GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES 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 TABLE OF CONTENTS Numbe Code r 17D17024 17D17018 17D17025 17D17024 17D17030 17D17012 17D17018 Name Class Task K53N Nguyễn Thị Giang K53N Lê Thị Vân Hà K53N Nguyễn Thị Ánh K53N Dương Nguyễn Thị Cúc K53N Vũ Châu Nguyệt Cầm K53N Nguyễn Thị Ánh K53N Dương I,II.1 Trần Thị Hương Giang II.2 II.3 II.4 II.5 II.6 II.7, III Note 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 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 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 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 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 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 in helping individuals, meet their daily needs The Democratic Party, led by President Franklin Roosevelt, brought about a number of changes in the 1930s, which he referred to as a "New Deal" for Americans Even with the return of prosperity after the Depression and World War II (1941-1945), the growth of government's role in helping to provide economic security for individuals did not end Roosevelt's New Deal grew into what some saw as a permanent "welfare state" that provided payments for retired persons, government checks for the unemployed, support for families with dependent children and no father to provide income, health care for the poor and the elderly, and other benefits for needy persons However, the welfare state has bad impacts on some individual freedom’s issues Although it has continued to grow, it has never been fully accepted by many Americans They fear that economic security provided by the government will weaken self-reliance, an ideal that is closely associated in the minds of Americans with individual freedom Many Americans believe that it presents a danger to individual freedom by making an increasing number of Americans dependent on the government instead of on themselves Because welfare programs go against the basic value of self-reliance, many Americans believe that having to “go on welfare” to meet daily needs is a personal embarrassment and a mark of failure It’s necessary to reform the welfare system In 1996, a welfare reform bill was passed It placed limits on the number of years people can receive welfare payments and gave states much more responsibility for deciding who is eligible for support Besides, the welfare system in the US has also been troubled by racial problems that began with black slavery Although American blacks have made significant gains in the last thirty years, many are still unable to escape from poverty and unemployment Sadly, some of the old racial prejudices against black Americans have been transferred to welfare programs In reality, there are or times as many white people on welfare as there are African – Americans or members of other minorities The Role of Special Interest Groups 5.1 Definition of Special Interest Groups A special interest group, also called interest group or pressure group, any association of individuals or organizations, usually formally organized, that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, attempts to influence public policy in its favor All interest groups share a desire to affect government policy to benefit themselves or their causes Their goal could be a policy that exclusively benefits group members or one segment of society (e.g., government subsidies for farmers) or a policy that advances a broader public purpose (e.g., improving air quality) They attempt to achieve their goals by lobbying—that is, by attempting to bring pressure to bear on policy makers to gain policy outcomes in their favour Interest groups have a certain influence on the government A number of government decisions were made thanks to the impact of these interest groups 5.2 The formation of Special Interest Groups Since the 1930s, the great expansion of government programs is only partly due to the growth of welfare programs that help the poor and the needy 10 Practically, all social and economic classes of Americans have seen the need to take advantage of, or to protect themselves from the actions of government, especially the national government To accomplish this, Americans with similar interests have formed special groups called lobbying groups or pressure groups to more effectively influence the actions of government These groups have existed throughout the nation’s history and they have grown significantly in both numbers and power in recent year Types of Special Interest Groups and examples 5.3 The types of groups reflect the diversity of people and concerns in the country and around the world The major types of interest groups are: Economic groups focus on representing the economic interests of members They can be further divided into: • Business National Association of Manufacturers (NAM): helping manufacturers compete in the global economy U.S Women's Chamber of Commerce: representing the interests of women in business and working to help them succeed • Labor American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO): Promoting safety, job growth, job security, and wages and benefits for workers in many industries National Education Association (NEA): Representing teachers and many other public school employees • Professional American Bar Association (ABA): Encouraging improvements in the legal profession National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE): Promoting ethical practices and adequate pay for licensed engineers • Consumer 11 National Consumers League: Working to protect and promote consumers' economic interests Public Interest League of Women Voters (LWV) - Engaging all citizens in the decision process by working for voter education The Nature Conservancy - Working to protect environmentally important lands and Waterways Government National Governors Association (NGA) - representing the concerns and bipartisan positions of state governors on policy issues 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 12 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - protecting the civil rights of all Americans Single Issue 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 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 13 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 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 14 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 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 15 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 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 Comparison between American and Vietnam 1.Role of goverment State type: 3.Leader State system 5.The Party system Interest group 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 17 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 18 ... for the size of the government to bring out an increase in the number and size of interest groups, and for the demands made on the government by interest groups to increase the size of the government. .. 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... 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,