英美文化基础教程，lecture 9

nullLecture 9 British and American GovernmentLecture 9 British and American GovernmentnullPart I American Government Two governments P287 Two governments P287 Government of the Union—deal with foreign affairs and matters of general concerns to all the states Government of the state---deal with things which concern day-to-day life General Principles P287 General Principles P287Federalism(联邦制) Separation of powers （三权分立） Respect for Constitution and lawThe Constitution of the United StatesThe Constitution of the United States First written on September 17, 1787 People have been adding more ever since A list of laws that the U.S. and its people must follow. So far…27 Laws called “Amendments” Organizes the government Creates the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court. The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch. The Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States Tells the states how they will work together and what rights they have Tells the people what rights they have The supreme law of the United States of America and the oldest written constitution still in use by any nation in the worldFamous Sentence Famous Sentence “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights1. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion & petition 2. Right to keep and bear arms (guns) 3. Protections from quartering of soldiers during peace time 4. Right of search & seizure regulated 5. Due process, double jeopardy, testifying against self, protection of private property 6. Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc… 7. Right to a trial by jury 8. Excessive bail, cruel punishment prohibited 9. Bill does not deny other rights 10.Rights of states under the constitution. Federal Government Federal Government Three elements: Executive—President (行政部门) Legislature—Congress（立法部门） Judicial—the Supreme Court（司法部门） “Check and Balance”“Check and Balance”CongressThe PresidentThe Supreme CourtThe PresidentThe PresidentThe Supreme CourtCongressSupreme Court can declare unconstitutional a presidential decreePresident has the right of vetoCongress can impeach the presidentNominated by the presidentMust be approved by the SenateCongress make all lawsFirst Branch: Legislative BranchFirst Branch: Legislative BranchTwo parts Senate参议院 House of Representatives众议院 How are these people elected? Voted directly by the people Where do they come from? From each of the 50 states Where do they live and work? Work for their state Live and do most of their work in Washington, D.C. Where do they work? Capitol BuildingWhere do they work? Capitol BuildingInformation about the peopleInformation about the people Senate Two from each state. 6 year terms Must be at least 30 years old Must be a U.S. citizen for 9 years House of Representatives Based on state population 2 year terms Must be at least 25 years old Must be a U.S. citizen for 7 years What is the job of the Legislative Branch?What is the job of the Legislative Branch?Primary duty is to write, debate & pass bills, which if signed by the president become laws Controls federal taxing & spending, the greatest source of power in government Other powers: coining money, maintaining a military, declaring war on other countries, regulating interstate and foreign commerce House of Representatives InformationHouse of Representatives InformationThere are 435 members They serve 2 year terms Speaker of the House: John Boehner How much money do they make a year? $165,000 Dollars In RMB, how much? 1,115,000 Yuan John Boehner:Speaker of the United States House of Representatives 2011.1.5—presentPicture of the House at WorkPicture of the House at WorkSenate InformationSenate Information100 members 2 from each state They serve 6 year terms The Vice-President of America is the President of the Senate Joseph Biden His power? If there is a tie in a vote, he has the tie-breaker Joe Biden 2009—presentPicture of the Senate at WorkPicture of the Senate at WorkMake it a little simpler!Make it a little simpler!Second Branch: Executive BranchSecond Branch: Executive BranchPresident Leader of the country and Commander in Chief of the military. Vice-President President of the Senate and becomes President if the President is unable to serve. Impeached (fired!) Dies The Cabinet President’s closest and most trusted advisorsThe PresidentThe PresidentMust be at least 35 years old and a natural-born US citizen Cannot be born in another country He must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. He is elected for four years and can be re-elected for a second 4 year term. No more than 8 years total Who is America’s current President? Of course: Barack Obama! What are the President’s duties?What are the President’s duties?Head of the Executive Branch Most powerful person in America Approves or vetoes bills Congress