Thảo luận nhóm TMU DISCUSSION AMERICAN CULTURE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY -o0o - DISCUSSION AMERICAN CULTURE Topic GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES Teacher : Phan Tu Lan Group : 02 Class : 2053ENTI0411 HANOI – 2020 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS I Introduction II.Government and politics in US .1 A Suspicion of Strong Government The Organization of the American Government 2.1 Organization of American Government 2.2 Elections in the US .3 2.3 The relationship between the President and Congress 3 The Ideal of the Free Individual The Development of Big Government: The Welfare State 4.1 The definition of welfare state: 4.2 The welfare state of the United States: 5 The Role of Special Interest Groups 5.1 Definition of Special Interest Groups 5.2 The formation of Special Interest Groups 5.3 Types of Special Interest Groups and examples 5.4 The Special Interest Groups over years .9 5.5 Roles of special interest groups 10 The New Individualism versus the Old Individualism .11 6.1 Definition of Individualism 11 6.2 The New Individualism and the Old Individualism in the United States 11 6.3 The attitudes of two main parties in the United States with the Old and the New Individualism 12 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Comparison between American and Vietnam 13 III Conclusion 18 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Numbe Code Name Class Task K53N I,II.1 Note r 17D17024 Trần Thị Hương Giang 17D17018 Nguyễn Thị Giang K53N 17D17025 Lê Thị Vân Hà K53N Thị Ánh K53N Dương 17D17030 Nguyễn Thị Cúc K53N 17D17012 Vũ Châu Nguyệt Cầm K53N II.6 17D17018 Nguyễn II.5 II.4 5 II.3 17D17024 Nguyễn II.2 Dương Thị Ánh K53N II.7, III LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com I Introduction Currently, with the context of extensive international integration, to become a global citizen, we must learn more foreign languages and cultures, especially the United States - one of the countries with economies world leader Understanding the American' culture can avoid misunderstandings, cultural shock, etc In work or communication with foreigners, to avoid conflicting political views, the study of American politics and government is needed, because that system is very complex and sensitive, especially for people of socialist countries It is not like the political system of Vietnam or other socialist countries For example, Vietnamese politics follows the socialist state model and follows the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam Therefore, without understanding the political system of the United States, it will be easy for people to have misleading views and conflicting views with others It is important to learn American culture, especially the American’s government and political system Even its complexity, if we take the time to find out, it will be very interesting and have many things to learn With a regard of topic “Government and politics in the United States”, we will show you a close and detail view about it II Government and politics in US A Suspicion of Strong Government LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The ideal of the free individual has had a profound effect on the way Americans view their government In the US, there has been a deep suspicion that government is the natural enemy of freedom, even if it is elected by the people The bigger and stronger the government becomes, the more dangerous many Americans believe it is to their individual freedom This suspicion of strong government goes back to the men who led the American Revolution in 1776 These men believed the government of Great Britain wanted to discourage the freedom and economic opportunities of the American colonists by excessive taxes and other measures which would ultimately benefit the British aristocracy and monarchy Thomas Paine, the famous revolutionary writer, expressed the view of other American revolutionists when he said, “Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” The Organization of the American Government II.1 Organization of American Government The government of the US is divided into three separate branches, based on the belief that if any one part or branch of government has all, or even most of the power, it will become a threat to the freedom of individual citizens Congress: The legislative or lawmaking branch of the government It has two houses - the Senate, with two senators from each state regardless of the size of its population, and the House of Representatives, consisting of a total of 435 representatives divided among the fifty states by population In the House, states LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com with large populations have more representatives than that with small populations, while in the Senate, each stare has equal representation.) The president, or chief executive, heads the executive branch, which has responsibility to carry out the laws The Supreme Court and lower national courts make up the judicial branch The judicial branch settles disputes about the exact meaning of the law through court cases If any one of the three branches starts to abuse its power, the other two may join together to stop it, through a system of checks and balances And the Constitution have to balance the powers of the legislative and executive branches of the government to prevent the other from action on its own Although many observers said that the American system of divided government power is inefficient and disorganized, most Americans still strongly believe in it for two reasons: (1) It has been able to meet the challenges of the past, and (2) it gives strong protection to individual freedoms II.2 Elections in the US In the US, The president and the Congress have almost complete political independence from each other because they are all chosen in seperate elections The election of the Congress does not determine who will be elected president, and the presidential election does not determine who will be elected to either house of Congress In the American system, the President can belongs to one political party while most of the seats in Congress belongs to the other one LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Example: during the 1970s and 1980s, four of the five presidents were Republicans, while the Democrats typically controlled one or both of the houses of Congress In the Congressional elections of 1994, however, the reverse situation occurred While Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was president, the Republicans won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate Besides, the elections of the members of the two houses of Congress are also separate from each other Thus, each parties may control one house Both of the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on