Otázka: The political system of the USA
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): a-mpytlikova
Political system
- Federal republic
- Each state has its own government, laws, taxes, customs, etc.
Government:
- Federal: matters concerning the country as a whole – foreign affairs, defence and finance
- State: governments of individual states
July 4th, 1776: The Declaration of Independence
1788: Constitution was officially adopted by the original 13 states
- Sets three separated branches
Political power:
- legislative – executive – judicial
- System of Checks and Balances: none of them is given the ultimate power, each of them checks other branches and prevent from becoming too powerful
1) Legislative (Congress)
- the supreme law-making body
- seat in the Capitol in Washington D.C.
- Senate: 100 members; each state has 2 Senators (voted for 6 years)
- House of Representatives: 435 members, (voted for 2 years)
- number of Representatives depends on the population of the state
- 400 000 inhabitants cover one seat
- The speaker of the house
- Chosen by majority party
- Assigns legislation to committees
- Bill must pass both of them and be signed by the president before it becomes law
- Tasks:
- Make federal laws (declare war)
- Deal with foreign treaties
- Impeachment: the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct
- Only the House of Representatives has the power to initiate the process
2) Executive (President Cabinet)
- President of the USA
- Chosen every 4 years
- Can be in office max. 2 term in a row
- Chosen by the Electoral College system
- On the 20th of January of the new year the elected President and Vice-President are officially sworn into office
- Has to be at least 35 years old
- Current president: Joe Biden (2021), Democrats
- First president of the USA: George Washington
- Powers:
- Proposes bills
- Veto or refuses law
- Appoints federal judges, ministers and Secretaries, ambassadors
- Pardons criminals convinced of offences against the federal government
- Makes treaties with the advice of the Senate
- Leader of his political party
- Military commander-in-chief
- Vice president
- Becomes a president upon the death, resignation or medical impairment of the President
- Current Vice-President: Kamala Harris
- Leading parties: the Democrats and the Republicans
- Electoral College: the formal body which elects the President and Vice president of USA
- Group of electors who elect the candidate (538 members)
- Each state has a certain number of electors which depends on the number of the state’s representatives in Congress
- Voters vote for the slate of electors who vowed to vote for a certain candidate
3) Judicial (Supreme Court)
- Main instrument of the federal judiciary
- The highest court in the land
- Watches the President and Congress
Flag and National Anthem
- Stripes and Stars
- Adopted as a national flag in 1777
- 50 white stars, 6 white and 7 red stripes
- Representing 50 American states and the original 13 colonies
- National anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner