Political system in America. US political system: government bodies

It is determined by their main Law - the Constitution, adopted back in 1787. The main principles and defining concepts of the system are also indicated in amendments adopted somewhat later, or in other laws. The Constitution transfers powers to the Federal Government of the States. The main Law of the country also defines the principle of separation of three powers, according to which the Federal Government consists of bodies independent from each other: legislative, executive, and judicial. They, in turn, act separately from each other.

The US Constitution consists of several parts:

preamble, which describes in detail the main goals of the adoption of the Constitution, their number is 85;
articles - 7 pieces;
amendments - 27 pieces, the first ten of which are the Bill of Rights.

Politic system USA: legislative branch of government

The highest body in the United States is the bicameral Parliament, which makes up the US Congress, which consists of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives. In the Senate, each of the 50 states has 2 representatives. The specific number of persons who can represent a particular state is determined every decade and depends on the population in a particular state. However, even if the number of resident citizens is small, each state has at least one representative in the US Senate. Senators are elected for 6 years, representatives for two years. Each of them can be elected an unlimited number of times.

US executive branch

Executive power in the United States is exercised only in a very voluminous manner. Everyone is under his direct subordination, including ministers and heads of departments. The President manages the entire mechanism of the executive apparatus.

The executive apparatus, together with the president, forms presidential power in the state. The President forms the administration, the Cabinet of Ministers and executive boards. The Cabinet of Ministers, in turn, is not authorized to adopt government acts; it is an advisory body, so the President may not follow the advice given to him.

Form of government in the USA

Reflects the way of organization and structure supreme authority, the principles on which the interaction between its various institutions is based, and the participation of the population in the formation of the country's government units.

The form of government has several basic properties:

the way in which the echelons of supreme power are formed;
structure of government bodies;
principles underlying the interaction of authorities: legislative, executive;
interaction between citizens of the state and the authorities;
the degree of provision of freedoms for the population by government structures.

The US political system is determined by the republican form of government, which is guaranteed by the Constitution of the state (Article IV). in America it is implemented in the form of a presidential republic and has the following principles: The President of the Republic (in this case, the USA) is the head of the government and state, the government is not accountable to Congress, the President does not have the authority to dissolve the chambers of Congress.

Political government in the country is built on the principle of separation of powers. This principle in the conditions of the United States has been reincarnated into. The actual relations existing between the three bodies that form the power in the state - the President of the United States, the Congress, the Supreme Court - are undergoing constant changes, but the principle of separation remains unshakable.

According to the constitution adopted in 1787, most of the powers in the field government controlled transferred to the United States federal government. At the same time, a significant share of government powers is the responsibility of each individual state.

According to the Constitution of the United States of America, the principle of separation of powers is decisive in the country. It divides the federal government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each of which operates independently of each other.

In the US political system, the highest legislative body is the Congress, consisting of two chambers. The lower one is the House of Representatives, the upper one is the United States Senate.

The highest executive body in the country is the President of the United States. He is not only the head of state, but also the commander-in-chief of its armed forces. There is also the post of vice president, who is the second person in the country after the president. Previously, representatives of competing parties became president and vice president in the United States, which made it possible to reconcile the ambitions of the warring parties. Today, both top officials in the United States are elected from the same party.

The highest judicial authority in the United States is the Supreme Court. It consists of 9 judges, one of them is elected chairman. Typically, the US Supreme Court acts as an appellate court, but in some cases (for example, when considering cases involving diplomats), it acts as a trial court.

There are two main parties in the US political system: Democratic and Republican. They have been waging a political struggle among themselves for more than 150 years. The US Democratic Party was founded in 1828 and is the oldest party in the world. The donkey became its unofficial symbol, which speaks of stubborn overcoming any difficulties. The US Republican Party has been active since 1854, its unofficial symbol is an elephant, which shows power. In addition, there are other smaller parties in the United States, but their voices are invisible in the political arena.

US education is distinguished by a high level of education, the widespread popularity of American diplomas, the impeccability of the English language and the presence of brilliant job opportunities not only in a country of prosperity and limitless realities, but also in various parts of the world. The American educational system is famous for its diversity. The proof of this is:

Education scheme

Despite the lack of a single state system education and the determination of its structure by each state individually, education in America has a multi-stage nature. The country's educational system consists of:

Preparing children for school

Instilling an interest in learning, developing a child’s abilities, and shaping him as a person are the main tasks preschool education in the USA, which is represented by such institutions as nurseries, kindergartens, preschool centers (public and private). A fairly common occurrence at this stage of education was the creation of schools - nurseries for the youngest pupils.

