Правительство Соединенных Штатов (стр. 1 из 5)
Kyrgyz State National University
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
______________________________
Ilebaev Emil
Kasymov Maksat_________
Bishkek 2001
Introduction
In July 1780 France's Louis XVI had sent to America an expeditionary force of 6,000 men under the Comte Jean de Rochambeau. In addition, the French fleet harassed British shipping and prevented reinforcement and resuppi^ of British forces in Virginia by a British fleet sailing from New York City. French and American armies and navies, totaling 18,000 men, parried with Cornwallis all through the summer and into the fall. Finally, on October 19, 17B1, after being trapped at Yorktown near the mouth of Chesa-peake Bay, Cornwallis surrendered his army of 8,000 British soldiers.
Although Cornwallis's defeat did not immediately end the war — which would drag on inconclusively for almost two more years — a new British government decided to pursue peace negotiations in Paris in early 1782, with the American side represented by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. On April 15, 1783, Congress approved the final treaty, and Great Britain and its former colonies signed it on September 3. Known as the Treaty of Paris, the peace settlement acknowledged the independence, freedom and sovereignty of the 13 former colonies, now states, to which Great Britain granted the territory west to the Mississippi River, north to Canada and south to Florida, which was returned to Spain. The fledgling colonies that Richard Henry Lee had spoken of more than seven years before, had finally become "free and independent states." The task of knitting together a nation yet remained.
CONSTITUTION
During the war, the states had agreed to work together by sending representatives to a national congress patterned after the "Congress of Delegates" that conducted the war with England. It would raise money to pay off debts of the war, establish a money system and deal with foreign nations in making treaties. The agreement that set up this plan of cooperation was called the Articles of Confederation. work together? They believed that the Congress needed more power.
The plan for the government was written in very simple language in a document called the Constitution of the United Slates. The Constitution set up a federal system with a strong central government. A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. The Constitution also called for the election of a national leader, or president.
Two main fears shared by most Americans: one fear was that one person or group, including the majority, might become too powerful or be able to seize control of the country and create a tyranny, another fear was that the new central government might weaken or take away the power of the state governments to run their own affairs. To deal with this the Constitution specified exactly what power central government had and which power was reserved for the states.
Representatives of various states noted that the Constitution did not have any words guaranteeing the freedoms or the basic rights and privileges of citizens. Though the Convention delegates did not think it necessary to include such explicit guarantees, many people felt that they needed further written protection against tyranny. So, a "Bill of Rights" was added to the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution and their purpose
| PROTECTIONS AFFORDED FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS | |
| Amendment 1 | Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the right to petition government |
PROTECTIONS AGAINST ARBITRARY MILITARY ACTION | |
| Amendment 2 | Right to bear arms and maintain state militias (National Guard). |
| Amendment 3 | Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime. |
PROTECTION AGAINST ARBITRARY POLICE AND COURT ACTION | |
| Amendment 4 | No unreasonable searches or seizures. |
| Amendment 5 | Grand jury indictment required to prosecute a person for a serious crime. No “double jeopardy” – being tried twice for the same offence. Forcing a person to testify against himself or herself prohibited. No loss of life, liberty or property without due process. |
| Amendment 6 | Right to speedy, public, impartial trial with defense counsel, and right to cross-examine witnesses. |
| Amendment 7 | Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds 20 dollars. |
| Amendment 8 | No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishments. |
PROTECTION OF STATES’ RIGHTS AND UNNAMED RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE | |
| Amendment 9 | Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied. |
| Amendment 10 | Powers not delegated to the United States or denied to states are reserved to the states or to the people. |
The Bill of Rights was ratified in1791, but its application as broadened significantly by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which was ratified in 1868. A key phrase in the 14th Amendment – “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law” – has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as forbidding the states from violating most of the rights and freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights.
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
At a time when all the major European states had hereditary monarchs, the idea of a president with a limited term of office was itself revolutionary. The Constitution vests the executive power in the president. It also provides for the election of a vice president who succeeds to the presidency in case of the death, resignation or incapacitation of the president. While the Constitution spells out in some detail the duties and powers of the president, it does not delegate any specific executive powers to the vice president or to members of the presidential Cabinet or to other federal officials.
Creation of a powerful unitary presidency was the source of some contention in the Constitutional Convention. Several states had had experience with executive councils made up of several members, a system that had been followed with considerable success by the Swiss for some years. And Benjamin Franklin urged that a similar system be adopted by the United States. Moreover, many delegates, still smarting under the excesses of executive power wielded by the British king, were wary of a powerful presidency. Nonetheless, advocates of a single president—operating under strict checks and balances—carried the day.
In addition to a right of succession, the vice president was made the presiding officer of the Senate. A constitutional amendment adopted in 1967 amplifies the process of presidential succession. It describes the specific conditions under which the vice president is empowered to take over the office of president if the president should become incapacitated. It also provides for resumption of the office by the president in the event of his or her recovery. In addition, the amendment enables the president to name a vice president, with congressional approval, when the second office is vacated. This 25th Amendment to the Constitution was put into practice twice in 1974: when Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned and was replaced by Gerald R. Ford; and when, after President Richard Nixon's resignation, President Ford nominated and Congress confirmed former New York governor Nelson A. Rockefeller as vice president.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to establish the order of succession after the vice president. At present, in the event both the president and vice president vacate their offices, the speaker of the House of Representatives would assume the presidency. Next comes the president pro tempore of the Senate (a senator elected by that body to preside in the absence of the vice president), and then Cabinet officers in designated order.
