Lecture 8 Government of usa

Plan:

1. Three Branches of Government of USA

2. State and Local Government

3. Two- Party System

4. The Democratic Party

5. The Republican Party

Three Branches of Government

Within then national government, power is divided among three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts - the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress's main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state's population).

The President is the head of the executive branch and the country. The executive branch administers the laws (decides how the laws should be carried out). In addition to the President, the Vice-President, and their staffs, the executive branch consists of departments and. agencies.

There are now 14 departments, including Treasury, State, Defense, and Health and Human Services. Each department has different responsibilities. For example, the Treasury Department manages the nation's money, while the State Department helps make foreign policy. The President appoints the department heads, who together make up the President's Cabinet, or advisers. The agencies regulate specific areas. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency tries to control pollution, while the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates the stock markets.

The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important, it has nine members who are appointed for life.

The system of checks and balances, established by the Constitution, is meant to prevent any branch from having too much power. Each branch has certain controls over the other branches. For example, Congress makes the laws but the president can veto, or reject, a law and the Supreme Court can decide a law is unconstitutional.

1. State and Local Government

Each state has its own constitution. Like the national government, state governments are divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. There are state senators and representatives and state court systems. Just as the President is the leader of the national government, each state has a governor as its leader. Below the state level of government, there are county and city governments.

2. Two- Party System

The United States has two main political parties - the Democratic and Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role. Voters elect the president, as well as senators, representatives, governors, etc.

A voter can choose candidates from different parties (e.g., vote for Republicans for President and vice-president and a Democrat for senator), so the President does not have to be from in fact, voters have tended to choose Republican presidents and Democratic congresspeople.

There are not clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. The Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes and the poor.

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. Political spectrum. The party boasts the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United States. The party contains the most registered voters of any political organization in the world as of 2004, with 72 million voters. Polls taken over the last decade indicate that roughly 35% of American voters self identify as Democrats.

Since the 2006 general elections, the Democratic Party has been the majority party in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a majority of state legislatures. Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office.

The Republican Party is one of the is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. The party's platform is generally considered right of center in the U.S. political spectrum.

The Republican Party has the second most registered voters as of 2004 with 55 million, encompassing roughly one-third of the electorate. As of mid-2010, Republicans fill a minority of seats in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, hold a minority of state governorships, and control a minority of state legislatures.

Control Questions:

1. What are the branches of the US Government?

2. How many chambers does the Congress of the USA consist of?

3. What are the main political parties in the USA?

4. Who is responsible for the state policy?

5. What are the differences in function and composition between the American Congress and the Senate?

6. How is the American Government elected?