all legislation, however, before it becomes laws II.3 The relationship between the President and Congress Congress and the president are the most powerful of the three branches In the US, The national government may seem to speak with two conflicting voices, that of the president and that of Congress The president signs bills passed by Congress in order for them to become law If the president vetoes a legislative bill passed by Congress – that is, if he refuses to sign it – the bill dies unless 2/3 of both the House and Senate vote to override the veto This rarely happens On the other hand, a treaty with a foreign government signed by the president dies if the Senate refuses to ratify it – that is, votes to accept it The Ideal of the Free Individual LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The "Free Individual" is for those choosing to live their lives as free individuals in this world in their lifetime If it is truly freedom you want, the "Free Individual" is the place to start In the late 1700s, most Americans expected the new national government createdby the Constitution to leave them alone to pursue their individual goals They believed the central purpose of government was to create the conditions most favorable to the development of the free individual Before the Civil War of the 1860s, the American ideal of the free individual was the frontier settler and the small farmer President Thomas Jefferson glorified farmers for being free individuals who relied on no one but themselves for their daily needs He believed they were the most honest of citizens Throughout his life Jefferson favored a small, weak form of government, which he believed would encourage the development of a nation of free, self-reliant farmer citizens From the end of the Civil War until the Great Depression of the 1930s, the successful businessperson became the ideal expression of the free individual The prevailing view of Americans was that government should not interfere in business If so, it would threaten the development of free individuals whose competitive spirit, self-reliance, and hard work were developing the United States into a land of greater and greater material prosperity Government, therefore, remained small and inactive in relation to the great size of the nation and the amount of power held by business corporations From LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com the 1870s until the 1930s, business organizations and ideas dominated American government and politics The Republican party, one of the nation’s two major political parties, strongly supported government policies favorable to business The Republicans were more successful than their rivals, the Democrats, in electing presidents and congressmen during this period The Development of Big Government: The Welfare State 4.1 The definition of welfare state: The welfare state is a form of government in which the state protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of the citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for citizens unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life 4.2 The welfare state of the United States: Traditionally, Republicans let the free enterprise system regulate itself in the marketplace On the other hand, Democrats have traditionally favored using government to regulate businesses, protect consumers and workers, and also to solve social problems Through the great Depression of the 1930s the idea that government should be small and inactive was largely abandoned The widespread unemployment and other economic hardships of the Depression gave rise to the new assumption that individuals could not be expected to rely solely on themselves in providing for their economic security This new assumption led to a large and active role for the national government LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com United States Conference of Mayors - representing the concerns and issues of mayors of cities with populations of 30,000 or more Ideological Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) - advocating progressive policies including social and economic justice American Conservative Union (ACU) - working to protect national security, guide foreign policy, and promote the protection of rights guaranteed by the U.S Constitution Religious National Council of Churches (NCC) - pursuing goals that range from promoting peace and interreligious understanding to helping prisoners reenter society American Jewish Congress - fighting for equal rights for all regardless of race, religion or national ancestry Civil Rights National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) working to fight prejudice against, improve the lives of, and protect the rights of African Americans American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - protecting the civil rights of all Americans Single Issue 11 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com National Rifle Association (NRA) - working to preserve the rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment and to advocate for the rights of gun owners Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) - preventing underage drinking, reducing the incidence of drunk driving, and helping those suffering due to drunk-driving accidents Besides, there are many interest groups that were not initially formed for political purposes or had a different viewpoint such as Anti-Defamation League (ADL) or Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) and the AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) 5.4 The Special Interest Groups over years Business interest groups have multiplied in recent decades so that mostly every major trade or business has its lobbyists in Washington Labor unions and farm groups which were made strong during the New Deal years have their influential lobbyists Interest groups representing ethnic groups such as AfricanAmaricans, Native Americans, Mexican-Americans and Jewish Americans have also expanded There are interest groups representing a variety of ideals or causes which want government support including equal rights for women, a clean environment and greater protection for consumers Even the people who receive welfare payments have a lobbying group called the Welfare Rights Organization The political tendency of recent decades is for the size of the government to bring out an increase in the number and size of interest groups, and for the 12 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com demands made on the government by interest groups to increase the size of the government No single interest dominates government and politics as business groups did before the Great Depression Instead, government and politics are based on reaching compromises with a large number of groups and