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ESLpod英语听力节目之美国简介37.司法部是做什么的？
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37.司法部是做什么的？
Reviews laws
●复审法律
Explains laws
●解释法律
Resolves disputes (disagreements)
●解决纷争
Decides if a law goes against the Constitution
●决定一项法律是否触犯宪法
Explanation:
The U.S. government has three branches (or parts): the executive branch which makes sure that people follow laws, the legislative branch which makes new laws, and the judicial branch which interprets laws (or decides what the laws mean and how they should be applied). Normally the executive and legislative branches can work together without any trouble. The legislative branch makes new laws and the executive branch enforces them. However, sometimes people don&t agree on what the laws mean. They think the laws are unclear or unconstitutional (or not in agreement with the U.S. Constitution). When that happens, someone needs to be able to say what the law really means and that is exactly what the judicial branch does.
&&& 美国政府有三个分支:确保公民遵守法律的行政分支，制定法律的立法分支和解释法律的司法分支。通常新政分支和立法分支可以合作共事，立法分支制定新法律，行政分支执行法律，但有时候人们对法律条款有异议，觉得法律不明确或不符合宪法。这种情况出现时就需要有人解释法律的真正含义，这就是司法分支的工作。
The judicial branch comprises (or is made up of) many courts. A court is a place where legal decisions are made, especially about whether or not someone has broken a law or what that law really means in the first place. When the Constitution created the judicial branch, it created the Supreme Court, which is the highest and most important court in the country. Since then, Congress has created many lower courts (or less powerful courts) that hear cases (or decide on legal issues) in many special areas. These lower courts include the tax courts, which decide whether or not people and businesses are evading (or not paying) taxes, and the bankruptcy courts, which decide whether people and businesses can declare bankruptcy (or not pay back the money they owe to other people and organizations because they don&t have any money left). The judicial branch needs to have many different courts because there are too many cases to send all of them to the Supreme Court.
&&& 司法分支有许多法院组成。法院是做合法决定的地方，尤其是关于某人有没有破坏法律或某条法律的最初意义。宪法成立司法分支时设立了最高法院，是美国最高最重要的法院。后来，国会又在许多特别区域设立了多个初级法院。这些初级法院包括：税收法院，决定个人或公司有没有逃税；破产法院，决定个人或公司能否申请破产。司法分支需要不同功能的法院来处理事件，因为最高法院要处理的事情太多了。
The Department of Justice is a very large part of the U.S. government that tries to get justice (or fairness in the law) for all Americans. The Department also tries to prevent and control crime (or things like murders (killings) and theft) to make the United States safer. The Department of Justice is not part of the judicial branch, however. It is part of the executive branch of the national government.
&&& 司法部是构成美国政府很大的一部分，专门为美国公民主持正义。司法部也极力为确保美国安全阻止控制罪行的发生。司法部不属于司法分支，而是政府行政分支的一部分。
37.&What does the judicial branch do?
37.司法部是做什么的？
judicial branch - the part of the U.S. government that decides what the laws mean and determines whether people have done something against the law
Judicial branch&法院系统；美国政府中决定法律意义和人们是否触犯法律的部门
*&The Supreme Court is part of the judicial branch of the U.S. government.
*最高法院是美国政府司法分支的一部分。
to interpret - to determine or decide what something means
To interpret&确定或决定某事的意思
*&Readers have interpreted his poems in many different ways.
*读者们把他的诗翻译成了多种风格。
unconstitutional - against the C against the law
Unconstitutional&违背宪法；违背法律
*&It would be unconstitutional for the U.S. president to make laws alone, without involving Congress.
*美国总统在没有国会的参与下制定法律是违背宪法的。
to comprise - to consist of
To comprise&由...组成；构成
*&The band comprises a singer, a piano player, and a drummer.
*乐队由歌手，钢琴师和鼓手组成。
court - a place where legal decisions are made, especially about whether or not something has broken a law, or what that law really means
Court&法院是做合法决定的地方，尤其是关于某人有没有破坏法律或某条法律的最初意
*&The court was filled with people who wanted to hear the judge's decision.
*法院里挤满了听法官做判决的人。
lower court - a court that is less powerful than another court
Lower court&比另一法院权力小的法院
*&Difficult legal questions have to be discussed in the lower courts before they can be discussed in the Supreme Court.
*困难的法律问题在最高法院讨论之前需要先经过初级法院审判。
to hear a case - to dec to hear what both parties have to say about a legal issue and then make a decision about which party is correct
To hear a case&决定法律问题；听取双方对一法律问题的看法然后决定哪一方是正确的
*&Today, the judge will hear a case between a person who bought a poor-quality car and the company that made it.
*法官今天会审理购买劣质轿车和制造公司的案件。
to evade (something) - to find a way to not do something
To evade （something）&避免某事；不做某事的方法
*&Stop evading the question and just tell us the truth!
*不要回避问题，告诉我们真相！
to declare bankruptcy - to get legal permission to not pay back the money that one owes to other people and organizations because one doesn&t have any money left
To declare bankruptcy&因无法支付欠他人或组织的钱而申请法律允许
*&They lost their car, home, jewelry, business, and almost everything else before they declared bankruptcy.
*他们在申请破产前失去了车子，房子，珠宝，公司等几乎所有财产。
justice - being fair and reasonable
Justice&法律公平；公正的，合理的
*&People were angry that there wasn't more justice when the murderer was in jail for only two years.
