New York: The Big Apple

New York is the largest city in the United States, with a population of over 7 million. It is situated in south-eastern New York state at the mouth of the Hudson River. The city consists of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

The Statue of Liberty meets those who come to New York by sea. It has a torch of freedom in one hand and a tablet welcoming the millions of immigrants who pass by her. The statue was presented to America by France in 1886.

New York is the financial and business centre of the country with Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. It is also a city of skyscrapers including the Empire State Building (102 floors), the Rockefeller Trade Centre and the United Nations group (39 floors).

New York is a great cultural centre known as the “Theatre Capital of the World”. Most of the city’s theatres are clustered around Times Square and on Broadway. There is also Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet.

Philadelphia City of Brotherly Love

It was here that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin drafted the Declaration of Independence, and that the Founding Fathers drew up a Constitution for the new nation. Philadelphia is a leading centre of cultural life in the country. Here are situated the Kertse Institute of Music, the richest musical library in the world, and the Philharmonic Society. The people of Philadelphia lovingly Nickname the Society “A century-old-Lady”.

Boston

The Cradle of Liberty

Boston is the “Hub” of America, one of its oldest cities. It has always been the chief U.S. wool market, and now it is the centre of electronics and machinery. It is also the Athens [`æinz] of America, its cultural birthplace.

Chicago

The Windy City

Chicago is the industrial metropolis of the Midwest, with the busiest airport in the world (O’Hare), the tallest building (the Sears Tower), and the largest grain market and biggest post office building.

Chicago produces more steel, more radios, more TV sets, and more machine tools than any other area in the U.S.

Los Angeles

The City of Angels

More than any other city in the United States Los Angeles arouses strong emotional responses. A city that some believe to be paradise, others regard as the last word in horror; a city that some claim to be exciting, dynamic, and romantic, others see as superficial and selfish.

The city has many fine museums and art galleries. Among them are the beautiful J.Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, with its exquisite statues, furniture and paintings, and the George C. Page Museum, which houses the bones of prehistoric animals.

The American Political System

The United States of America is a federal republic.

The Constitution, the oldest in the world (1787), sets the basic form of government: three separate branches, each one having power (“checks and balances”) over the others. It specifies the powers and duties of each federal branch of government, with all other powers and duties belonging to the states. The Constitution has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but it is still the “supreme law of the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local, must operate within its guidelines.

The federal government of the USA is divided into three branches:

• legislative (the U.S.Congress);

• executive (the President of the U.S.);

• judicial (the U.S. Supreme Court).

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.

The House Representatives has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. They represent the population of “congressional districts” into which each state is divided. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population.

Almost all elections in the United States follow the “winner-take-all” principle: the candidate who gets the majority of votes wins the seat being contested.

Congress makes all federal laws, and each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other. Because legislation only becomes law if both houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and sets the federal budget. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also regulates the naturalization of foreign citizens.

According to the American Constitution the executive power belongs to the President and his Administration, namely the Cabinet. The President of the United States is elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. As is true with Senators and Representatives, the President is elected directly by the voters.

There are certain requirements for a person to become President. The President must be:

• a natural-born citizen;

• at least 35 years old;

• a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

At a special ceremony called “Inauguration”(which takes place in Washington on January 20 at noon) the President promises to preserve and protect the Constitution.

The U.S.President is advised in Administration by a Vice-President and a Cabinet that consists of 10-12 members.

The third branch of government is the federal judiciary. Its main instrument is the Supreme Court which determines whether or not the laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change its decisions.

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 gaining too much power or from misusing its powers.

The Constitution says nothing about political parties, but over time the U.S. has in fact developed a two-party system. The two leading parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. There are other parties besides these two, among them are the Communist party and several Socialist parties. Minor parties have occasionally won offices at lower levels of government, but they do not play a role in national politics. In fact, one does not need to be a member of political party to run in any election at any level of government. Also, people can simply declare themselves to be members of either of the two major parties when they register to vote in a district.

Americans expect their governments to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.