The basis methodological activities All preschool institutions are based on the principle of play, from which there is a smooth transition to reading, writing, and the formation of appropriate skills for academic work at school. Meanwhile, the main emphasis is on the all-round development of the child, which is to a certain extent facilitated by modeling, making crafts, music, drawing, singing, and physical exercise.

Some states issue general achievement certificates upon completion. preschool(in certain cases required document for enrollment in primary school).

There is known experience in opening small private kindergartens for Russian children from the age of two (the number of pupils does not exceed 8 people).

Schooling

Schooling is the education of children in primary and secondary schools. Primary schools in America they assume a differentiated principle of staffing classes. Depending on the results of the test, which tests the child’s intelligence, flexibility and depth of mental abilities, students are enrolled in groups (“gifted”, “normal”, “incapable”). Consequently, teaching in group “A” orients students toward entering college from the first days of classes, which are characterized by a high level of demands on students’ knowledge.

The content of training at the initial stage is determined curriculum which includes: reading, writing, literature, spelling, native language(orally). In accordance with planning, arithmetic, geography, history, natural science, and hygiene are studied. A certain role is given to manual labor and physical education, music and the visual arts. However, the distribution of educational time for studying subjects is ambiguous: arithmetic, music, manual labor And art occupy equal positions.

The duration of education in secondary school is 6 years (junior level - 3 years, senior level - the same period). Junior secondary school is distinguished by the absence of uniform programs, plans and textbooks. The universality of training at this level is determined by the following factors:

duration school year, including semesters (170-186 days);
five-day school week;
duration of classes (from 8.30 to 15.30);
availability of a system for selecting subjects from grade 8;
compulsory study of English, mathematics, natural science, social studies, hygiene, physical education, music, labor and fine arts.

Major disciplines of the curriculum at the senior level high school are subjects such as English (4 years of study), mathematics (2 years), natural Sciences(2 years) and social (3 years of study).

Availability various types secondary schools (academic, vocational, multidisciplinary) determines their focus. The academic type of schools guides students toward subsequent education at a higher level. Required condition upon admission is passing a test, which determines the student’s mental giftedness coefficient (90 and above).

Vocational high schools prepare students for practical work.

A multidisciplinary secondary school assumes the presence of various departments from the 9th grade: industrial, agricultural, commercial, academic, general. Moreover, the last two profiles do not provide students with the proper level of preparation for entering colleges and universities.

Due to the compulsory nature of secondary education, American schoolchildren are provided with public schools (education is free), private schools with a high level of education on a fee basis, and specialized private schools for gifted children with the opportunity to study at home.

The presence of 3,000 private schools, where tuition is more than $2,000 per year, indicates the wealth of a certain number of Americans who can afford their children (about 3%) to study in such educational institutions. Graduates of private schools occupy positions of diplomats, leaders, and members of the government. Most private schools have been given the status of boarding houses (accommodation for students during the academic year).

A certain percentage of American parents use the option of homeschooling according to a pre-approved curriculum. The explanation for this is their religious beliefs, the presence of characteristics of the student’s physical development, and the desire of parents to protect their child from weapons, drugs and alcohol.

If earlier special education in the USA it was represented by a network of special institutions for children with mental disabilities, emotional development or with behavioral deviations, then currently the majority of children in this category receive the opportunity to study in regular classes in normal schools.

The presence of Russian emigrants in America contributed to the emergence of schools in the country that provide educational process for their children. A striking example of this was the opening of a free Russian school in the state of Florida (Jacksonville) in 2009, where teaching is conducted in English (in addition to Russian language and literature subjects).

Russian institutions such as all-day schools, Sunday church schools at Orthodox parishes, and Jewish centers have become widespread in the States.

Various studios provide Russian children with the opportunity to develop and improve their abilities and talents, training centers different directions (sports, theater, fine arts).

There is no national grading system in the United States (for some schools there is a numerical scale, for others it is a letter scale). A five-point letter scale with the highest grades A (excellent), B (good), C (average), D (below average), F (unsatisfactory) has become widespread in schools across the country.

The main form of testing students' knowledge is testing (annual tests of mental abilities, intraclass tests with a letter grading scale).

Completion of secondary education is accompanied by a high school diploma. The reality of this phenomenon is possible subject to passing credit in 16 academic courses, which students choose independently over 4 years of study.

Some schools practice organizing special courses equivalent to university level for talented students with subsequent issuance of letters of recommendation for admission to elite universities.

A necessary condition for attempting to obtain higher education in the USA is passing the SAT test (determining literate writing skills and level of problem solving).

Studying in the States on vacation

The educational process during the holidays is carried out through the organization of children's camps in the USA, providing children from many countries with unique opportunity recreation and improving the level of language training.

