1)_The Statue of Liberty

2)Francis Scott Key

Seminar 2

1. “Checks and Balances”.

2. Major political Parties.

Useful materials:

“Checks and balances”

The Constitution provides for three main branches of government which are separate and distinct from one another. The powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two. Each branch serves as a check on the others. This is to keep any branch from gaming too much power or from misusing its powers. The chart below illustrates how the equal branches of government are connected and how each is dependent on the other two.

Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress. Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a two thirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President.

The President can appoint important officials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate. The President also has the power to name all federal judges; they, too, must be approved by the Seriate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to strike 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 government in the United States. This system protects against extremes. It means, for example, that new presidents cannot radically change governmental policies just as they wish* In the U.S., therefore, when people think of "the government;' they usually mean the entire system, that is, the Executive Branch and the President, Congress, and the courts. In fact and in practice, therefore, the President (i.e. "the Administration") is not as powerful as many people outside the U.S. seem to think he is. In comparison with other leaders in systems where the majority party forms "the government," he is much less so.

Vocabulary:

1. Checks and balances –политическое равновесие

2. To gain power – приобретать власть

3. To misuse [tə ‘mis’jus] – злоупотреблять

4. To veto [tə ‘vi:tɔu] – налагать вето на что-либо

5. To override a veto – отвергать вето (запрещать)

6. Extremes [iks’tri:mz] – крайности

7. The entire system – полная (цельная) система

Major political Parties

The United States began as a one-party political system. George Washington and many others among the Revolutionary leaders wanted it to stay that way. In 17G7, when the Constitu­tion was written, the people were divided over whether to ratify it, although they were not yet organized into definite political parties.

The question of who should be the new President began to divide people into political organizations. On one side were the Federalists, representing business, finance and the middle class­es of city folk. On the other side were the "Republicans" led by Thomas Jefferson. They represented mainly the country folk from Virginia. Thus by 1800 the one-party Revolutionary gov­ernment of the United States quickly split up into a two-party system.

The parties chose their own names, Republican and Demo­cratic, but not their party emblems. The cartoonist Thomas Nast invented the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey in the early 1870s, and they soon became fixed types.

The differences between the two parties are so small that a voter will see no intellectual inconsistency in voting for a Re­publican President, a Democratic state governor, a Republican Senator and a Democratic member of the House.

How is an individual's party affiliation determined, or how does a person choose sides in the game of party politics? The first, and perhaps the most important determinant is family tra­dition. Most voters take the party of their parents. Economic position ranks second in influence on party bias. Recently there has been an increasing tendency for the well-to-do to vote Re­publican and for the less fortunate to vote Democratic. National origin plays the role too, descendants of northern Europeans tend to the Republican party, while those of southern and east-ern Europeans prefer the Democratic party.

This traditional bipartisan system is highly cherished by Big Business, for it creates a sort of illusion that voters are free to choose between the candidates of these two parties, whereas both of them faithfully serve Big Business interests.