The United States of America

After its 200 th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that inspired many appellations - "Land of Opportunity," "Melting Pot," "God's Country," is still referred to us as a land of superlatives — "the richest," "the greatest," "the most."

What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries.

The United States lies in the central part of the North American Continent between two oceans: the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the West. Friendly Canada to the north and friendly Mexico to the south are the only countries bordering it.

The USA consists of three separate parts. These are the Hawaiian Islands, situated in the central part of the Pacific Ocean, Alaska separated by Canada, and the rest of the USA. The states differ very much in size, population and economic development.

There are many big cities and towns in the USA: New York, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles are the biggest.

The United States of America is a parliamentary republic. The government is divided into three branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court). There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolized by a "donkey") and the Republican (its symbol is an "elephant"). The US President is both head of state and government. He is elected for a four-year term. Presidential elections are held every leap year on first Tuesday, following the first Monday in November. The President is assisted by Secretaries who are the heads of the executive departments. The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who are appointed for life. It is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the President is constitutional or not.

The form of US government is based on the Constitution of September 17, 1787, adopted after the War of Independence. In December 1791, the Congress adopted ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.

The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states and the House represents the population according to its distribution among the states. All states have electoral requirements of the same nature. First of all they are residence requirements.

Through its power over the purse, the US Congress can control much that relates to foreign policy, also it is a governmental body that determines taxation. Each of the fifty states of the USA has a constitution patterned after the federal Constitution, with its divisions of power: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The Presidency means not only a man: means an institution — the "executive branch" of the government.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of US government. The federal and state courts have the power of "judicial review." Also there are about ninety district courts in different parts of the USA. American judicial practice is firmly committed to the idea of jury trials. The Constitution guarantees them for both criminal and civil cases. According to the US judicial doctrine, “justice is a relationship in which each citizen or group receives due respect and return”

2.Answer the following questions:

1. What are the main political parties in the USA?
2. When are presidential elections held?
3. What does the Supreme Court consist of?
4. When was the USA constitution adopted?
5. Is the USA the biggest country in the world?

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