中西文明选读第1章 Poitics.ppt

* 【1.1 Politics of the United States of America】 【美国的政治】 1.1.1 Politics of the United States The executive branch is headed by the President and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch (or judiciary), composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, exercises judicial power (or judiciary). The judiciary’s function is to interpret the United States Constitution and federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government’s layout is explained in the Constitution. Two political parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although other parties have also existed. The modern two-party system consists of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democratic Party evolved out of Thomas Jefferson’s party, which was formed before 1800. The symbol of the party is the donkey. The Republican Party was formed in the 1850s, by people in the states of the North and West, such as Abraham Lincoln, who wanted the government to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states then being admitted to the union. The symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. Several other parties also operate in the United States, and from time to time achieve relatively minor representation at the national and state levels. 1.1.2 Major Political Parties of the United States I. The Democratic Party The Democratic Party, since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, has consistently positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party in economic as well as social matters. The economically left-leaning philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party’s economic agenda since 1932. Roosevelt’s New Deal coal