lecture+3+美国政治.ppt

Lecture 3 The System of Government Party System Introduction In this lecture, we are going to look at the basic system of American government the general principles behind it. We will also discuss the party system of America, which is known as the two party system. Besides, we will look at the 2 main parties in detail. General Principles The form of government is based on 3 main principles: federalism, the separation of powers respect for the Constitution the rule of law. Each American is subject to 2 governments, that of his state that of the Union, each has its own distinct function. The 2 Governments The state government has, under the Constitution, the primary functions of providing law order, education, public health most of the things which concern day-to-day life. The Federal government at Washington is concerned with foreign affairs with matters of general concern to all the states including commerce between the states. In fact, the Federal government has been active in the fields of social services, education, research of many kinds, the ordinary productive processes. Political Parties 2 parties, Democrats Republicans, dominate the political scene. All elections must be looked at in terms of party, party influences the whole process of government. But the 2 parties are very complex in their aims in their basis of popular support, though they do provide means of keeping government close to the people. Separation of Powers At each level, in state Union, there is a constitution which defines limits political power, which provides safeguards against tyranny means for popular participation. In each state, power is divided between 3 agencies, with law-making power given to a legislature (usually of 2 houses, elected for fixed terms), an executive (the governor), finally the judges of the State Supreme Court. The Federal government also has 3 elements---executive (the