Институт президенства в США
Content
Introduction 3
Constitution USA 3
Nation Grows. Washington Through Jackson. Jefferson 5
Presidents of the United States 7
Thomas Jefferson 8
Jefferson's Reason 8
The “American Creed" and Mankind's Spiritual History 9
Jacksonian Democracy 11
Jonh F. Kennedy 12
Presidents at a Glance 18
Excerpts from Inaugural Addresses of American Presidents 22
The literature 24
Introduction
The US is a federal Union of 50 states each of them has its own
government. The seat of the central (federal) government is Washington,
D.C.
The population of the USA is about 250 million people; most of the
population lives in towns and cities.
The United States is rich in natural and mineral resources. It produces
copper, oil, iron ore and coal. It's a highly developed industrial and
agricultural country. There are many big cities in the USA, such as New
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and others. The national capital
is Washington, D.C. Its population is about 3.4 million. It was built in
the late eighteenth century as the centre of government. It was named after
George Washington, the first president of USA and general of war.
The USA are the fourth largest country in the World (after Russia,
Canada, and China). It occupies the southern part of North America and
stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. It also includes Alaska
in the North and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The total area of the country
is about nine and half million square kilometers. The USA borders on Canada
in the North and on Mexico in the South. It also has a sea border with
Russia.
The USA is a presidential republic. The legislative branch of the US
Government, or the Congress, represents all of the American states. It
consists of two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each
state has two senators, who are elected every 6 years. A senator must be at
least 30 years old, a citizen of the US for 9 years and live the state she
or he will represent. A representative must be at least 25 years old, a
citizen for 7 years and live in the state.
USA - the very first state accepted the constitution. It is one of the
first countries which have established democracy by the basic form of
board. In this report we shall tell about the reasons of occurrence of the
constitution and about its influence on development of the state on an
example of president's institute.
Constitution USA
With independence came many problems. The U. S. were joined together
under one government by the Articles of Confederation. The articles listed
the powers of the central government and the powers of the states. There
was a national Congress made up of representatives from each state. But
Congress had almost no power at all. The 13 states acted like 13 separate
little nations. There were many times when states would not cooperate with
the central government. They were too busy quarrelling with each other. The
U. S. was in danger of falling.
In May 1787 a meeting began in Philadelphia to change the Articles of
Confederation. Representatives from all the states except Rhode Island were
present. It was soon decided that whole new constitution had to be written.
A constitution is set of laws by which a country is governed.
This meeting became known as the Constitutional Convention. Washington
was chosen president of the convention. A 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin
took part in its work. A new group of first-rate leaders were at this
meeting. Among these leaders were James Madison and Gouverneur Morris. The
people who attended the convention did their work very well. The
Constitution has lasted to the present.
What kind of government would be the best for the USA?
The delegates all agreed that the new government should continue to be a
republic. This means that the people would elect representatives to manage
their country.
The delegates knew that they wanted a federal government. In such a
government the power is divided between the national and the state
governments. The national government would collect taxes and borrow money.
It would control trade with foreign countries and between states. The
national government would print or coin money. It alone could declare war.
All other powers were left to the states. Matters within a state would be
settled by that state.
The members of the Constitutional Convention wanted a government that
would protect the people's rights, not take them away. So they divided the
government's power into three parts, or branches. This is called separation
of powers.
The legislative branch was the Congress. Its major job was to make laws.
The executive branch was the President and his helpers. It was their job to
carry out the laws the Congress passed. The judicial branch was the courts.
They had to decide the meaning of the laws.
Each branch had some power over the other two. No one branch would be
allowed more power than the others.
A big debate at the convention was over the matter of who would control
Congress. Large states wanted representatives to Congress based on the
number of people in the state. Small states wanted an equal vote with the
larger states. This problem was solved by giving Congress two parts.
Regardless of size each state would send two representatives to the Senate,
one part of Congress. States with more people would send more delegates to
the House of Representatives, the other part of Congress. In order for a
law to be passed, it had to go through both parts of Congress.
The new Constitution included a way to make changes, called amendments.
If things didn't work out, or if the USA grew о changes, the Constitution
could be amended without being entirely changed. This was to prove helpful
very soon.
Nine state governments had to approve the Constitution be fore it could
become the law of the land. Many states refused to do so unless the
Constitution listed people's rights as well as the rights of the
government. They argued that important freedoms must be written down. Once
the states were promised that this would happen, the Constitution would
become law.
James Madison saw to it that these freedoms were written down. Madison
had been very active at the Constitutional Convention. After the Convention
he worked hard to explain the Constitution to the people. Once the new
government was started, Madison wrote many amendments that would make
rights like freedom the press, speech and worship part of the Constitution.
Ten of these amendments were passed by the states. These first ten
amendments to the Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights.
Nation Grows. Washington Through Jackson. Jefferson
April 30, 1789 was Inauguration Day for the young nation's first
President. An inauguration is the ceremony that puts someone office.
Washington did not want to be President. He wanted to live at his beautiful
home Mount Vernon. But he put his love for his country ahead of his own
wishes. Washington traveled from Mount Vernon to New York City. New York
City was the nation's first capital. Washington took the oath of office on
the Bible. He promised to do his best to keep, protect and defend the
Constitution. The Constitution listed the powers and duties of the
President.
The new government was started with a Constitution, a Congress, a
President and little else. Both Washington and the Congress knew that the
new government would have to show its strength very quickly.
The job of President was too big for one person alone. Congress formed
three departments to help Washington. These departments went to work on
three of the biggest problems facing the new nation.
The State Department would work on relations with other nations. The War
Department would build a national navy and army. It is now called the
Department of Defense. The Treasury Department would handle the nation's
money problems.
Washington chose able leaders for each of these departments. Each leader
would be called a secretary. Thomas Jefferson became secretary of state;
Henry Knox, secretary of war and Alexander Hamilton secretary of treasury.
Each of these men advised the President. Final decisions were made by the
President, however.
The group of advisors became known as the Cabinet. Future Presidents
would all have a Cabinet.
The Constitution called for a third branch of government - a Supreme
Court. All questions about the Constitution and federal laws would be
settled by this court. Washington appointed John Jay as head of the Supreme
Court. He was called the Chief Justice.
In 1791 Congress passed a tax law in order to raise money for the new
government. Some people thought they would rather fight than pay these
taxes. Washington formed an army to stop them. He showed future Presidents
how to be a strong leader.
The nation also grew and expanded while Washington was President. The new
states - Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee - entered the Union.
Washington could have been President for life. But he didn't feel this
was right. He had devoted most of his life to helping his country. Now, he
was 65 years old and had served two terms, or four-year periods as
President. With the exception of Franklin Roosevelt, every President has
