John F. Kennedy

The system of Government - Separation of Powers: the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch. the Judicial Branch. The congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate. President. Passing a Bill. Powers of the States.

Under the federal system of government some of the most important powers are given to the federal (or national) government. The rest of the powers are exercised by the states. блабла Certain powers are given to each of the branches, but these powers overlap in such a way that the powers of one branch are limited by the powers of the others. This arrangement is known as the system of checks and balances.
The Executive Power
The President negotiates foreign treaties and appoints government heads. He commands the armed forces and sends and receives diplomatic officials. In effect, he makes foreign policy. As head of the executive branch he sees to it that laws enacted by the legislature are carried out. He is also the leader of his political party. The president and the vice-president are the only officials chosen in a nation-wide election.
A president's office is limited to two terms of 4 years each.
The executive branch consists of 13 departments and many independent agencies.
The Legislature
The legislative branch of the federal government is represented by Congress. There are two houses of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 voting members, two from each of the 50 states. They are elected for a six-year term and the number of their terms is unlimited. The House of Representatives has 435 voting members in addition to two representatives from Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia who are not entitled to vote. The members of the House are called representatives or congressmen (or congresswomen). They are elected for a two-year term.
The number of representatives from each state depends on the state's population. California claims the largest delegation.
Within Congress there exist party leaders who are selected by congressional party caucuses (party meetings).
Either house — the Senate or the House of Representatives may offer a bill (but only the House proposes finance bills). All bills are immediately referred to a legislative committee. These committees are organized by special areas such as education, agriculture, and foreign affairs. Each committee is made up of representatives of both parties and each committee has its own staff.
Committee recommendations are of great importance because, when the legislators vote on a bill, they usually follow the committee report. If a committee chooses not to consider the bill, the bill dies.
Following the committee action the bill is debated on the floor of each house. The chairperson decides which side has the majority. In a roll-call vote each vote is recorded separately. If a bill is defeated in either house, it dies. If the House of Representatives and the Senate approve similar bills with some different provisions, both bills go to a conference committee, in which selected legislators work to adjust the differences. The bill becomes law following one or several steps by the president. He may approve the bill and sign it; he may sign the bill with a statement expressing his disapproval; or he may simply not sign the bill, in which case it automatically becomes law after ten days. But if the president wants to prevent the bill from becoming law, he vetoes it. But the proposal may still become law if two thirds of each house of Congress then vote for it, thus overriding, or defeating the president's veto.
The Judicial Branch
There is a Supreme Court of the United States, the members of which are appointed for life by the president with Senate approval and federal courts which are created by Congress.
The Supreme Court is composed of nine judges, who are called justices. It is the highest court in the nation. It interprets the laws and reviews them to determine whether they conform to the U.S. Constitution. If the majority of justices rule that the law in question violates the Constitution, the law is declared unconstitutional and becomes invalid. This process is known as judicial review. All lower courts follow the rulings of the Supreme Court.
Federal Courts have the power to rule on both criminal and civil cases. Criminal action under federal jurisdiction includes such cases as treason, destruction of government property, counterfeiting, hijacking, and narcotics violations. Civil cases include violations of other people's rights, such as damaging property, violating a contract, or making libelous statements.
The Bill of Rights guarantees a trial by jury in all criminal cases. A jury is a group of citizens — usually 12 persons — who make the decision on a case.
The lowest federal court is the district court. Cases from such a court may be reviewed by the next higher court.
Most state judges are elected for limited terms. State courts handle criminal and other cases that do not come under federal jurisdiction.
The often ambiguous line between state and federal authority has resulted in recurring conflicts between federal and state officials throughout American history.
The national government's power is not limited by states' power. The only powers the states have are those the Federal government has not reserved for itself.
The powers of the federal (national) government include the right to declare war; the right to tax; the right to borrow and coin money, and to regulate its value; the right to regulate commerce between the states; the right to maintain a postal system.
Every state has its own constitution. It also has the three-branch- es-of-government structure. State chief executives are called governors, and state legislators are usually known as representatives and senators.
The powers of the state are to control education, regulate corporations and businesses within the state, determine most election procedures, and regulate local governments. The states also make and administer civil (citizens' private rights) and criminal laws.

26. Political Parties and presidential election (advantages and the disadvantages of the US electoral system). Outstanding Presidents of the USA: George Washington: the first president: Thomas Gefferson: the third president; Abraham Lincoln: sixteenth president; Franklin D. Roosevelt: thirty-second president; John Fitzgerald Kennedy; thirty-fifth president.

Politics in the United States has evolved into what is essentially a two-party system. Individuals who call themselves Democrats, Republicans, or Independents1 do not pay membership dues, do not attend meetings, do not have cards, as in other countries, but vote for the candidate with whom they want to identify themselves.The parties are organized locally by states or counties.
National political parties become particularly active during election campaigns. The permanent national political organizations are the Democratic and Republican national committees which are chosen by state party organizations. The major function of the national party committees is to organize national conventions for choosing presidential candidates.
The elections process starts with the conventions which take place in the summer of the election year. State delegates to these conventions are chosen in various ways. About one-third of the states select their delegates at local party conventions.
The number of delegates at each national convention varies with the number of voters in each state.
Delegates first approve their party platform — statements of party positions on foreign policy, employment, education, and civil rights. The presidential candidate is expected to support the platform in his campaign.
After the adoption of the platform, presidential candidates are nominated. Then each state reports to the chairman of the Convention the number of votes cast for each nominee. The one who receives over 50 percent of the votes becomes his party's presidential candidate.
Candidates for state and federal offices are chosen in party primary elections (primaries). The rest are chosen at special party meetings.
But selection of the president involves an extra step, that is election by the Electoral College, a procedure established by the Constitution. Electors are representatives of each state party who are supposed to vote for the candidate who has won the majority of votes in that state. Although the national popular vote may be very close, one candidate may receive an overwhelming majority of Electoral College votes.
In recent years there has been discussion about eliminating the Electoral College procedure. Many people think it is awkward and undemocratic. Opponents of the Electoral College favour the direct election of the president and vice-president. Others believe that in a close popular election the Electoral College votes clearly establish the winner. The political process does not stop after the election. Many organizations with special interests maintain paid representatives in the national and state capitals. They are called lobbyists who try to influence government policy in favor of the organizations or interest groups which they represent.

1961-1963

John F. Kennedy was one charismatic president. He brought many teachers, writers, scientists and different intellectuals into the government. His inaugural speech was one of the modern greats as he called for service to his countrymen. He established the Peace Corps in order to help the undeveloped nations and was very devoted to working hard for new civil rights laws. He wanted to improve his country’s relation with the then Soviet Union but it was to no avail as the all powerful congress thought otherwise. This became further unrealistic when the Russians started to send missiles to Cuba. This brought the two countries to the verge of war but Kennedy was determined to avoid it at all cost and diffused all the tensions brilliantly. He had the power to inspire and considering that he only served as the president for a brief stint of about two years before being assassinated, he achieved a lot.

Дата добавления: 2015-04-24