creates Head of State Meets with leaders of foreign countries Head of the military Can authorize the use of troops overseas without declaring warWhat about the Vice-President and the Cabinet?What about the Vice-President and the Cabinet?Purpose is to advise the President They are the President’s closest and most trusted advisors Includes the Vice President and the heads of the 15 executive departments They meet at least once a week.Where does the President live and do most of his work?Where does the President live and do most of his work?Third Branch: Judicial BranchThird Branch: Judicial BranchMade up of 9 people called Justices 1 Chief and 8 Associates The president nominates them and the Senate must confirm the appointment. They are appointed for life unless they choose to retire or are impeached. The justices choose the cases they will hear. Their decision is final, unless the Legislative or Executive branches disagree Checks and Balances! Who are they?Who are they?nullJohn G. Roberts:The Chief Justice 2005—presentWhere do they work? U.S. Supreme Court BuildingWhere do they work? U.S. Supreme Court BuildingMake it easier to understand!Make it easier to understand! Voting and Elections Voting and Elections Presidential Elections Held every 4 years They vote on the 1st Tuesday of November Who can vote? Must be 18 years old Must be registered in your home state Voting licensePresidential Election 2008 Obama vs. McCainPresidential Election 2008 Obama vs. McCainInformation about the ElectionInformation about the ElectionTuesday November 4th, 2008 Americans voted this day Who won? Obama of course! How did he win? 69,456,897 voted for Obama (52.9%) 59,934,814 voted for McCain (45.7%) Most important part though: 365 electoral voted for Obama 173 electoral voted for McCainElectoral VotesElectoral VotesIn America’s voting system, they do not directly vote for the President. They vote for electors, who then pick the President. Each state has a different number of electors. The more people your state has, the more electors you will have. There are 538 electors total, so you need to get 270 electors to win. How many electors does each state have? Which one has the most?How many electors does each state have? Which one has the most?How did Obama win?How did Obama win?nullTwo parties, the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although other parties have also existed.The two parties in Americanullthe decisive battle between donkey and elephant*nullPart II British GovernmentnullBritain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. P81 ☆ Parliamentary democracy -- it is a country whose government is controlled by a parliament which has been elected by the people. ☆ Constitutional monarchy -- it is a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice of a parliament. ComponentsComponentsThe Monarchy Parliament- House of Lords - House of Commons The Constitution The Prime Minister Cabinet of Ministers Basic Structure of GovernmentBasic Structure of GovernmentMonarch (Sovereign)LegislatureJudiciaryParliamentHouse of LordsCivil ServiceHouse of LordsHouse of CommonsThe Monarchy P68The Monarchy P68Oldest institution of government, Dates back to 5 A.D. with the Saxons; Ancient doctrine, “divine right of kings” Britain has had a hereditary世袭的 king or queen for over 1000 yrs. Except in 17th century civil war between “Roundheads” and royalists（Oliver Cromwell；Charles I ） The modern Monarchy p68The modern Monarchy p68 Current Opinions about the MonarchyCurrent Opinions about the Monarchy1988 poll: Queen’s most important job: Represent U.K. at home and abroad Set standards of good citizenship and family lifeCurrent Opinions about the MonarchyCurrent Opinions about the Monarchy People’s dissatisfaction with Queen’s children’s behavior Wealth of the royals Issues regarding use of tax-payers’ money to finance royals’ lifestyles (e.g. palaces, yacht, train, plane) *Only a protestant can be crowned nullWindsor castle & Buckingham Palace Windsor castle & Buckingham Palace The Royal FamilyThe Royal Familyprince Charles & princess Diana prince Charles & Camilla The Royal FamilyThe Royal FamilyPrince William & Kate The Royal FamilyThe Royal FamilyPrince Harry & Chelsea Prince AndrewParliament Parliament Parliament is the legislative body. Parliament is composed of 3 elements: 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 1. The monarch 2. The House of Lords (Upper House) 3. The House of Commons (lower House) Main Function of ParliamentMain Function of Parliamentto make laws; to control and criticize the executive government; to control the raising and the spending of money; to debate the major issues of the day.The House of Lords The House of Lords The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual上议院神职议员 and the Lords Temporal上议院世俗议员. The Lords Spiritual includes