Political System

The USA is a federal presidential democratic republic. The head of the state is the President. He is elected for a term of four years and can only be reelected for one more term. The term of office of the President begins at noon on January 20. The President must be a natural-born citizen of the USA, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the country for at least 14 years. The President of the state is also the head of the executive power, treaty maker, Commander-in-Chief of the army. He conducts foreign affairs, signs treaties //договора in the name of the USA, appoints diplomats, ambassadors, cabinet members, federal judges. The President can forbid (veto) any bill passed by Congress.

The Constitution was adopted after the War of Independence by the Constitutional Convention on September17, 1787 in Philadelphia (was a national capital from 1790 to 1800). It consists of the Preamble and 7 articles. 27 amendments //поправки have been added to its original text. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights (1791) the main principles of which are individuals rights and freedoms to all people of the State, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of worship, freedom of enterprise (свобода предпринимательства) etc.

The “Father of the Constitution” was a rich plantation owner from Virginia, James Madison who proclaimed that “a private property is the backbone of liberty”.

The legislative branch of the government is the Congress, which has 2 houses: the Senate (that represents the states) and the House of Representatives (that represents the population according to its distribution among states). Powers granted to Congress under the Constitution include the power to levy taxes, borrow money, regulate interstate commerce, declare war, seat members, control the nation′s finances, to hold foreign policy, to change the State Budget, to provide for military forces. The Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 States, who are elected for a term of six years. The constitution says that a Senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the US for nine years and a resident of the state from which he is elected. The House of Representatives, at present time, has 435 members. A Representative must be at least 25 years of age, a US citizen for 7 years and live in the state from which he is elected. The House of Representatives has a special power of its own. Only a member of the House can introduce a bill to raise money, but it must be praised by the Senate before it can become a law.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of the US government. The Supreme Court Building is a beautiful building of white marble in Washington, D.C. The figures over the entrance represent the national ideas of law and liberty – “Equal Justice Under Law”. The US Supreme Court includes a Chief Justice (главный судья) and eight Associate Justices. One of the most important duties of the justices is to decide whether laws passed by the Congress agree with the Constitution. Besides the US Court there are various district courts and courts of appeals (апелляционные суды). These courts handle both civil and criminal cases.

Today the USA has 2 major political parties: the Democratic Party (its emblem is the Democratic donkey) and the Republican Party (its emblem is the Republican elephant). There is very little ideological difference between them. Both parties defend the free-enterprise capitalist system as the basis of American society.

The main religion is Christianity. The official language is English. The monitory unit is dollar ($). Dollars became America′s official currency in 1792. American money comes in bills (paper money) and coins. A slang word for a dollar is “buck”. It’s interesting that whatever the domination is all bills are of the same colour and size. The American dollar is an important currency that is used for trade between countries all over the world; the world price for gold is given in dollars. With Americans the most common way of making payment is by credit card, the major ones being Visa, American Express, and Master Card. Other ways of completing business transactions or making a purchase is by means of a check book and a banking card. Credit and banking cards are commonly called “plastic money”, or just plastic.

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