Revision

1. Read the text below. Discuss it in pairs or in small groups. Say whether you agree or disagree with the ideas expressed in it. Give your reasons.

Given the resources available to the electorate for informing themselves on all sides of every question, it has become an axiom that, in a democracy, the people get the kind of government they deserve. If the people are not well served by their government, it is their own fault. If government functions well, the people deserve the credit.

The true measure of a government lies in how well it has served its people in all kinds of circumstances, both favorable and adverse, in times of peace and stability and in times of national crisis. By this standard, the U.S. system of self-government has been reasonably successful. It has guided and nurtured the nation from weak and chaotic beginnings, through phenomenal expansion in territory and population, through drought, war and scandal. It weathered a bitter civil war that threatened to destroy the unity of the nation. It has on many occasions defended the principles of freedom and self-determination from attack by hostile forces from within and without.

Few Americans, however, would defend their country’s record as perfect. American democracy is in a constant state of evolution. As Americans review their history, they recognize errors of performance and failures to act, which have delayed the nation’s progress. They know that more mistakes will be made in the future.

Yet the U.S. government still represents the people, and is dedicated to the preservation of liberty. The right to criticize the government guarantees the right to change it when it strays from the essential principles of the Constitution. So long as the preamble to the Constitution is heeded, the republic will stand. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, «government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth».

2. How important are 1-12 in the politics of the United Kingdom, of the United States and of the Russian Federation?

Are they a, b, c or d?

1. very powerful in making decisions

2. have a strong influence in final decisions

3. have some influence over certain decisions but do not have much power

4. have no power at all

The UK	The US	The RF
1. The King or Queen	1. The President	1. The President
2. Parliament as a whole	2. Congress as a whole	2. The Federal Assembly as a whole
3. The House of Lords	3. The Senate	3. the Federation Council
4. The House of Commons	4.The House of Representatives	4. The State Duma
5. The opposition parties	5. The opposition party	5. The opposition parties
6. MPs	6. Senators	6. Members of the Federal Assembly
7. the Prime Minister	7. Congressmen	7. The Chairman of the Government
	8. The Cabinet	8 The President’s Administration
9. Heads of ministries and departments	9. Heads of federal departments	9. Ministers
10. Civil servants	10. Civil servants	10. Civil servants
11. The system of courts	11. The system of courts	11. The system of courts
12. The people of the country	12. The people of the country	12. The people of the country

3. How is each branch of government prevented from becoming too powerful in the UK, in the US and in the RF?

4. What are the most striking differences between systems of government of the UK, of the US and that your own country? Are there any significant similarities between the three systems? Compare one or more aspects of government that particularly interest you.

5. Prepare to describe the system of government in your own country. Use the elements of the UK and the US systems of government as a guide and make brief notes if you like.

Include the following points:

The Head of State: appointment, functions and powers,

relationship with other state organs

The Legislature: composition, functions and powers,

relationship with other state organs

The Executive: composition, functions and powers,

relationship with other state organs

The Judiciary: composition, functions and powers,

relationship with other state organs

Work in pairs or in small groups. Discuss different aspects of the system of government in your own country.

6. Solve the crossword below.

			1			1					2
									8					12		3		4
	5
2									9
															13
3														11
									10
	4		7					8									14
											11	10
										9
			5														15
		6
				7												16

Across:

1. The right to a speedy and public ... is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

2. The ... government created by the Constitution had to be strong enough to protect the states against invasion from the outside and from strife and violence at home.

3. The legislatures of two-thirds may ask ... to call a national convention to discuss and draft amendments.

4. To ... the Constitution means to revise and change it.

5. Some of the ideas embodied in the ... were new, but many were drawn from British governmental tradition and from the practical experience in self-government of the 13 states.

6. The chief executive of a ... is the governor.

7. Although the secretary of ... is a member of the Cabinet, the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force are not.

8. ... decides the case.

9. Below the courts of appeals are the ... courts.

10. For 200 years the US Constitution has provided the basis for political stability, individual ..., economic growth and social progress.

11. Everybody must wear a ... when invited to an official dinner party.

12. The supreme law of the land that ... the nation is the Constitution of the USA.

13. To ... a case means to hear it again.

14. The idea of checks and balances is ... as a way of restricting governmental power and preventing its abuse.

15. The primary ... of the Constitution was to create a strong elected government, directly responsive to the will of the people.

16. The chief ... of the President is to protect the Constitution and to enforce the laws made by Congress.

Down:

1. State governments manage such affairs as educating children and young ... .

2. The Constitution provides that the vice ... shall be ... of the Senate.

3. ... mark unsigned ballots in private booths.

4. Such matters as conditions governing the operation of businesses, banks, public utilities and charitable institutions are the ... of the individual states.

5. The Constitution makes provision for the ... of a public official from office, in cases of extreme misconduct, by the process of impeachment.

6. The Capitol is the ... of the US Congress.

7. People ... the President through the Electoral College.

8. Under the Constitution, all persons born in the US and subject to its jurisdiction are ... of the US and of the district in which they reside.

9. The Constitution safeguards judicial independence by providing that federal ... shall hold office «during good behaviour».

10. The USA is a federal ... of 50 states and the District of Columbia.

11. The government of each state is headed by a ... .

12. The Congress, by a two-thirds vote in each house, may initiate an ..., i.e. it may change it.

7. Read the quotation from «The Federalist Papers» given below.

,,... no happiness without liberty,

no liberty without self-government,

no self-government without constitutionalism,

no constitutionalism without morality -

and none of these great goods without stability and order’’.

Do you agree? (Why? Why not?)