*人们为杀人犯只入狱两年感到愤怒，觉得不够正义。
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ESLPOD Introduction to the United States 课文
---------------------------------------A: Principles of American Democracy-------------------------------------1. What is the supreme law of the land? Answer: The Constitution Explanation: Back in 1787, more than 200 years ago, the United States of America didn‘t exist theway it does today. There were just 13 states, and after they gained independencefrom Great Britain, they had a very weak government. They struggled to survive (orcontinue to exist) for several years with this weak government, but they had manyproblems. So the 13 states decided to work together and write a new document (orwritten record) to make the country stronger and more unified (or as one group), sothey could work better together as one nation. They called this new document the Constitution. The word DConstitution‖ comes from the verb to constitute, meaning to put thingstogether. The Constitution joined (or put together) the 13 states into a new country.Since that time, the Constitution has been the supreme (or highest) law in theUnited States. Everyone who lives in the United States must obey (or follow) theConstitution. If there is a disagreement over whether something is legal (agrees withthe law) or illegal (against the law), we use the Constitution to help us to resolve (ordecide) the issue. That‘s why it is the highest and most important legal document inthe country. The Constitution was written during the summer of 1787 at a meeting called theConstitutional Convention in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a long,hot summer that year when the 55 delegates (or representatives) met to write thisnew set of laws. Everyone had a different opinion (or thought or belief) about howthe new government should be organized. This is not surprising, since thedelegates had many different experiences and backgrounds. They were lawyers,teachers, doctors, and military men, and more. The delegates also had some things in common: they were all white men (no women or non-whites were allowed toparticipate in the Constitutional Convention), and they were all wealthy (or had a lotof money) and owned land. The president (or leader) of the Convention was thefamous military general, George Washington, who later became the first president ofthe United States. The delegates discussed and argued for many weeks, but they finally agreed on aset of laws that would form (or create) their new government. The document theyproduced (or made) is what we call the Constitution. 2. What does the Constitution do? Answer: ?It sets up the government ?It defines the government ?It protects the basic rights of Americans Explanation: The United States would be a very different country if it did not have the U.S.Constitution, because it does three very important things. First, it sets up (ororganizes) the government, just like you would organize any organization orbusiness. The U.S. Constitution divides the government into three branches (orparts): the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Thelegislative branch creates (or makes) the new laws. The executive branch enforces(or makes sure people follow) the laws. The judicial branch is the court system,which interprets (or decides what something means in) the laws and determines (ordecides) who is guilty of breaking (or going against) the laws. All three branches are important. The Constitution makes the branches share powerequally, which means that no one branch is stronger than the others. One branchcannot take all the power for itself. We call this sharing Dchecks and balances.‖ Tocheck here means to control, and to balancemeans to make things equal. Thesechecks and balances help control the three branches and keep them equal to eachother. If one branch tries to take too much power, one of the other branches can puta stop to it. The second important thing that the Constitution does is to guarantee (or promiseand protect) the rights of all Americans. The representatives at the ConstitutionalConvention didn‘t want the government interfering too much in the lives of thepeople. So they wrote a list of rights C a list of things that everyone could do C andmade them part of the Constitution. These are rights that the federal governmentguarantees. The federal government is the national government, which makes lawsfor all of the states. There are also state governments that make laws for each individual state. The third thing the Constitution does is to define (or explain) what powers the stateshave and what powers the federal government has. The states have to make lawsthat agree with the U.S. Constitution, since the Constitution is the supreme (orhighest) law in the country. 3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words? Answer: We the People Explanation: The idea behind the words DWe the people‖ is one of the most important ones in ademocracy. A democracy is a government where the citizens (the people who arepart of a country) vote for and elect (or choose) the people who will govern (or leadand make decisions for) them. The United States has a representativedemocracy, which means that citizens vote for people who then represent them inthe government, making laws and decisions that reflect (or are the same as) whatthe citizens want. These first three words of the Constitution, DWe the people,‖ also tell us about themain difference between the United States and the European countries that most ofthe United States‘ first citizens came from. Back in the 1700s, countries likeEngland and France, where many of the first Americans came from, were ruled by amonarch (or a king). These monarchs usually inherited their power (or received itbecause one of their relatives had been a ruler or a king and then died) and oftenmade decisions that their citizens did not like. One of the reasons that the American colonists (or the people who moved to the new country) fought the RevolutionaryWar to get their independence from Great Britain was because the colonists felt thatthe English king, George III, was treating them badly. Americans said that they werefighting the Revolutionary War for the right to self-government, or to have the abilityto create their own government and elect their own officials or leaders. The authors (or writers) of the Constitution were not writing it for just themselves.The writers of the Constitution wrote it on behalf of (or in the name of) allAmericans. This is because they believed that for a government to be fair, it wouldhave to be made by the people (that is, elected by citizens) and for the people,meaning doing things for the good of all citizens, not just a few. 4. What is an amendment? Answer: ?A change (to the Constitution) ?An addition (to the Constitution) Explanation: The men who wrote the U.S. Constitution knew that their document was not perfect.That is why they included ways to change or add laws to the Constitution in thefuture. The fifth article (or section) of the Constitution says that Americans canchange the Constitution in two ways. The first way is to have another ConstitutionalConvention, a big meeting where representatives from all ofthe states would gatherand decide on the changes, just like they did when the Constitution was written inPhiladelphia in 1787. This way, however, has never been used. There has never been a second Constitutional Convention. The second and more common way to change the Constitution has two steps. First, Congress (the group of elected national representatives) passes (or approves) aspecial law to change or add something to the Constitution. This change or additionis called an amendment. Two-thirds (or 67%) of the members of Congress has tovote in favor of (or say Dyes‖ to approve) this amendment. Then the amendmentmust be approved by three-fourths (or 75%) of the states. Getting two-thirds ofCongress and three-quarters of the states to agree is not an easy thing to do, andthat is why there are not very many amendments to the Constitution. The Presidentcannot create amendments and does not have the right (or power or ability) to veto,or say no to, amendments. After three-fourths of the states approve the amendmentthat has already been approved by Congress, the amendment officially becomespart of the Constitution. Many of the rights that Americans believe are extremely important in the UnitedStates are actually not in the original Constitution of 1787. Instead they are inamendments to the Constitution. Freedom of religion, the right to vote regardless ofsomeone‘s skin color or sex (being a man or woman), and who can be a citizen areall described in different amendments to the Constitution. Amendments can be repealed (or taken back) by passing other amendments. Onlyone amendment has been repealed in the history of the United States. TheEighteenth Amendment made it illegal (or against the law) to make or sell alcohol,such as beer and wine. This amendment was called the Prohibition amendment,because to prohibit means not to allow something, or to make something illegal. The Eighteenth Amendment was approved in 1919. However, the Twenty-FirstAmendment, passed in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, so todayAmericans can make and sell alcohol again. 5. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution? Answer: The Bill of Rights Explanation: While the Constitution was being written, many people argued that it did not actuallyprotect the rights (or freedoms) of citizens or protect citizens from having thegovernment take away their rights. Because of this, immediately after theConstitution was ratified (or approved) in 1789, the First Congress proposed 12amendments to the Constitution that would protect civil rights (or the rights thatcitizens have to social and political freedom and equality, and having the sameopportunities as all other citizens). Ten of these Amendments were approved, andthey became known as the Bill of Rights. “Bill” is an old word meaning a list, so theBill of Rights is a list of a citizen‘s basic rights. The Bill of Rights includes a lot of rights and freedoms that are part of what it meansto be an American. For example, it protects our freedom of speechCthe right ofpeople to say what they want. It also guarantees (or gives people the right to)freedom of religion, meaning that people can decide which religion they want tofollow, or if they want to follow any at all. The Bill of Rights says that Americanshave a right to trial by jury, meaning that when they go to court, a small group of citizens decides whether a person has done something against the law, instead ofhaving just one person, the judge (or the head of the court), decide. The Bill ofRights also says that the police cannot go into an American‘s home to look forsomething without a search warrant, which is specific permission for the police tosearch for something in a specific place, such as your home. The Bill of Rights also protects people from cruel and unusual punishment.Something that is cruel is painful or unfair. DUnusual‖ means not common or notnormal. So the meaning here is that the punishment for a crime should not be toopainful or strange, and that it should be a normalpunishment for that kind of crime. The Second Amendment is controversial and is argued about because people inthe U.S. have many strong opinions about it. It protects people‘s right to keep andbear arms (or carry weapons, such as guns), so that they can protect themselves.Recently in the U.S., having a gun without getting permission first has increased alot. Many people have argued for stronger gun control laws so that it would bemore difficult for people to own guns. But other people say that gun control lawsviolate (or do something that is not allowed by) the Second Amendment. 6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?* Answer: ?Speech?Religion?Assembly?Press?Petition the government Explanation: Americans have a lot of freedom to say what they want, to believe what they want,and to get the government to do what they want. These and other rights (orfreedoms) are found in the First Amendment to the Constitution. The FirstAmendment guarantees (or protects) freedom of speech, freedom of religion,freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, and the right to petition thegovernment. Let‘s talk about each one of these. Freedom of speech means that American citizens are allowed to say whatever theywant to about ideas or people. They can say, for example, that they hate thePresident, or that they think that some laws are unfair. There are, however, somelimitations, or things that are not allowed, and that the law does not protect. Forexample, people can‘t talk about assassinating (or killing) the President of theUnited States. Freedom of religion is one of the most important freedoms in the First Amendment.The first Europeans came to North America because they were being persecuted(or attacked as a group) in England because of their religious beliefs. The FirstAmendment says that Americans can follow any religion, or no religion at all. Itprotects Americans in their religious practices (or actions related to religion). Freedom of assembly gives Americans the right to join (or become a member of)any group, political party, club, or organization. You do not need the government‘spermission (or approval) to join an organization or to meet as a group. Freedom of the press is another very important freedom in the United States. DThepress‖ means news organizations, such as newspapers, television stations, radiostations, and websites. These news sources are allowed to say or write whateverthey want to, whether it is in support of or against the government or any specificperson. Finally, the right to petition the government means that if the government doessomething that hurts you, you can complain and try to force the government to fixthe problem or give you something in return for the grievance (or the thing that waswrong). 7. How many amendments does the Constitution have? Answer: Twenty-seven (27) Explanation: When the Founding Fathers (or the men who made the U.S. government) wrote theConstitution in 1787, they wanted a government that would grow and change asAmerica grew and changed. Everything they had written seemed like a good idea,but they knew that people might need or want to change parts of the Constitutionlater. The Founding Fathers wanted their new government to last a long time, andallowing Constitutional Amendments was their way to make sure that thegovernment could change to meet the changing country‘s needs. The wordamendment comes from the verb to amend, which means to change something, soan amendment is a change to the Constitution. Because the Constitution is alwayschanging and being reinterpreted (or read againand understood differently), manypeople call it a Dliving document.‖ Amendments are added to the Constitution for many reasons: to overrule (or cancelor undo) a decision made by the Supreme Court (the highest court of the UnitedStates), to change something that was written in the Constitution, or to changesomething in society. For example, the Nineteenth Amendment changed somethingvery important for half of the country―it gave women the right to vote in 1920. Before then, women were not allowed to vote. This Amendment forced society tochange the way it thought about women and it eventually led to other changes andmore equal rights for women in the United States. A proposed amendment (or one that has been suggested but not yet approved)must be approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Once it isapproved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, the amendment must beapproved by three-fourths (or 75%) of the states before it can be added to theConstitution. The Constitution says that another way to make amendments is tohave another Constitutional Convention (or meeting of the states‘ representatives),but this has never been done. The U.S. presidents do not participate in the passage (or approval) of an amendment, but they can tell the public what they thinkabout it. Currently, there are 27 amendments to the Constitution. The first 10 are collectively(or as a group) known as the Bill of Rights. The amendments included in the Bill ofRights were added long ago, in 1791. The most recent amendment (Amendment 27)was ratified (or approved) in 1992. 