parties contest presidential elections every four years. In elections for president and vice president, voters actually choose among electors committed to the support of a particular candidate, a system called the Electoral College. Each state is allotted one electoral vote for each senator and representative in Congress.

At the state level, political parties reflect the diversity of the population. Large urban centers are more likely to support a Democratic ticket, whereas rural areas, small cities and suburban areas tend more often to vote Republican. In many states rural areas and smaller towns control the state legislatures, even though the more populous city areas provide the greater proportion of tax revenue. A Supreme Court ruling in 1964 sought to remedy this situation by ordering states to reapportion their legislatures.

Some states have traditionally given majorities to one particular party. Until the mid-20th century, for example, the 11 Southern states of the old Confederacy voted almost solidly for Democratic candidates; in other states, such as Maine and South Dakota, Republicans are more likely to win.

Municipal political parties have a pyramidal structure based, at the lowest level, on districts or precincts. The leaders of these units are responsible to ward leaders, who form the governing body of the municipal party. All of these party functionaries are responsible for getting their voters to the polls at election time, often on the basis of a return for services rendered. It is to them, after all, that voters have gone with requests for better municipal services, jobs and assistance in minor difficulties.

As society has become increasingly urban, politics and government have become more complex. Many problems of the cities, including the problems of transportation, housing, education, health and welfare, can no longer be

handled entirely on the local level. Since even the states do not have the necessary resources, cities have often turned to the federal government for assistance. 7. Three branches of government, state and local governments USA.   State & Local Government

Powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for states and the people, which are divided between state and local governments. 

Most Americans have more daily contact with their state and local governments than with the federal government. Police departments, libraries, and schools — not to mention driver's licenses and parking tickets — usually fall under the oversight of state and local governments. Each state has its own written constitution, and these documents are often far more elaborate than their federal counterpart. The Alabama Constitution, for example, contains 310,296 words — more than 40 times as many as the U.S. Constitution.

State Government

Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all states uphold a "republican form" of government, although the three-branch structure is not required.

Executive Branch

In every state, the executive branch is headed by a governor who is directly elected by the people. In most states, the other leaders in the executive branch are also directly elected, including the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state, and auditors and commissioners. States reserve the right to organize in any way, so they often vary greatly with regard to executive structure. No two state executive organizations are identical.

Legislative Branch

All 50 states have legislatures made up of elected representatives, who consider matters brought forth by the governor or introduced by its members to create legislation that becomes law. The legislature also approves a state's budget and initiates tax legislation and articles of impeachment. The latter is part of a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government that mirrors the federal system and prevents any branch from abusing its power.

Except for one state, Nebraska, all states have a bicameral legislature made up of two chambers: a smaller upper house and a larger lower house. Together the two chambers make state laws and fulfill other governing responsibilities. (Nebraska is the lone state that has just one chamber in its legislature.) The smaller upper chamber is always called the Senate, and its members generally serve longer terms, usually four years. The larger lower chamber is most often called the House of Representatives, but some states call it the Assembly or the House of Delegates. Its members usually serve shorter terms, often two years.

Judicial Branch

State judicial branches are usually led by the state supreme court, which hears appeals from lower-level state courts. Court structures and judicial appointments/elections are determined either by legislation or the state constitution. The Supreme Court focuses on correcting errors made in lower courts and therefore holds no trials. Rulings made in state supreme courts are normally binding; however, when questions are raised regarding consistency with the U.S. Constitution, matters may be appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court.

Local Government

Local governments generally include two tiers: counties, also known as boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana, and municipalities, or cities/towns. In some states, counties are divided into townships. Municipalities can be structured in many ways, as defined by state constitutions, and are called, variously, townships, villages, boroughs, cities, or towns. Various kinds of districts also provide functions in local government outside county or municipal boundaries, such as school districts or fire protection districts.

Municipal governments — those defined as cities, towns, boroughs (except in Alaska), villages, and townships — are generally organized around a population center and in most cases correspond to the geographical designations used by the United States Census Bureau for reporting of housing and population statistics. Municipalities vary greatly in size, from the millions of residents of New York City and Los Angeles to the 287 people who live in Jenkins, Minnesota.

Municipalities generally take responsibility for parks and recreation services, police and fire departments, housing services, emergency medical services, municipal courts, transportation services (including public transportation), and public works (streets, sewers, snow removal, signage, and so forth).

Whereas the federal government and state governments share power in countless ways, a local government must be granted power by the state. In general, mayors, city councils, and other governing bodies are directly elected by the people. 8. National Symbols of United States of America.

National Symbols

National Symbols represent pride and values of the country.

United States of America is third largest country by land area and world’s largest economy. It is also one of the most powerful countries of the world and one of the five permanent members of United Nations Security Council.

United States of America has varied National symbols representing its culture, values and pride.

National Flag of USA

The current version of National Flag of USA was adopted on July 4, 1960.

The National Flag of USA has thirteen equal horizontal stripes with alternate colours red and white. It has a blue rectangle in the top left corner of the flag with 50 white pointed five-stars arranged in nine horizontal rows. The stars are six and five in numbers alternately and 50 in number representing different states.

A book “Our Flag” published in 1989 by House of Representatives explains the significance of colors and stars as:-

"The colors of the pales (the vertical stripes) are those used in the flag of the United States of America; White signifies purity and innocence, Red, hardiness & valour, and Blue, the color of the Chief (the broad band above the stripes) signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice."

"The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."

National Bird of USA The Bald Eagle (haliaeetus leucocephalus) is the National Bird of USA.

The Bald Eagle was adopted as the National Bird of United States in 1782. The Bald Eagle symbolizes strength, courage, freedom and immortality.

The Bald Eagle is represented in many important places including Great Seal, One-dollar bill, Federal agency seals and President’s flag.

National Flower of USA

Rose is the National Flower of United States of America.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 159 accepted Rose as the National Floral Emblem of United States of America. On November 20, 1986 President Ronald Reagan proclaimed Rose as National Floral Emblem of United States of America.