pleasing as many as possible 5.5 Roles of special interest groups Interest groups are generally formally organized and perform five key functions Representation: Representing their members' political, social, ideological, or economic interests and concerns by assessing the concerns and positions of their members; formulating positions on public issues touching the group; galvanizing the support of group members for those positions Participation in policy debates: Meeting with policy makers in the legislative and executive branches; taking part in legal action; attempting to persuade others through speeches and other public appearances by group leaders; publishing materials in print and online; taking part in other public activities Education: Communicating with and informing members and the general public by publishing newsletters and magazines, producing videos, maintaining websites, and presenting social media messages; publicizing research into issues central to their members' concerns, making the information available to the public, releasing it to the media, and offering it to policy makers 13 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Policy influence: Contacting legislators and members of the executive branch and meeting with political candidates; having spokespeople make public appearances, give speeches, and answer questions posed by concerned citizens or members of the media; persuading rank-and-file members to communicate with lawmakers and other public officials to provide a common message in high volume to make it more persuasive Government monitor: Paying attention to pending legislation, executive branch activity, and legal cases to ensure that policies are being implemented in ways that the group supports and, if not, shifting to the representation, education, and policy influence functions The primary goal of interest groups is to influence decision-makers and public policy through advocacy on behalf of members Therefore, they serve as both a means of political participation for their members and a link between them and government The New Individualism versus the Old Individualism 6.1 Definition of Individualism Individualism, more simply understood as freedom, is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance and advocate that interests of the individual should achieve precedence over the state or a social group, while opposing external interference upon one's own interests by society or 14 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com institutions such as the government Individualism is often defined in contrast to totalitarianism, collectivism, and more corporate social forms 6.2 The New Individualism and the Old Individualism in the United States Through time, two forms of Individualism have appeared in the United States It is the New Individualism and the Old Individualism The Old Individualism concentrate on the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference A person works independently from each other because he believe that success on his own is truly success, and will get respect from everyone In the United States, if the Old Individualism appreciates success of one individual, the New Individualism traditionally gathers similar people or organizes into groups which called interest groups to influence the government Like the Old Individualism, these groups still focus on the rights, interests, and ambitions of individuals, not those of the group Therefore, most interest groups make benefit for Americans However, they are considered as bringing bad effects to the United States such as reducing people’s ability to enrich the society, increasing national debt quickly by pressuring government give unaffordable benefits to Americans 6.3 The attitudes of two main parties in the United States with the Old and the New Individualism 15 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com The two individualisms have caused lots of controversy about which one should be supported and followed, especially is opinion of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party The Democratic Party emerged from the New Deal as the supporter of the idea that government should not more for all classes and all kinds of Americans Besides, they tended to see government action as part of the solution to many diverse groups of Americans Therefore, the Democratic Party has strongly supported from poorer, less-privileged and underprivileged such as blacks, women and other nonwhite minorities It led to racially and ethnically diverse of this party This diversity was reflected when six women, four blacks and two Hispanics were appointed to Cabinet in 1992, which never happened before On the contrary, the Republican Party, political rival of the Democratic, continued to stress anti-government and pro-business ideas much as they had before the Great Depression They didn’t appreciate government action on solving problem and wanted government to decrease the number of things government does and cut taxes, rules and requirements for businesses It is the reason why business groups and strong anti-government attitudes of millions of Americans tended to vote for the Republican In addition, this party criticized the Democratic for just concerning about women, racial, ethnic minority groups and forgetting about the citizens who see themselves as Americans first rather than as members of a particular group 16 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 17 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Comparison between American and Vietnam USA 1.Role goverment Viet Nam of -To form a more perfect Goverment Union: the goverment keeps functions: has -The three legislative the country united and helps fuction form a sense of a community -To establish Justice: -Function to decide important this issues of the country, means the establishment of a absolutely monioring fuction justic system at the federal , for all activities of the State state, and local levels -To insure Currently, the Government domestic has a country building Tranquility : the government program that can be said to makes law to discourage be: rich people – strong wrong doing and keep society country – a fair, democratic safe.It also enforces these laws and civilized society , maintain order , resolves disputes and punishes those who break the law -To promote the general Welfaire : the act of actively encouraging the widespread health , happiness and fortunes 18 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com of Americans -To secure the Blessings of Liberity To secure the freedoms were achieved in independence, to ensure their rights were safe so that they could not be taken State type: Federal Presidential Socialist Republic Constitutional Republic 3.Leader The president of the United The President of Vietnam is