8. What did the Declaration of Independence do? Answer: ?Announced our independence from Great Britain ?Declared our independence from Great Britain ?Said that the United States is free (from Great Britain) Explanation: On July 4, 1776, a group of men convened (or met) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniaand signed a document called the Declaration of Independence. To declare meansto announce or let other people know about something, so a declaration is anannouncement of some important event or action. The Declaration of Independencedeclared that the United States was independent (or free) from the control of thegovernment of Great Britain. Once the Declaration of Independence was signed, thecolonists became revolutionaries (or people who want to change the government). Their goal was to end British rule (or power and leadership) in America.Why did the American colonists want to become independent from Great Britain andcreate their own country? The British had spent a lot of money fighting the Frenchand Indian War in America from 1754 to1763. When the War was over, the Britishgovernment was poor. To make money, Great Britain began taxing its people, sothat citizens had to pay more money to the government. The people the governmenttaxed the most were those living in overseas (or foreign) colonies, includingAmerica. Great Britain passed a series of acts (or laws) to put taxes on common things suchas sugar, stamps, and tea. The acts made the colonists very angry, because theydidn‘ t want to pay so much for the things they needed. So they boycotted (or did notbuy) many of these things. However, some colonists did not feel this was enoughand wanted to do more, much more. What they wanted was to get rid of (or to nothave any longer) the British government‘s power over their land. After years of these unfair taxes, the American colonists decided to do somethingabout it. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and divided itinto three sections. The first part included the reasons that America had the right tobe independent. The second part had a list of things that the British King had doneto hurt America. The third part was the actual declaration of independence. The Declaration of Independence was signed by many famous people, includingThomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both later became U.S. presidents.Benjamin Franklin, the important thinkerand writer, also signed the Declaration of Independence. 9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence? Answer: ?Life ?Liberty ?Pursuit of happiness Explanation: The phrase Dlife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness‖ comes from the Declaration ofIndependence and it is something Americans talk a lot about. These words werewritten by Thomas Jefferson. He and the other men who wrote the Constitutionbelieved that these are unalienable rights, that people are born with and that agovernment should not be given the power to take them away. These words havebecome synonymous with (or have the same meaning as) the DAmerican spirit‖ (orthe way that Americans think and feel). In the United States, the right to life is considered the most basic of all rights. It‘sexactly what it sounds like: the right to be alive. It may seem funny that the menwho wrote the Declaration of Independence included life as a right, but many of theearliest Americans had come from countries that did not take this right seriously. Inmany of these countries, governments executed (or killed) their own citizens. Thisis why the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence included the right to life. The second of Jefferson‘s rights is the right to liberty (or freedom). The right toliberty is a person‘s right to make his or her own decisions. Again, many of thecountries from which the earliest Americans came did not give their people this right. The rights to life and liberty are easy to understand, but the third right, the right tothe pursuit of happiness, is more vague (or unclear and difficult to understand). Topursue is to work hard to get something, in this case, happiness. Happiness, ofcourse, could mean anything a person wants to have: a job, a family, or a safe placeto live. The writers of the Declaration of Independence believed that the governmentshould not interfere with (or get in the way of) a person‘s right to pursue happiness. The pursuit of happiness is exemplified by (or shown or seen in) many Americanrags-to-riches stories, where a person who is very poor becomes very richbecause of their own hard work, including those of several U.S. Presidents. 10. What is freedom of religion? Answer: You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion. Explanation: Many of the earliest Americans followed a religion that was different from the one practiced (or believed in) by the people in government. These early Americans fled(or ran away from) their original countries because they were treated unfairlybecause of their religious beliefs. When it was time for them to write their owngoverning document (or laws to create a country) they felt that freedom of religionwas very important. Freedom of religion is also sometimes called separation ofchurch and state. Separation of church and state means that religion (also called the Dchurch‖) and government (also called the Dstate‖) are separate and independentand sh ould not work too closely together. For example, it is unconstitutional (oragainst the law) for Congress to make a law that says Americans have to attend (orgo to) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or any other place where people meetfor religious purposes. The government also cannot endorse one religious groupover another, meaning that the government cannot tell Americans which religion itthinks is the best. Either of these things would violate (or go against) Americans‘freedom ofreligion. The United States was one of the first countries in the world to have freedom ofreligion. Today, this is one of the most important freedoms in the United States.About seventy-five percent of Americans are Christians, but other religions such asJudaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are also practiced by many people in theU.S., while some people don‘t follow any religion at all. Because religious freedomis widespread and accepted in most areas and by most people in the country,religious diversity (or the existence of many different religions in the same place at the same time) has become normal in this country. The men who wrote theConstitution and passed the amendments in the Bill of Rights were mostly white,wealthy, Protestant Christians. They would have had no way of knowing how muchreligious diversity the U.S. would have many, many years later as a result of theircreating freedom of religion. Freedom of religion has always been a controversial topic (or a topic that is oftenargued over because people have many different opinions). Even in recent years,there have been many legal questions about whether religion belongs in school andin public places. Not everyone agrees on how religion and government should beseparated, and the courts continue to change how they interpret (or understand)freedom of religion. 11. What is the economic system in the United States? Answer: ?Capitalist economy ?Market economy Explanation: If you want to start a business, maybe by opening a restaurant or a clothing store,the United States is a good place to do it. This is because the U.S. has a capitalist,or market, economy, making it acceptable and fairly easy for private entities (orindividuals and businesses that are not owned by the government) to buy, sell, andtrade things for money without government interference (or involvement by thegovernment). In the U.S., the government doesn‘t decide how much things shouldcost or how much of something should be produced (or made). Instead, prices andproduction are decided based on a system called supply and demand, which refers to how much of a thing exists and how many people want to have that thing. How dowe know how much supply and demand there is for a product? There are twoimportant factors. The first is profit (or money a business gets by selling something),and the second is self-interest, which is when a person makes decisions based onwhat is best for him or herself, without paying attention to what is best for otherpeople. A man named Adam Smith is considered the father of American capitalism. Hewrote about his ideas in a famous book called The Wealth of Nations. He believedthat a capitalist system is run by an invisible hand. The invisible hand is the ideathat there is no need for government interference in the economy because the self-interestof individuals will serve the greater good (or the maximum benefits foreveryone in society). To understand this idea, imagine that a store near your home sells a piece of candyfor $20. You think that this price is too high, but it is the only place to buy candy, so ifyou want candy, you have to pay the $20. However, if the store across the streetbegins selling the same piece of candy for $1, you will act in your own self-interestand buy the less expensive candy. The more expensive store will be forced to lowerits candy prices to compete with the cheaper store, or else it won‘t sell any candyand won‘t make any profit. In this situation, everyone involved has acted out of self-interest,and the final result is a lower price for candy. The lower prices will servethe greater good of everyone in the neighborhood, because everyone can buy morecandy. This is the basic principle (or explanation) behind the invisible hand and theUnited States‘ market economy. 