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1、American Culture 02Political Culturen1.Social Contract Theory n2.Main Features of American Constitutionn3.Separation of Power+Checks and Balancesn4.Power of American Presidentn5.How Is Presidential Power Constrained?n6.Congressperson and Their Constituentsn7.Interest Groups and Lawmakingn8.Congress
2、Administrative Oversightn9.President Options to Congressional Billsn10 Feature of US Judiciary System 1.Social Contract Theory Englishmen as Thomas Hobbes and John Locke Frenchmen as Jean Jacques Rousseau.The theory attempts to justify political authority on grounds of individual self-interest and r
3、ational consent and the theme is against the divine right of kings.A social contract,not a literal contract like a business contract,is an implied agreement between the people and their government.The people give up part of their liberty to the government,which in exchange protects the remainder of
4、their liberty.The Mayflower Compact was a very general form of social contract,whereas the written Constitution,stipulating the powers and limits of government,was a more specific form of social contract.2.Main Features of the Constitution It is a written constitution,which is a fundamental law abov
5、e all other laws.It guarantees to establish and sustain a republic:(For Founding Fathers democracy meant a direct democracy,which permits citizens to vote on most issues;and a republic meant an indirect democracy,which allows citizens to vote for their representatives who make government policies on
6、 their behalf.)The United States ConstitutionnPreamble:Statement of purpose nArticle One:Legislative Power nArticle Two:Executive Power nArticle Three:Judicial Power nArticle Four:States powers and limits nArticle Five:Amendments nArticle Six:Federal Power nArticle Seven:Ratification nAmendments Fra
7、gmentation of power:federalism,separation of powers,and checks and balances.Federalism:the first division of power between the national government and the state governments.Separation of powers:the second division of power with the national government.The power to make,administer,and judge the laws
8、was split into three branches legislative,executive,and judicial.Checks and balances:each branch was given some authority over the others.If one branch abuses its power,other branches could use their checks to thwart it.3.Separation of Power+Checks and BalancesnWhy did the Founding Fathers build the
9、 two concepts separation of power and checks and balances into the structure of government?How do they work?Separation of Powers When the Founding Fathers made the national government more powerful,they also feared that they had made it more capable of oppression.The Founding Fathers believed that p
10、eople were selfish,coveting more and more property and that leaders lusted after more and more power;such human nature was unchangeable.Separation of Power The government,which is administrated by men over other men,therefore,should control the governed as well as itself.The way to oblige government
11、 to control itself is to structure it to prevent any one leader,group of leaders,or factions of people from exercising power over more than a small part of it.Therefore,they separated government into three branches.To reinforce the separation of power,officials of the three branches were chosen by d
12、ifferent means and different time.Checks and Balances Each was given some authority over the other.If one branch abused its power,other branches could use their checks to thwart it.With separation of powers,checks and balances,the Founding Fathers expected conflict.They invited the parts of governme
13、nt to struggle against each other,in order to limit each others ability to dominate all.The Founding Fathers hoped for“balanced government”.The national and state and the branches within the national government would represent different interests.The parts of government would have to compromise to g
14、et anything accomplished.Although each part would struggle for more power,it could not accumulate enough to dominate the others.Eventually,its leaders would have to compromise and adopt policies in the interests of all of the parts and constituencies.Thus,broader harmony is produced through narrow c
15、onflicts.4.Power of American PresidentnHow powerful is the American President?JAdministrative leadershipJDomestic policy leadership JForeign policy leadership:(Article II of the Constitution)JMilitary leadership:commander-in-chief JSymbolic leadership:The President serves as a national symbol of col
16、lective unity and pride.(Chief of the state)J Party leadership:5.How is presidential power constrained?The inherited bureaucratic structure which is difficult to manage,and slow to change direction.Presidential power to appoint officials is limited.The machinery of government operates pretty indepen
17、dently of presidential interventions.The new President meets a backlog of decisions from the outgoing administration on complex issues.He inherits a budget formulated and enacted into law and major spending programs not subject to change.In foreign affairs,the President must conform to treaties and
18、informal agreements negotiated by their predecessors.Congress becomes less cooperative and the media more critical.The President is forced to build at least temporary alliances among diverse interest groups.Compromises with Congress must be struck is any legislation is to be adopted.nThe functions o
19、f Congress are to represent,to legislate,and to administer.6.Congressperson and Their Constituents The people elect members of Congress to represent their interests.Those elected must be a resident of the state from which he is elected.Members of Congress would be sensitive to the interests of the p
20、eople they represent.They shall keep faith with their constituents.Many members of Congress work hard to interact with the people they represent.They try to improve their understanding of constituents opinions,especially on complex issues.They also want to build constituent support for their own vie
