Vocabulary Notes

nuclear weapon — ядерное оружие slavery — рабство

Ex. 21. С кажите, о какой партии идет речь в каждом предложении.

1. It is the oldest political party in the United States.

2. It is sometimes called the G.O.P.

3. Its first President was Abraham Lincoln.

4. Its first President was Andrew Jackson.

5. It is generally more liberal than the other party.

1. Its members usually prefer to spend tax money for military purposes rather than for social programs.

2. Its members do not want the government to control the lives of individuals.

6. The party symbol is donkey.

Ex. 22. Переведите письменно со словарем. Political Parties

The U.S.Constitution does not talk about political parties, but they be­gan during George Washington's term of office. On one side were the Fed­eralists. They wanted a strong federal government. On the other side, the Democratic-Republicans wanted to limit the power of the national govern­ment. Their leader was Thomas Jefferson, and their group later became the Democratic Party.

Some of the early political parties, such as the Federalists and the Whigs, no longer exist. Since 1854, the two major parties have been the Democrats and the Republicans. Smaller parties have lasted for only a short time. "Third parties" have won in local elections, but their candidates have never won a Presidential election.

Many people say that there is not much difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties. "Liberal" politicians usually favor reform (change) and progress. "Conservative" politicians usually oppose change. But both liberal and conservative members belong to the two major political parties, and their ideas often change with the times and the issues.

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Unit Two

Textl

US CONSTITUTION

The form of the US government is based on the Constitution of 1787 which was adopted after the War of Independence. A constitution is a set of customs, traditions, rules and laws that sets forth the basic way a government is organized and functions. According to this definition of the word, every nation has a constitution but in some countries constitutions are very easily violated because the basic rights of their citizens are violated.

It is very important to understand that having a constitution does not mean that a nation has a constitutional government. If a constitution makes it possible to concentrate power by one or few, it is not the basis of a constitutional government. If a constitution says that the government's power should be limited but doesn't mention the ways how to do it, it is not the basis for a constitutional government.

In a constitutional government the constitution is a form of higher law that must be obeyed by everyone including those in power.

The US Constitution consists of 7 articles and 26 amendments.

According to the Founders of the American state a constitution or higher law should have the following characteristics:

• It sets forth the basic rights of citizens to life, liberty, and property

• It establishes the responsibility of the government to protect those rights.

• It establishes limitations on how those in government may use their powers with regard to

• citizens' rights and responsibilities

• the distribution of resources

• the control of conflict

• It establishes the principle of a private domain — which means that there are areas of citizens' lives that are no business of the government and in which the government cannot interfere.

• It can be changed with the consent of the most citizens. This is how the Constitution differ from the ordinary law that governments regularly create and enforce. The US Constitution has 26 amendments, the first 10 are called the Bill of Rights and it was adopted in 1791. The Bill enumerated basic freedoms and guaranteed them and declared what the government was not allowed to do.