American_political_system选编.ppt

CHAPTER 16 AMERICAN AND BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEMS AMERICAN   POLITICAL  SYSTEM BY 刘佳 American Political System American Federal System The American Congress The Federal Administration The American Supreme Court American Political System The United State of America is a federal union of fifty states. The centre of the national government is the District of Columbia. Each state inside itself has counties, cities, townships and villages which have their own elected governments. Each of the American states is under the control of the two governments— the state and the federal. The states’ functions: provide law and order, education, public health and most of the things which concern everyday life. The federal government deals with: foreign affairs, national defence(国防) and matters of general concern to all the states. The United States Constitution It was adopted in 1787 and came into effect in 1789, was the first comparatively complete written constitution. The 1787 Constitution consisted of seven articles and later twenty-six amendments(修正案) were added. It outlines the structure of the federal government and is the law of the nation, mirroring the balance of classes within the country. It determines the basic principles, under which federal government is to perform their functions and the fundamental rights and obligations（义务；职责） of the people. 背景过程 　　在美国独立战争结束后，13个殖民地地区根据邦联条例，首次成立了以大陆会议为形式的松散的中央政府。在这种体制下，大陆会议没有征税权，同时由于缺乏全国性的行政和司法机构，国会只能依靠各个州的地方政府（各地政府之间往往缺乏协作）来实施其指定的法律。同时，国会对于各州之间的关税也无权介入。由于条例规定只有所有州的一致同意才能修改《邦联条例》，而且各州对于中央政府非常不重视，经常不派员参加中央会议，因此国会经常因为表决人数不足而被迫休会。 　　1786年9月，5个州的行政长官在安那波利斯举行会议，讨论如何修改邦联条例以促进各州之间的通商往来。会后他们邀请各州的代表来到费城进一步讨论发展联邦政府的事宜。在激烈的辩论之后，邦联国会在1787年2月21日批准了修订邦联条约的方案。除罗德岛州之外的12个州都接受了邀请，并派代表参加1787年5月在费城举行的会议。最初的决议案写明了这次会议的目的是起草邦联条例的修正案，但是会议最终决定重新起草一部宪法。费城制宪会议代表投票同意采用秘密会议的方式，并且同意新的法案需要获得13个州中的9个州的批准才能生效。有人批评说这是对会议权限和现行法律的逾越