21、ws.They may hold leadership of constituent opinion which is an important component of representative relationship.7.Interest Groups and LawmakingnIn what way can interest groups affect lawmaking?Lawmaking is affected at every stage by special interest groups.They propose and help draft legislation.T
22、hey testify at hearings.They lobby members in committee and during floor debate.They try to pressure the President to veto the bill that they oppose.8.Congress Administrative Oversight nHow does Congress carry out its function of administrative oversight?In many cases,Congress delegates responsibili
23、ties to bureaucratic agencies,charging them with making expert decisions but subjecting those decisions to legislative review.Congress has several tools to carry out its oversight function.Financial control the power of the purse is the most the important and effective tool.Legislative veto Congress
24、 adds veto provisions to some legislation,which allows one or both houses of Congress to block executive action.Committee hearing which is not effective.Political consideration Impeachment the legislatures weapon of last resort.9.Presidents Options to Congressional BillsnWhat options does the Presid
25、ent have responding to the bills passed in Congress?The President has several options.To sign the bill,at which point it becomes law.To allow the bill to become law without a signature.This will occur ten working days after the bill is received,if Congress is still in session.To veto the bill by dec
26、lining to sign it and return it to the house where it originated within ten days,accompanied by a message stating the reasons for the veto.To exercise the pocket veto,simply by declining to sign the bill,if the annual session of Congress ends within ten days of the passage of a bill.10.Features of U
27、S Judiciary Systemn10.What are the features that make the US judiciary system unique?The Constitution guarantees that the Supreme Court and federal judiciary will be politically independent.Judges are appointed and hold the appointment for life.And their salaries will not be reduced during their tim
28、e in office.Judicial power is the power to decide cases and controversies,and in doing so decide what the Constitution and laws of Congress really mean.(This authority together with their independency places great power in the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.)The Supreme Court ultimately dec
29、ides whether Congress,the President,the states,and local governments have acted constitutionally.The Supreme Court has a potentially powerful weapon of judicial review which is the most important judicial check on congressional power.The courts also make policies in their interpretation of laws.Cong
30、ress adds to the power of courts by writing vague languages into their laws and thus effectively give the courts the power to determine policy by reading meaning into the phrases.11.Why is federalism adopted?What is federalism?The Founding Fathers were fearful of tyranny and a too powerful central g
31、overnment,they also wanted to establish a national government stronger than that under the Articles of Confederation.Federalism retained state powers and local traditions while establishing a strong national defense.A federal form of government also furthered the goal of creating a division of power
32、s.Federalism is the constitutional division of powers between national government and states.The powers of both the national and state units must be specified in a constitution.Under true federalism,individuals are governed by two separate governmental authorities(national and state),whose powers co
33、uld not be altered without rewriting and altering the constitution.12.Advantages and Drawbacks of Federalism Advantages:Federalism and geographical size:federalism,by providing a multitude of arenas for decision making,keeps government closer to the people and helps democracy possible.State and loca
34、l experimentation:the existence of numerous government subunits in the federal system also makes it possible to experiment with innovative policies and programs at local level.Differences in political subcultures:the U.S.is a nation of different political subcultures.A federal system of government a
35、llows the political and cultural interests of regional groups to be reflected in the laws governing those groups.Drawbacks:Local self-rule may not always be in societys best interests.Federalism poses the danger that national powers will be expanded at the expense of the state.Powerful state and loc
36、al interests can block progress and impede national plans.The lack of uniformity of state laws complicates business transactions across state borders.Its difficult to coordinate government policies at the national,state and local levels.13.Evolution of Federalism since the Civil WarnFour Stages:Dual
37、 federalism/Cooperative federalism/New federalism/New-age federalismnDual federalism:the model of dual federalism assumes that the states and the national government are more or less equals,with each level of government having separate and distinct functions and responsibilities.Cooperative federali
38、sm:Roosevelts New Deal legislation not only marked the real beginning of an era of national supremacy,but also ushered in an era of cooperative federalism.The model of cooperative federalism involves cooperation by all branches of governments.This model view the national and state governments as com
39、plementary parts of a single governmental mechanism,the purpose of which is to solve the problems facing the entire United States.New federalismnDuring 1970s and 1980s,several administrations attempted to revitalize the doctrine of dual federalism,which they renamed the“new federalism”.The new feder
40、alism involves returning to the states certain powers that have been exercised by the national government since 1930s.New-age federalismnThis new-age federalism seemed to be evolving under the Clintons Administration in the 1990s.New-age federalism continued the devolutionary goals of the new federalism,but called for the national government to act as a guiding force for the states as the latter experimented to find solutions to problems.Reading AssignmentnRead Unit 5 American Economy.