12. What is the “rule of law”?Answer: ?Everyone must follow the law ?Leaders must obey the law ?Government must obey the law ?No one is above the law Explanation: More than 800 years ago, in a city in England, a group of men got together to create a new kind of government. At the time, England was ruled by a king, but the king did not follow the same laws as the rest of the people. So these men wrote a document called the Magna Carta, which said that the king must obey (or follow) the same laws as everyone else. This idea we now call &the rule of law.& Many years later, in 1787, the people who drafted (or planned in writing) the Constitution used the Magna Carta as part of its system of government for the new United States. These people believed in a government for the people and by the people (or a government created and run by American citizens), so the rule of law was put in place (or established) to protect against totalitarianism (or a type of government in which almost everything is controlled by the government) or against mob rule (control of the government by a large group of people, usually using violence to get power). Early Americans felt that the rule of law was central (or very important) to the concept of democracy. They felt that equality, which is the idea that everyone should be treated in the same way under the law, was the only way to be fair to all Americans in all aspects (or parts) of life. In the United States today, police officers, the president, normal citizens, and everyone else must follow the same laws. No matter how much money or power a person has, he or she cannot be exempt from following (or not have to follow) the law. The Drule of law‖ also means that all Americans have the right to the same protections under the law. This idea of equal protection under the law is known as due process. Due process is one of the rights guaranteed to all Americans in the Bill of Rights. Rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion are better known, but due process is one of the most commonly used rights in the United States. In fact, these are some common phrases that Americans use to express the ideas of due process and the rule of law: DEveryone is equal in the eyes of the law‖ and DJustice (or the legal system) is blind.‖---------------------------------------------B: System of Government---------------------------------------13. Name one branch or part of the government. Answer: ?Congress/legislative ?President/executive ?The courts/judicial Explanation: The United States government is divided into three branches (or parts), and all three share equal (or the same) amounts of power. The easiest way to understand the divisions (or parts) of American government is to think of the government as a tree, with three branches of the same size growing from the trunk (or the base, which is the biggest part of the tree). The government was set up this way in the Constitution by the Founding Fathers so that no one branch of government would be able to have absolute power (or total control) over another.The first of the three branches of government is Congress, which is also known as the legislative branch. Legislative is another word for lawmaking, so Congress is the branch that makes and passes (or approves) laws. Congress also has the power to control how the government spends its money, known as appropriations. The legislative branch is located in the U.S. Capitol building, a famous building with a dome roof (or round top) in Washington, D.C. The second branch is the executive branch, which is the president of the United States. Executive means Dleader,‖ so it is the president‘s job to lead the country and its military (or the people and organizations who fight for a country, usually to protect it). The vice president, the president‘s top advisor (or most trusted guide), is also an important part of the executive branch. The president lives and works in the White House, which is also located in Washington, D.C. The executive branch also includes all of the departments, agencies, and government organizations that help carry out or put into practice the laws of the United States. The third branch of government is the judicial (or legal) branch, also known as the courts. The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. is the highest or most powerful court in the judicial branch, but there are also many smaller federal (or national) courts. All of these courts interpret (or decide how to understand) and explain the laws passed by Congress. Each division of the government holds separate and different powers, but the three branches are all part of the same tree and are all necessary for making sure that the United States‘ system of government continues to work. 14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful? Answer: ?Checks and balances ?Separation of powers Explanation: The people who created the U.S. government wanted a way to make sure that no one branch (or part) of the government becomes too powerful. They built a system of checks and balances, also known as a separation of powers, into the Constitution. We can find one example of checks and balances in the United States‘ process for making laws. Congress, or the legislative branch, is responsible for making and passing (or approving) laws. But what if Congress writes and passes a law that is unconstitutional (or that doesn‘t follow the Constitution), such as a law that says that Americans no longer have freedom of speech? If a law like this were passed, the President as part of the executive branch could veto (or cancel) the law. Another way to stop this law would be for the Supreme Court, part of the judicial branch, to say that it is against the Constitution, using its power of judicial review (or the power to overturn or undo laws passed by Congress). In this example, you can see that when one branch tries to do something that does not follow the Constitution, one or both of the other branches can stop that from happening. Another good example of the separation of powers is the process by which a person becomes a Supreme Court justice (or a judge on the Supreme Court, the most powerful court in the U.S.). A prospective (or potential or possible) Justice is first appointed (or chosen) by the president. Congress must then approve of this appointment by getting a majority vote, which means that more than 50% of Congress must vote Dyes‖ for the prospective judge. After receiving approval from Congress, the justice serves a life term (or for the rest of his or her life) on theSupreme Court. As a Supreme Court judge, he or she can make decisions based on what the Constitution says, without worrying about what Congress or the President think. This way, the Justice can help overturn a law passed by Congress or decide that one of the president‘s actions does not follow the law, without worrying about losing his or her job! 15. Who is in charge of the executive branch? Answer: The President Explanation: Many people know who the president of the United States is, but what does the president do? The president is the person in charge of (or responsible for) the executive branch. The president‘s main job is to be the commander-in-chief, which means that he or she commands, or is the top leader of, the United States armed forces (or military). As commander-in-chief, the president has the power to send troops (or soldiers) to fight overseas (or in another country) at any time, but he or she can‘t officially declare (or decide on) a war without the approval (or agreement) of Congress. The president is also known as the head of state. The