11.Describe how & when the American constitution was adopted. What caused the necessity of 'The Bill of Rights'?

A Constitution may be a defined system or body of fundamental principles according to which a nation or state is constituted or governed. A good example is the constitution of the US, formed in 1787. It is relatively brief document of some 12 pages. The constitution of the US is the source of government authority & the fundamental Law of the land. The constitutional convention which was to adopt a new constitution officially opened on May 25 1787 in Philadelphia. The 55 delegates who drafted the constitution included most of the outstanding leaders, or Founding Fathers, of the new nation. George Washington was the presiding officer. In the course of the convention the delegates created a new form of government for the US. The Constitution set up a federal system with a strong central government. A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority & its states with some rights reserved to each. The US became federated, because after the war of independence the 13states were too weak individually to carry on the work of government. They joined together as equals for the common convenience. But each state preserved its own independence by reserving to itself certain well-defined powers (education, taxes & finance, internal communications). The powers which are usually given to a federal government are those dealing with national defense, foreign policy, the control of international trade etc. Under the constitution power was divided among the 3 branches of national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President) ? judicial (the Supreme Court). These 3 powers established a so-called system of checks & balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other two. The Constitution provided the election of a national leader, or president. In 1789 G.Washington was unanimously elected the .first president of the US. It provided also, that federal laws would be made only by a congress consisted of representatives elected by people. The Constitution set up national court system headed be a Supreme Court. When the constitution was written in 1787 there were only 13 states. The authors of the constitution saw that the future might bring a need for changes, that is why they provide a method of adding amendments. Over the past 200 years 26 amendments have been adopted, but the constitution itself has not been changed. But when the Constitution was first proposed ? adopted, there was widespread dissatisfaction of the American people, because it did not contain guarantees of certain basic freedoms & individual rights. It also recognized slavery ? did not establish universal suffrage. Only several years later in 1791 under the strong popular pressure the congress was forced to adopt, the first 10 amendments dealing with social liberties they were called collectively the Bill of Rights. From it the Americans received guarantees of such basic rights as freedom of speech, the press & religion, the right of peaceful assembly, freedom from unreasonable search, arrest ? seizure. The Bill of rights requires that no one will be deprived for life liberty property, without due process of law ? no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. Slavery was abolished many years later in 1865 by the 13 amendment ? universal suffrage was guaranteed in 1370 15th amendment. Since Bill of Rights 16 more amendments were adopted. But the political system created by the constitution & the Bill of rights is basically the same today as it was in 1790. Adopted in 1767 the constitution was finally ratified & came into force on March 4, 1789. Under the constitution no member of one branch may be a member of either of two others. But the president may or may not be a member of the political party with a majority in congress. No member of the Government with the exception of the Vice president (who presides Senate) may also be a member of Congress. The Congress is improved by the constitution to remove government officials, including the president, from office, only by Impeachment process. Impeachment is a charge of misconduct brought against government official or president by a legislative body. The man played the leading roles in writing the constitution - George Washington James Madison & Alexander Hamilton. Washington's participation was the most important. But truly decisive intellectual work was made by Madison. Later he was regarded as the Father of the constitution. Each state has it's own constitution. The State constitutions have a similar structure with the Constitution of the USA. As a rule they include preamble, the Bill of rights, as well as provisions dealing with local interests: the division of powers, suffrage & elections, taxes & finance, education etc.

12. The structure of the Congress.

The constitution of the US grants all the legislative powers of the federal government to the Congress, which consists of two houses: the Senate and The House of Representatives.

1) The Senate is composed of two members from each state, as provided by the constitution. The 17th amendment provided for the direct (by people) election of the senate. To be elected to the senate a person must be at least 30 years of age, a citizen of the US for at

least nine years, and a resident of the state from which he is elected. There

are 100 senators from 50 states, each senator represents his home state Senators are elected for a term of 6 years, but one third of the senate is elected every 2 years {2/3 are always experienced senators). Presiding officer

- Vise President (when he is absent senate chases a President pro tempore)

2) Membership in the House of Representatives based on a number of population, its size is- not mentioned in the constitution. To become a member of the House of Representatives a person

must be at least-25, a citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state which he represents. 435 members (the number determined by Congress in 1913), each represents a district in his home state. The size of a district today is 530000 persons. Every state is constitutionally guaranteed at least one member of the House of Representative. Representatives are elected for 2 years, in practice most members are reelected several times. Presiding officer - Speaker (2nd to the Vise president in the line of presidential succession).

Big Four – majority party leaders (Democratic and Republican) + the Speaker of the House of Representatives + the Vice-President. They maintain close contacts with the President, exercise strong influence over the making of laws and have a direct hand in the consideration of current home and foreign policy.

13.The president of the US is head of the executive power, or the Chief Executive, in addition he has important legislative and judicial power. The official residence the White House, Washington, DC. Must be at least 35, a resident of the country for at least 14 years and a national born citizen. The President is elected to a four-year term, for no more than two terms.. Everyday work of the government is carried out by 14 departments (ministries, created by Congress: State, Treasury, Defense etc.), the heads of these departments, chosen by the President and approved by the senate, form the Cabinet.

Functions.1) Executive ( carry out the government programs, issue executive orders, which have the force of low, can influence on public opinion)

2) Legislative (recommends laws to Congress, requests money for federal government operations, can veto any bill passed by Congress, though his veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress)

3) Has authority to appoint the heads of all executive departments and agencies and other high-ranking officials [appointments must be approved by senate). Can grant full or conditional pardon to anyone accused of breaking a

federal low.

4) Responsible for foreign relations with other nations (treaties must be approved by 2/3 vote of senate).

Foreign policy (the latter half of 20-21st cent)

1) US acting as a global.-policeman

2)By the time of the collapse of the USSR, the US had military and economic interests in every region of the globe (interventions in Panama, Iraq)

3)Lack of support of environmental treaties (quitted the Kyoto" Protocol)

4)In 2007 03 decided to deploy anti- ,

ballistic systems in the Chech Republic and-Poland. In 2008 Obama was elected as President of the USA. His main aims in foreign policy are: he'd draw down forces in Iraq; open talks with adversaries such as Iran, Syria and Cuba; end torture and close Guantanamo; renounce unilateralism and preventive wars; rebuild ties with allies; and re-engage with the Kyoto climate change initiative. He's also pledged to halt the development of and to seek a "world without nuclear weapons." Obama would start to put the threat of terrorism in its proper perspective, elevating the importance of other threats to security, from poverty to pandemic disease to global warming. Obama promises to increase Pentagon spending, boost the size of the Army and Marines, bolster the Special Forces, expand intelligence agencies and maintain the hundreds of US military bases that dot the globe.