1. POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Jiří Obsadný, 4.A

2. BASIC INFO - federal constitutional republic
- power is divided between individual states and the central (federal) government
- the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments
- USA has 50 states and District of Columbia
- The President, Congress and Supreme Court are all located in Washington
The Federal Government
- three branches:
Legislative (the Congress) – House of Representatives, Senate
Executive – The President, The Cabinet, The Federal Departments and Agencies
Judicial – The Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal (12), District Courts (94)
- the seat is in Washington, D.C.
The Constitution
- the supreme law of the USA adopted on September 17, 1787
- first three Articles establish the rules and separate powers (3 branches)
- first ten (of 27) amendments are known as the “Bill of Rights”
- the oldest charter of supreme law in continuous use – inspiration for other states
- it set up a federal system of states with a strong central government

3. THE CONGRESS (legislative branch)
- divided into two chambers: The House of Representatives, The Senate
- Lower and Upper house can’t be divided – unique in the World
- functions: make federal laws, declare war, regulate value of money, establish roads, collect taxes…
- today the major parties are Democratic and Republican
- Congress may override a presidential “veto” with a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers
- meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
House of Representatives (Lower house)
- 435 congressmen elected for two-year terms
- number of representatives is based on population of each state
- member must be: 25 years of age, US citizen for at least 7 years
- duties: proposing bills, impeaching (charging President with criminal actions), determining the outcome of a presidential election
U.S. Senate (Upper house)
- 100 senators elected for six-year terms, one third of the Senate stands for election every two years
- two senators from each of 50 states, regardless of the population
- member must be: at least 30 years old, US citizen for at least 9 years, (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state he or she seeks to represent
- head (chairman) of the Senate is the Vice-President
- duties: appropriates proposed bills (návrhy zákonů), ratifies foreign treaties by a two-third majority, checks the president, impeaches (able to call off the president) …

4. PRESIDENT (executive branch)
- head of state and head of government, represents executive branch
- constitutional qualifications: at least 35 years of age, natural-born citizen, resident of the United States for at least 14 years
- elected to four-year terms by the Electoral College (volební kolegium) – seats based on population
- can be elected only two terms (it is not allowed to be more than two 4-year terms in office)
- powers: Head of State, Foreign Policy Leader, Commander-In-Chief (military leader), Chief Diplomat (propose legislation to the Congress for its approval), Presidential Veto (may reject legislation passed by Congress by using a “veto”), Party Leader (national leader of his party), may call special elections…
- the Vice-President is elected from the same political party as the President
- The White House – official residence and principal workplace, „White“ comes from the white walls of the building
- presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George Bush…
- now: Barack H. Obama
Barack Hussein Obama
- born 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii
- the first African-American president (inaugurated on January 20, 2009)
- 44th president of the USA, Democrat
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2009

5. POLITICAL PARTIES
- in the USA, there have always been two main parties
- since the 1860's – the Republican Party, the Democratic Party
Republican Party
- established in 1854 by Abraham Lincoln
- the most seats in the House of Representatives
- puts more emphases on private company and individual initiative
- conservative – strong patriotism, skepticism against global warming and positive discrimination, for capital punishment (trest smrti) and allowed possession of firearms
- 55 million of registered voters (second position of all in US)
Democratic Party
- established in 1792 by Thomas Jefferson – the oldest modern party in the World
- the largest party in the Senate (51 members; Republicans have 47), B. Obama is a member
- very liberal – the government should provide wide social and economic programmes for those, who need them (e.g. the poor, students, unemployed…)
- 72 million of registered voters (the most of all in US)

6. ELECTIONS
- held at different intervals and under different circumstances
- an elector may vote for President, House district, Senate, Governor, State legislature and a host of other positions on the same occasion
Presidential Elections
- the president and vice-president are elected to four-year terms
- the election is always on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
- in 2008, the election was held on November 4
- in Tuesday, November 6, (57th election)
Senate Elections
- senators are elected to six-year terms in even-numbered years
- one third of the Senate stands for election every two years
House of Representatives Elections
- congressmen are elected to two-year terms in even-numbered years
Gubernatorial Elections
- the constitution of each state specifies the terms of office for its governor
- governors may serve either a two- or four-year term
- in most states, governors are elected in even-numbered years (in several states in odd-numbered years)
- the number of terms a governor may serve varies from state to state (an unlimited number of terms or single term)

7. STATES OF THE USA
- 50 states (plus District of Columbia) with 48 on the continent, Alaska in the North and Hawaii in the Mid-Pacific south-west of San Francisco
- head of each state is the governor
- every state is a federative state of the USA => shares sovereignty with the US federal government
- Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia – bear also the formal title of Commonwealth
- last admition of new states by Congress was in 1959 – Alaska and Hawaii
- Washington, D.C – formally District of Columbia, capital of the USA, federal district => not a state or part of any US state; “Columbia” comes from name Columbus
- the largest state is Alaska, the smallest is Rhode Island
- every state is represented on an American flag by one of the white stars

8. Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

9. THE END

10. QUESTIONS From white walls of the building. Abraham Lincoln.
1) How many amendments has The Constitution?
27.
2) Where does the name „White house“ come from?
From white walls of the building.
3) What do stars and stripes on the American Flag represent?
American states and 13 original colonies.
4) What is the second (middle) name of Barack Obama?
Hussein.
5) Who established the Republican Party?
Abraham Lincoln.

11. That‘s all, thanks for your attention… :)