head of any organization is the person who is in charge, and is the most important and powerful person in that organization. So as the head of state, the president is responsible for developing important relationships with leaders of other countries. Another of the president‘s powers is the ability to appoint (or choose) people to serve in the government. The most important people the president appoints are the members of his or her cabinet (or the group of people who give the president advice). The most powerful person in the president‘s cabinet is the vice president. If the president dies or is unable to perform his responsibilities (or do his job) for any reason, the vice president must lead the country and its military. The president has a lot of power, so there are some important requirements for the job. To become president, a person must be at least 35 years old, born in the United States, and must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Once a president is elected (or chosen by the voters), his or her term of office (or the length of time that he or she has the job) is four years. A president cannot serve more than two terms, for a total of eight years. This term limit (or the maximum number of years that a person can be president) is established in the 22nd Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1951. This limit exists for the same reason that checks and balances exist: to make sure that no one person (in this case, the president) can wield (or hold or use) too much power in the government. 16. Who makes federal laws? Answer: ?Congress ?Senate and House (of Representatives) ?(U.S. or national) legislature Explanation: Making a federal (or national) law in the United States is a complex (or complicated and not simple) process that takes a lot of time. This is good, because it means that the laws can‘t be easily changed. New laws can be made only when a lot of people agree that they are a good idea. Federal (or national) laws can be made only by the national legislature (or the part ofthe government that makes laws), which is known as Congress. Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning that it has two chambers (or parts). The two parts are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate and the House are equal partners, meaning that they have the same amount of power. A law cannot be enacted (or created) without the consent (or agreement) of both chambers. When people want to create a new law, they speak with their senator or representative, who will then write a bill, which is a proposal or an idea for a new law. That bill is given a special number to identify it and then copies are made for all the people in that chamber. Then the bill is sent to a committee (or a small group of people working together for a specific purpose) that specializes in that topic. The committee discusses (or talks about) the bill and the committee can make changes to the bill if it wants to. Then it tells the full chamber what it thinks about whether the bill should become a law. Next, the full chamber debates (or talks about the reasons for or against the bill) and votes on the bill. If the bill passes (or is approved) in one chamber, then it is sent to the other chamber. For example, if it passes in the Senate, then it is sent to the House of Representatives. Just like in the other chamber, a committee discusses the bill and might make changes before it is debated and voted on by the full chamber. If the second chamber also approves the bill, then committees from both chambers meet to work out the differences (or to find a way to agree) on the two different versions of the bill. Once the final version of the bill is passed in both chambers, both the House and the Senate, it is sent to the president. If the president signs it, then the bill becomes a law. 17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? Answer: The Senate and House (of Representatives) Explanation: In the United States, the word Congress is used to refer to (or talk about) the legislative (or lawmaking) part of American government. Most people know this meaning of the word. But did you know that there is another meaning of the word congress? Congress also means a meeting of legislators (or the people who make laws). In the U.S. government, you will hear both meanings of this word used. In fact, a new congress―meaning a new meeting―starts every two years. The first congress was held in 1774. The current congress, then, is the 110 th Congress, which first convened (or met) on January 4, 2007. When the first congress was held in 1774, Congress was still unicameral, meaning that it had only one part or group of legislators. However, the leaders of the country very quickly realized (or noticed) that the new American government was not very efficient (or didn‘t do things very quickly or very well), so they wanted to change the system. One of the major disputes (or disagreements) about Congress was how the 50 states would be represented in the federal (or national) government. People from small states thought that each state should be represented equally (or in the same way). People from large states thought that states with a higher population (or more people living there) should have more power to make decisions. The solution (or the way to fix the problem) was to write a new constitution (or document that creates the government for a country) and make the Congress become bicameral (or with two parts).How does a bicameral Congress allow people in large and small states to have better representation? The answer is in how the Congress works. The two parts of the Congress are the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has equal representation, which means that each state has two representatives. The House of Representatives is different: larger states have more representatives and smaller states have fewer. The Senate and the House of Representatives have to work together to make new laws. This way, neither big nor small states have more power than other states. With this solution, both sides of the dispute were satisfied (or pleased). 18. How many U.S. Senators are there? Answer: One hundred (100) Explanation: The government of the United States was founded (or created) on the idea that the people who live in a country should be able to participate in the government. However, more than three hundred million people live in the United States. It would be virtually (or almost) impossible to get all of those people to meet together and make decisions as such a large group. That is why the U.S. government is based on a system of representation, with a few people voting and making decisions for larger groups of people. This representation is in two parts: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has only 100 representatives and they are called senators. These senators represent the three hundred million people who live in the United States. This is a big job! Two senators are elected (or chosen) from each state, no matter how many people live in each state. This gives all fifty states equal representation. When people want to participate in their government, they should contact (or speak with or write to) their senators and other representatives. Each of the senators has only one vote, so one senator is not more powerful than another senator. However, there are some special roles (or positions) in the Senate. For example, the vice president of the United States is the president of the Senate, but can vote only to break a tie, which is when an equal number of senators vote for and against something. The senators also elect a president pro tem who acts as the president of the Senate when the vice president of the United States cannot participate. A political party is a group of people who have the same political beliefs and belong to the same political organization. In the U.S., there are currently two major political parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. In the Senate, each political party elects a leader. The leader of the party with the most number of senators is known as the majority leader and the leader for the party with fewer senators is called the minority leader. These people are sometimes called the floor leaders. They are the spokespeople, or the people who represent the political party in public. 