- •1.) Describe the geographical position of the British Isles, offering an explanation of its advantages and disadvantages. Define the term “continental shelf”, its importance for the economy
- •3.) Examine the main stages in the formation of population of gb(Ancient, Britain, Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxon)
- •6.) Describe gb as a constitutional monarchy and its role and social influence
- •10.) Characterize the main political parties in the u.K. (Labour, Conservative and Liberal-Democratic). Comment on the results of the elections of May 2005
- •1. Geographical position of the us
- •2 .Physical features of the us, climate, lakes and rivers, minerals
- •4. Discuss the reasons, development and consequences of the War of Independence (1775-1783).
- •5. Expansion in the 1st half of the 19cent.
- •6. Analyze growing antagonism between the North and the South. Examine the chief events of the Civil war, its consequences.
- •9. Institution of American Presidency, main trends of American foreign policy, new policy of Barack Obama. Presidential elections, Electoral College, Barack Obama – new president.
- •10. Main political parties.
10. Main political parties.
The USA is largely a two-party system: the Republicans and the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party: Thomas Jefferson founded the Dem. Party in 1792 as a congressional assembly to fight for the Bill of Rights and against the Federalist Party. In 1798, the “party of the common man” was officially named the Dem.-Republican Party and in 1800 elected Jefferson as the 1st Dem. President of the US. Jefferson was followed by James Madison in 1808 who strengthened America’s armed forces by defeating the British in the War of 1812. James Monroe was elected president in 1816.
The election of John Quincy Adams in 1824 led to a split among Dem. – Republicans. A result of the split was the emergence of Andrew Jackson as a national leader. The Jacksonian Democrats created the national convention process. The party platform, and reunified the Dem. Party with Jackson’s victories in 1821 and 1832. It was Andrew Jackson that institutionally consolidated the Dem. Party as a political organization in the modern sense of the world.
W. Bryan >created the most powerful economic engine; a movement of agrarian reformers; support of women’s suffrage;
W. Wilson >fought for the League of Nations;
F. Roosevelt >a new Deal (pulled America out of the Depression);
H. Truman >the fight to bring down the final barriers of race and gender; establishing the Marshall plan, NATO;
In the 1960s, President John Kennedy and his followers challenged an optimistic nation to build on its great history (a New Frontier, man on the Moon, a treaty banning nuclear weapons, the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, creation of Medicare);
In 1976, Jimmy Carter was elected president, helping to restore the nation’s trust in government following the Watergate scandal;
In 1992, Bill Clinton was elected the 42th President of the USA (reduction of unemployment and crime);
In 2004, John Kerry lost the presidential race to George W. Bush.
The Dem. party has a long history of claiming to represent and protect the interests of working Americans and guaranteeing personal liberties for all. The National Platform is an official statement of the Party’s position on a wide variety of issues. The 2000 National Platform emphasized 3 key Dem. Party ideas: Prosperity, Progress, Peace.
The Republican Party: The Rep. Party was founded in 1850’s by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that the government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. In 1856, the Rep. became a national party when John Fremont was nominated for President. The actual emergence of the Rep. Party is associated with Abraham Lincoln who became its leader and won the presidential elections of 1860 to become the 16st US President. During the Civil War in 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves.
The Rep. passed 13, 14, 15 amendments.
A Civil Rights Act in 1866 which recognized blacks as US citizens;
The National 8 Hour Law which limited the work day to 8 hours;
Creating the Department of Labour to regulate labour relations in the country;
Rep Presidents: Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush.
Rep. expressing the interests of “big business” and well-to-do class are strongly committed to principles when governmental interference has to be minimal in the life of the state.
Rep. have a long and rich history with basic principles:
Abolishing slavery, free speech, women’s suffrage;
Reducing the government, Streamlining the bureaucracy, returning the power to the states;
Equal rights, justice and opportunities for all;
In 2008 the elections of president took place in the USA. The Rep. Party has nominated John McCain, Senator of State Arizona. The Dem. Party nominated the Senator of State Illinois Barack Obama.