The seat of government, which moved in 1800 to Washington, D.C. (the District of Columbia), is a federal enclave on the eastern seaboard. The White House, both residence and office of the president, is located there. Although land for the federal capital was ceded by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the present District of Columbia occupies only the area given by Maryland; the Virginia sector, unused by the government for half a century, reverted to Virginia in 1846.
THE PRESIDENCY | |
| TERM OF OFFICE: | Elected by the people, through the electoral college, to a four-year term; limited to two terms. |
| SALARY: | $200,000 plus $50,000 allowance for expenses, and up to $100,000 tax-free for travel and official entertainment |
| INAUGURATION: | January 20, following the November general election |
| QUALIFICATIONS: | Native-born American citizen, at least 35 years old and at least 14 years a resident of the United States. |
| CHIEF DUTY: | To protect the Constitution and enforce the laws made by the Congress. |
| OTHER POWERS: | To recommend legislation to the Congress; to call special sessions of the Congress; to deliver messages to the Congress; to veto bills; to appoint federal judges; to appoint heads of federal departments and agencies and other principal federal officials; to appoint representatives to foreign countries; to carry on official business with foreign nations; to exercise the function of commander-in-chief of the armed forces; to grant pardons for offenses against the United States. |
The Constitution requires the president to be a native-born American citizen at least 35 years of age. Candidates for the presidency are chosen by political parties several months before the presidential election, which is held every four years (in years divisible evenly by four) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
The method of electing the president is peculiar to the American system. Although the names of the candidates appear on the ballots, technically the people of each state do not vote directly for the president (and vice president). Instead, they select a slate of presidential electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives each state has in Congress. The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of that state.
The electors of all 50 states and the District of Columbia—a total of 538 persons—compose what is known as the Electoral College. Under the terms of the Constitution, the College never meets as a body. Instead, the electors gather in the state capitals shortly after the election and cast their votes for the candidate with the largest number of popular votes in their respective states. To be successful, a candidate for the presidency must receive 270 votes. The Constitution stipulates that if no candidate has a majority, the decision shall be made by the House of Representatives, with all members from a state voting as a unit. In this event, each state and the District of Columbia would be allotted one vote only.
The presidential term of four years begins on January 20 (it was changed from March by the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933) following a November election. The president starts his or her official duties with an inauguration ceremony, traditionally held on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, where Congress meets'. The president publicly takes an oath of office, which is traditionally administered by the chief justice of the United States. The words are prescribed in Article II of the Constitution:
/ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to thebest of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
The oath-taking ceremony is usually followed by an inaugural address in which the new president outlines the policies and plans of his or her administration.
PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
The office of President of the United States is one of the most powerful in the world. The president, the Constitution says, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this responsibility, he or she presides over the executive branch of the federal government—a vast organization numbering several million people—and in addition has important legislative and judicial powers.
LEGILATIVE POWERS
Despite the Constitutional provision that "all legislative powers" shall be vested in the Congress, the president, as the chief formulator of public policy, has a major legislative role. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress and, unless two-thirds in each house vote to override the veto, the bill does not become law. Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative of the executive branch. In an annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he or she believes is necessary. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But, beyond all this, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the U.S. government, is in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress. To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up a Congressional Liaison Office in the White House. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative activities and try to persuade senators and representatives of both parties to support administration policies.
JUDICIAL POWERS
Among the president's constitutional powers is that of appointing important public officials; presidential nomination of federal judges, including members of the Supreme Court, is subject to confirmation by the Senate. Another significant power is that of granting a full or conditional pardon to anyone convicted of breaking a federal law—except in a case of impeachment. The pardoning power has come to embrace the power to shorten prison terms and reduce fines.
EXECUTIVE POWERS
Within the executive branch itself, the president has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government. The president can issue rules, regulations and instructions called executive orders, which have the binding force of law upon federal agencies. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States.
The president chooses the heads of all executive departments and agencies, together with hundreds of other high-ranking federal officials. The large majority of federal workers, however, are selected through the Civil Service system, in which appointment and promotion are based on ability and experience
POWERS IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Under the Constitution, the president is the federal official primarily responsible for the relations of the United States with foreign nations. Presidents appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls—subject to confirmation by the Senate—and receive foreign ambassadors and other public officials. With the secretary of state, the president manages all official contacts with foreign governments. On occasion, the president may personally participate in summit conferences where chiefs of state meet for direct consultation. Thus, President Woodrow Wilson headed the American delegation to the Paris conference
at the end of World War I; President Franklin D. Roosevelt conferred with Allied leaders at sea, in Africa and in Asia during World War II; and every president since Roosevelt has met with world statesmen to discuss economic and political issues, and to reach bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Through the Department of State, the president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. Presidents decide whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiate treaties with other nations, which are binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The president may also negotiate "executive agreements" with foreign powers that are not subject to Senate confirmation.