19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years? Answer: Six (6) Explanation: U.S. senators serve (or work in their public position) for six-year terms that are staggered, which means they don‘t all begin and end at the same time. One -third of the senators are elected every two years. With staggered terms, there are alwayssome senators who have experience and can guide the new senators. This gives the Senate continuity. In any organization, continuity (or the way that something stays the same over time) is extremely important. The United States Senate is no exception (or no different). If all the senators started and ended their terms (or the period of time they work in their public position) at the same time, then all the new senators would begin at the same time and nobody, or only very few people, would know how Senate meetings should be. All of the senators would be trying to learn their new job at the same time and the Senate would not run very smoothly or easily until they did. State legislators (or people who make laws in the government at the state level) used to elect (or choose) senators. However, since 1913, senators have been elected directly by the votes of the citizens who live in their state. Once a senator is elected, he or she can serve for the full six years before having to run for election (or try to get the public position through votes) again. Sometimes, however, senators are expelled (or forced to leave) before their term ends. This has happened only 15 times so far and the last time was in 1862. Since then, the Senate has tried to expel some senators, but those senators have resigned (or chosen to leave that job) before the other senators could make them leave. When a vacancy (or an open position) is available, maybe because a senator has resigned or died, there is usually a special election to find a new senator to represent that state. Senators who are elected this way finish the time left in the previous senator‘s six-year term and usually do not serve the full six years. 20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators? Answer: Answers will vary. [For District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories, the answer is that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.] Explanation: If you are walking outdoors in the United States, especially in front of a university, library, or public building, don‘t be too surprised (or shocked) if you are asked to participate in a letter-writing campaign to your U.S. Senator. American citizens who are unhappy about something that the government is doing can communicate (or speak) with their representatives, which include senators from their state. A letter-writing campaign is an attempt to get many people to write to their senator on a single topic. For organizations, writing letters to senators or other representatives is an effective way to do advocacy (or to show what they think and to tell the government how things should be done). When the Senate is going to vote on an important topic, some advocacy groups start a letter-writing campaign to show that the issue is important and to try to get a senator to vote a certain way. When a senator receives many letters from his or her constituency (or the people who live in an area that the senator represents), then the senator knows that the topic is important for many of the people who elected him or her. This information might help the senator decide to vote a certain way. Sometimes the people who organize letter-writing campaigns have pre-printed (or already written) letters that people can just sign (or write one‘s name) and send to the senator‘s office. Other organizations request (or ask) that people write their own letter. This is more effective than a pre-printed letter, because it shows the senator that that person cares enough about the topic to take the time to write a letter about it. Sometimes people also call their senator‘s office when they have strong feelingsabout a topic. If you are a citizen of the United States and you want to find out who your senator is and to get his or her contact information, such as their address, telephone number, or email address, you can go to the official website for the U.S. Senate and look at the list of senators representing all 50 states. 21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members? Answer: Four hundred thirty-five (435) Explanation: Americans live all over the United States, but some places are much more popular than others. For example, more than 35 million people live in California, but only about 500,000 people live in Wyoming. One of the challenges (or difficult things to do) in the U.S. government is to let big and small states participate in the government fairly. Is it fair to give both states equal participation in the government? Or should California have more power than Wyoming since it has so many more people? The people who created the U.S. government decided that they would have to answer ?yes‘ to both questions. They created the Senate, where each state has equal power no matter how big or small it is, and they created the House of Representatives, where states with more people have more power than states with fewer people. The House of Representatives currently has 435 representatives, or people who are elected (or chosen by large groups of people) to make decisions for their states. Congress can pass a law to change the total number of representatives if it wants to, but the number hasn‘t changed from 435 since 1910. Larger states have more representatives than smaller states do. Right now, California has the most, with 53 representatives. Several of the smallest states, such as Wyoming, Montana, and North and South Dakota, have only one representative each. The U.S. government does a census every few years, which is an official count of the number of people living in the country. After each census, how many representatives each state gets of the 435 seats (or positions) in the House of Representatives is redone. This means that states that have grown may get more representatives and states that have shrunk (or become smaller) get fewer representatives. This process is called apportionment, which means deciding how something should be shared among many people or, in this case, among many states. In addition to the 435 representatives, the House also has four delegates who can speak at the meetings but cannot vote. These delegates represent Washington, D.C. (the nation‘s capitol), and the country‘s territories, which are areas of land that belong to the United States but are not states. 22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years? Answer: Two (2) Explanation: In most jobs, if you do your work well, you can continue working there almost as long as you like. In general, this is a good thing, but some people think that the United States Congress should be different. When we elect (or choose) a U.S. Representative, he or she works as a representative for only two years. This isknown as his or her term, or the length of time that a person works in a public position. Once those two years have ended, if he or she wants to continue to work as a representative, he or she can be reelected for another two years. This can continue indefinitely (or forever or without end). Some people think that this is a good idea, because it lets us reward representatives who do their work well by allowing them to continue to represent us. But other people believe that there should be a term limit, which would be a maximum number of times that a representative can be reelected for two-year terms. The U.S. President, for example, has a term limit and can be president for only two four-year terms, for a total of eight years. The people who advocate for (or are in favor of) term limits believe that this would let more people participate in the House of Representatives, bringing new ideas and enthusiasm (or interest and desire to do something) to their work. Americans have debated (or argued for and against) term limits for many years, but there is still no agreement. In 2003, a popular newspaper called the Wall Street Journal conducted (or carried out) a study about term limits and found that 2/3 of all Americans would like to have term limits in Congress. Because term limits are such a popular idea in many parts of the country, many representatives have pledged (or said that they would do something) to limit the number of terms that they