the Archbishops (2) and most of the prominent bishops (24) of the church of England. The Lords Temporal includes the Lords who inherit the seats from their forefathers（世袭议员） and the life peers who are appointed by the Monarch at the suggestion of the Prime Minister（终身议员）. The House of Lords The House of Lords The House of CommonsThe House of CommonsThe House of Commons is elected universal adult suffrage选民 and consists of 651 members of parliament (MPs) represent the people in all of the area. 524 are for England, 72 for Scotland, 38 for Wales, and 17 for Northern Ireland. The General Election (GE) must be held every 5 years. The House of CommonsThe House of Commons The Constitution P72 The Constitution P72The set of rules that decree how its government is to be organized. What is the difference between the Constitution in America and in Britain? nullIn Britain, there is no ‘written constitution’ . 1)statute law (Acts of Parliament passed before): 成文法 Great Charter, Bill of Rights, etc. 2)common law:习惯法/公共法 Bills法案 passed by courts, but not derived from Acts of Parliament null3)conventions：惯例 rules which are not written down “in the book” but which everyone agrees must be followed in practice Prime Minister, Cabinet, Ministers Prime Minister, Cabinet, Ministers Prime Minister is always appointed by the King/Queen. Usually, he is the leader of the party which wins the most seats of the House of Commons in the General Election. Minister are chosen by the Prime Minister and appointed by the Monarch. The most Senior Minister (around 20) compose the Cabinet. The functions of the Cabinet The functions of the Cabinet The Cabinet carries out the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government. Political Parties & LeadersPolitical Parties & Leaders3 major parties are: The Labor Party工党—formed in late 17th century, current party leader is Gordon Brown, the present Prime Minister, since 2007 The Conservative Party保守党—formed in late 17th century, current party leader is David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition, since 2005 The Liberal Democrats自由民主党—formed in 1988, the current party leader is Nick Clegg, since 2007 elections electionsthe monarchy is hereditary A General Election must take place at least every five years, held in every constituency (635) to decide which individuals shall represent them in the House of Commons. nullThen the leader of the majority party with the largest number of members in the Commons is invited by the Queen to form a Government执政党, and he is called the prime minister. The party with the second largest number of supporters in the Commons becomes the official Opposition在野党，反对党 to the Government. The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy, criticize the Government and debate with the Government影子内阁. Gordon Brown (戈登·布朗)Gordon Brown (戈登·布朗)nullnull2009年6月，戈登·布朗领导的工党政府的支持率持续下跌，卡梅隆曾呼吁举行临时大选。2010年4月6日，英国宣布解散议会，大选于5月6日举行。在经济危机和政治丑闻的双重背景下，这次大选被认为是自1992年以来，英国最激烈的一场选举。结果虽然保守党获胜，但未能取得过半数议席。由于执政工党未能成功与自由民主党合组联合政府，2010年5月11日伦敦时间晚上7时，戈登·布朗向英女王辞职，并举荐作为反对党领袖的戴维·卡梅伦筹组新政府。在觐见女王后，戴维·卡梅伦接任英国首相，并于7时45分于唐宁街10号门外召开记者会。 权力下放 权力下放 除了位于伦敦的英国上议院外，现在苏格兰、威尔斯和北爱尔兰都拥有自己的议会，这些议会中的部分议院是按照比例代 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 制选举产生的。虽然这些二级政府拥有部分立法等方面的权限，他们的权力还是无法足够大到能与英国议会抗衡。三个地方议会之间的权限大小也各不相同。例如，苏格兰议会拥有立法权，而威尔斯议会政府则只能决定具体如何使用由中央政府分配给威尔斯的预算。此外，这些议会的存在不受宪法保障，它们的具体权责范围也可由英国议会决定增大或缩小。 因此，英国被认为是一个权力下放的单一制国家。这与联邦制国家是不同的。在联邦制国家中，地方议会的地位得到宪法承认，其权限范围和职责都有明确保障，中央议会无权随意剥夺这些权力。 英国政府目前的政策是继续下放中央权力。在未来的几年中，英格兰部分地区的民众将举行全民公决，以决定是否由民主选举产生地方政府领导人。 nullThe same: both have a parliament The difference: 1. Perhaps the most fundamental difference is the constitution - or the lack of one. The United States has a written constitution which is very difficult to change. The UK does not have a single document called the constitution but instead its constitutional provisions are scattered over various Acts of Parliament, any of which can be changed by a simple majority in the Parliament. contrast between the American and British political system 2.Britain is a constitutional monarchy, the United States is The Democratic Republic Britain‘s head of state is King, there is no real power; President of the United States is the highest executive power and military power.null2. In the United States, the Democratic and Republican Parties absolutely dominate federal and state elections with independents securing only small proportions of the vote. In the United Kingdom, the two main political parties - Conservative and Labour - win a smaller and declining share of the total vote, with a growing share being taken by the likes of the Liberal Party and the UK Independence Party at national level and by the likes of the Scottish and Welsh Nationalist Parties at the devolved level. Thanks and any questions!Thanks and any questions!Thanks for your appreciation!