States is the head of state and the head of state head of government of the -The Prime United States of America This Vietnam is the highest Minister of is the head of level government in a one-party photographic offiver and thus system led by the Communist recognized in the United Party of Vietnam States The President heads the US federal government’s administration system and one of only two federal officials elected by the entire United 19 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com State State system - The state apparatus of the United States of America is in The State of Vietnam is a the form of a federal republic system of agencies consisting of many different Power states, established by agencies the representative or bodies United States of America The (legislatures) include the federal government has three National Assembly at the branches: Legislative, central level and the People's Executive, and Judicial, based Councils at all levels elected on the principle of "separation by the people and exercising of three powers", which has power on behalf of the people both its own independent government mandate, the power to - Administrative bodies influence and be affected by (executive) consists of the each other - Government at the central Legislative branch Congress Branch: consists of responsible this level and the the Committees at for elected the by People's all levels, respective making federal laws Congress authority consists of houses: the - Judicial bodies (judiciary) Senate and the House of includes the Supreme People's 20 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Representative Court at the central level and - Executive Branch: Executive the People's Courts at local power lies in the Present of the levels law enforcement and - Procuracy (prosecutor) administration and the United includes the Supreme People's States is the one tasked with Procuracy at enforcing, enforcing, and law Government and and Central People's government Procuracy at all levels Below administration Bureaucracy of is the organizational chart of the Executive Branch -Judicial Branch: the State of the Socialist Judicial Republic of 2016 power of the United States is vested in the Supreme Court and the federal courts An important power of the Supreme Court is the Judicial Review Body, under which it can rule unconstitutional law => If any one of the three branches starts abusing its power, the other two branches 21 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com can join together to stop it 5.The system Party The US political system is a The politics of Vietnam are Multi-party system with defined by a single-party maijor political : Democratic socialist republic framework, Party and Republican Party: where Nguyen Phu Trong, the - Democratic Party : headed General Secretary of the by Tom Perez Democratic Communist Party of Vietnam Party is one of the two largest is the Party leader and head of political parties in the United the Politburo, holding the States The Democratic Party, highest position in the onetraced its roots to the Thomas party system Jefferson era in the early The Communist Party of 1790s, is the oldest rule in the Vietnam monopolizes power United States, and is also one through of the world's oldest The social economic government, controls all major political Democratic supports the Party and social organizations, and justice fairness, , punishes people who dare to equal criticize or challenge its rule opportunity, market economy There is no alternation of with the government power among politial parties , interventio, support for gun no competition to gain more 22 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com control and legalization of seats in Parliament like in the same-sex marriage USA - Republican Party: headed by Election is implemented per DonaldTrump.In general , years The aim of election is Republican political thoughts to elect the National tends to be conservative and Assembly delegates revolve around maintaining traditional values.They support the market economy, minimizing government intervation in economy,low legalization the tax,anti of same-sex marrige , anti-control gun group Interest Interest groups have a certain In the pre - Doi moi influence on the government (Renovation) period with the Republican businesses' interest system groups even demand limited subsidy of administrative and centrally government intervention And planning, there were probably the interest groups of the interest groups, but they did Democrats government influence to the not cause much and obvious support, influence on social life, 23 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com bringing more benefits to all especially the socio - social classes A number of economic policy - making and government decisions were implementation; their impacts made thanks to the impact of did not result in big effects, these interest groups unlike those in the period of market economy afterwards After Vietnam carried out market economy, there are more and more interest groups, which causes such obviously serious and various impacts on However, social the life government does not allow these interest groups to manipulate policies due to some negative impacts caused by controlling it Moreover, and preventing bad interest group become an urgent and vital task for the survival of the Party 24 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com III Conclusion To conclude, despite the continuous change, controversial interpolitical, the Government and policy of the USA are considered as the most progressive system in the world American society is a free, multicultural, pluralistic, multiparty society thanks to its sovereignty foundation belonging to the entire people and the way of living of the entire American political people is not bound by ideology, not extreme Political, easy to agree, easy to compromise and very pragmatic The common goal of both Republicans and Democrats is to compete for the government of the people, by the people and for the people 160 years have passed, this goal has not changed, so the American people get richer, America grows stronger 25 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ... government by interest groups to increase the size of the government No single interest dominates government and politics as business groups did before the Great Depression Instead, government and politics. .. with and informing members and the general public by publishing newsletters and magazines, producing videos, maintaining websites, and presenting social media messages; publicizing research into... forms of Individualism have appeared in the United States It is the New Individualism and the Old Individualism The Old Individualism concentrate on the desire and the ability of all individuals