serve (or work in a public position as representatives). However, there is no legal requirement for them to do this. It might, however, help them to get elected if this is something that is important to voters in their area. 23. Name your U.S. Representative. Answer: Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.] Explanation: It‘s important for Americans to know not only who their U.S. Representative is, but also how he or she is representing them. Americans need to know how their representatives are voting and whether or not those votes accurately (or correctly) represent their interests. If the representative isn‘t voting the way that his or her constituents (or the people represented by a representative) want, then those constituents should vote for someone else in the next elections. However, it could be difficult and time-consuming (or taking a lot of time) to find out how a representative is voting. That is because the U.S. Congress spends a lot of time talking about important issues and voting on many different bills (or ideas for new laws). A normal American wouldn‘t have time to read all of those bills and find out how his or her representative is voting. That would be a full-time job! Fortunately, many organizations try to gather (or collect) this information, summarize it (or say the most important ideas in fewer words), and share that information with voters, so that they can make informed decisions. Some groups provide biographical information (or information about a person‘s life) about representatives, as well as their voting records (or a list of how a person has voted on all decisions during a certain period of time). People can quickly read this information to determine how well their representative is representing them. The website for the U.S. House of Representatives provides the roll call votes, orlists of how representatives have voted over time. However, the other organizations make this information easier to understand, because they also explain what the votes mean for each bill and show changes in a representative‘s votes over time. Many people study the voting records published by these organizations before they decide who they want to vote for. 24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent? Answer: All people of the state Explanation: Here‘s an interesting thing about the U.S. government: even if you vote against the person who wins an election (or a competition to see who gets the most votes and is chosen for a public position), he or she has to represent you! In other words, if you vote for person A to become senator, but person B wins, then person B must represent you just as if you had voted for him or her! That is why we say that U.S. senators represent all the people of a state. How does a senator do this? Obviously (or clearly), a senator cannot meet and speak with all the people whom he or she represents. This would take up too much time and he or she would never be able to attend the Senate sessions (or meetings with other representatives). So, instead of speaking with everyone in the state, senators rely on (or depend on or use) opinion polls (or surveys or questionnaires) that show what most people in their state think about important topics. This is an easy way for a senator to know what most people think about a certain law without having to call everyone to ask. Senators also try to create opportunities for interested voters to speak with them about pressing issues (or topics that they think are most important). Voters can always call, email, or write to their senators to share their opinions. Senators also have offices where they can meet with their constituents (or the people they represent). They normally have an office in Washington, D.C. where the Senate sessions are held (or where they happen), and at least one office in their state, usually in the most important city or cities. When Senate is in session (or having meetings), the senators are in Washington, D.C. The rest of the time, they are normally in their home states, speaking with voters and planning what they want to do the next time the Senate is in session. 25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states? Answer: ?(Because of) the state‘s population ?(Because) they have more people ?(Because) some states have more people Explanation: The fifty states of the United States have very different sizes, both in terms of (or related to) how much land there is and the population (or how many people there are). Some states are very large but
other states are very small but have many people. Even so, all fifty states need to be represented in the federal government. What was the solution? The Founding Fathers, or the people who created the U.S. government, decided to have two parts for lawmaking. One is the Senate, where each state has two representatives known as senators, no matter how many people live there. The other is the House of Representatives, where the number ofrepresentatives that each state has is proportional to its population, meaning that states with large populations have more representatives in the House than those states with small populations. Each state is divided into a number of districts (or areas), one for each representative that it has in the House. Each representative is elected by the people living in his or her district. Changing where the district boundaries (or the lines between districts) are drawn on the map can change which political party has more power in a district. Redistricting, or changing the district boundaries, is called gerrymandering when it influences (or affects) the results of elections so that one political party is more likely to win. As you can see, this is a very big issue because redistricting can decide which political party has power. Sometimes gerrymandering is used to make district boundaries match (or be the same as) where racial groups (or groups of people with the same skin color) live. If the district boundaries are drawn so that white people are the majority (the largest group) in each district, then it is more likely that only white representatives will be elected. Obviously gerrymandering is unfair, but it is very common in modern politics. Many have criticized this practice of racial gerrymandering. 26. We elect a President for how many years? Answer: Four (4) Explanation: Many of the people who came to North America and later created the U.S. government had come from countries that had kings. Many of those kings had too much power and they abused (or used in a bad way) their power, because they knew that they would be king for their entire life. That‘s why, when it was time to create the new U.S. government, our Founding Fathers didn‘t want to have any more kings, or even a president who acted like a king. They didn‘t want anyone to be able to become president for the rest of his or her life, so they made a term of four years, meaning that a U.S. president can be president for four years and then has to be elected again. But how many times can a president be re-elected? The original (or first and unchanged) Constitution didn‘t say. Our first president, George Washington, was president for two terms, or a total of eight years. Then he decided that he didn‘t want to run for office (or try to be elected) again. When he did this, he set a precedent, or a way of doing things that other people followed. For many years, no other president ran for more than two terms. Presidents Ulysses Grant and Theodore Roosevelt tried to run for a third term, but they were unsuccessful. In 1940, however, President Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to be elected for a third term. Actually, he even won a fourth term and could have served for 16 years total, but he died in office early in his fourth term. After he died, Congress (or the lawmaking part of the U.S. government) decided that it didn‘t want anyone to be able to be president for more than two terms becaus e it would give the president too much power. They created what would become the 22 nd Constitutional Amendment (or a change or addition to the constitution), which states that no one can be elected to the office (or position) of president more than twice (or two times). The Amendment was created by Congress in 1947, and ratified (or approved) by the states in 1951. 27. In what month do we vote for President?Answer: November Explanation: In the United States, t