Ex. 7 Compare the political and legal systems of Ukraine and of Great Britain

UNIT 6

The Political and Legal System of the USA

READING DRILLS

Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

1) stress the first syllable:

popularly, slavery, income, suffrage, common­wealth, term, typically, range, senate, foreign, chief

2) stress the second syllable:

majority, amendment, refer to, assemble, abolish, elect, elector, plurality, executive, ambassador, appointment, negotiate, authority

3) stress the fourth syllable:

negotiation, ratification

TEXT A

The United States of America, popularly referred to as the United States or as America, is a federal republic on the continent of North America, consisting of 50 states. New York City is the largest city in the United States. Washington, D.C. is the capital.

The supreme law of the land is the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution was drafted in 1787, was ratified by the requir­ed two-thirds of the states by June 1788, and was put into effect in 1789. The First ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791. They provide for freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to assemble, the right to petition the government and various criminal procedure rights for individuals. Seventeen additional amendments were adopted between 1795 and 1992, abolishing slavery, providing for an income tax, and providing for universal suffrage for all people 18 or older, among other purposes.

The Constitution provides for a union of states, each with its own constitution, republican form of government, and reserved powers, within a federal system. The national government is responsible for external affairs and has concurrent powers with states, common­wealths, and self-governing territories over domestic matters. The head of state is the President of the United States; and the seat of government is the District of Columbia, which has limited home rule and no voting representation in the national legislature.

The Constitution establishes three separate branches of govern­ment: the legislative, executive and judicial.

Article 11 of the Constitution states that a president and vice president are chosen by a majority of voters in the Electoral College, for a fixed term of four years. The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits presidents to two terms in office. By state law, electors are chosen by a plurality of the popular vote in each state and in the District of Columbia. In almost all cases the winner of the popular vote is elected president.

The American President typically has a greater range of functions than prime ministers in parliamentary governments because the President serves as ceremonial chief of state as well as head of gove­rnment. Unlike most presidents in other nations, the American Pres­ident is also the head of his or her party, an important legislative leader, and the chief executive. The Constitution makes the President Commander-in-Chief of the US armed forces.

The president's diplomatic powers include negotiation and ratification of treaties, with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate; the appointment of ambassadors to foreign nations, also with the consent of the Senate; and the reception of foreign ambassadors. The president negotiates, on his or her own authority, executive agreements with leaders of other nations.