The effectiveness of summer training is achieved by a combination of high professionalism of teachers and modern equipment of classrooms for conducting classes. Education English language The camp provides for a mandatory curriculum of approximately 20 hours of instruction per week. Improving grammatical and lexical skills, training the ability to construct phrases correctly occurs naturally, in the process of conducting various events ( role playing games, excursions, meetings with interesting people, discos and sports competitions).

The most important advantage of summer schools and camps is providing the teenager with the opportunity to get rid of the language barrier due to complete immersion in the language environment. Private high schools are opening summer language camps in America, offering children individual language courses and thematic programs focused on teaching English. Such camps can be organized in the spring, during the winter and autumn holidays. The following programs have gained particular popularity among teenagers: “Language + Sports”, “English + Photo”, “English + Theater”.

The opportunity to study in the USA for Russian schoolchildren can be realized through the following options:

training in a public school for a year under the experience exchange program (FLEX) for teenagers from 15 to 18 years old;
admission and study at a private school;
obtaining permanent residence in America and choosing an educational institution for study (public or private).

Getting higher education

After graduating from high school, American teenagers are provided with the opportunity to access higher education thanks to the existence of community colleges, which form the basis of the vocational education system in the United States.

These are two-year colleges in which the student receives an associate degree and upon graduation is transferred to a university. The cost of studying at such a college ranges from 3.5 to 80 dollars per year.

These colleges are in demand not only among American but also foreign students due to the availability modern programs training, simplified document submission system, reasonable tuition costs, comfortable conditions residence. Vocational colleges provide the opportunity for students to continue their education at a university college to obtain a bachelor's degree.

Higher education in the USA is represented by universities and colleges, which can be public (state funded) or private.

The main feature of higher education institutions is the ability for students to choose a study program in the United States. This means that they choose subjects to study (in addition to those required in their specialty). Universities adequately provide their graduates with practical experience in their specialty through a combination of scientific and research activities and practice in the learning process. The duration of study at universities and colleges is 4 years. Graduates are awarded a bachelor's degree.

Obtaining academic degrees

Master's programs in the USA provide the opportunity to obtain a master's degree after continuing education for two years. Studying at the second stage of higher education comes down to the student preparing a major research project in his specialty and defending it.

The highest level of education is a Ph.D. The reality of its receipt is determined by the following factors:

For university graduates and graduate students in Russia, there is the opportunity to independently obtain an education and enter graduate school in America. Candidates of Science have a chance to enter graduate school, but with subsequent training for 2-3 years. For them, internships in American institutions of higher education, participation in research activities or lecturing during the evaluation (legalization) of a diploma for the USA are realistic.

Education for Russians in America

If you want to study abroad, you should think about how much it costs to study in the United States. The starting number is from 30 thousand dollars per year. Therefore, it is worth looking for opportunities to obtain free education in the USA, the reality of which can be realized through:

scholarships awarded based on student achievements;
grants provided in case of impossibility of paying tuition fees;
various types of financial assistance provided by the educational institution.

The following grant programs for studying in the USA are especially popular: the Fulbright program, the E. Muskie scholarship program, the AAUW educational foundation program.

To obtain an education in the States, you must pass tests (GRE, GMAT, SAT) with a high score, and prepare a motivation letter to the utmost High Quality, proving the uniqueness of the candidate for selection by the selection committee.

Searching for a scholarship or grant for free training should begin two years before admission, because application deadlines have their own deadline.

For outstanding athletes, there is a chance to receive free education through sports scholarships in the USA. However, this unique American benefit is issued only for 1 year; its extension is possible at the end of the season, provided that the athlete improves his results.

Students from Russia can study in the States under a student exchange program, which involves an agreement between educational institutions to complete an internship or study for 1-2 semesters while living on campus or with host families.

School education in the United States begins at 5-6 years of age and lasts 12 years. Basic information about schooling in the USA can be found here.

After graduation, the US education system offers several options for continuing education: at a two-year community college or at a four-year college of higher education.

After two years of study at a community college, the student receives a professional Associate’s degree of one of two types:

professional AD, which allows you to work in junior positions in offices, in production, in medicine, but is not taken into account when entering a university. As a rule, this is an associate of applied science degrees. Also, some community colleges issue students not diplomas, but certificates of completion, which, most likely, will also not be counted by the university as part of the bachelor's program.
academic AD - actually replaces the first two years of bachelor's programs, recorded as Associate of Arts or Associate of Science.

Upon entering a four-year college of higher education, a student moves to new level in the American education system - higher education.

The higher education system in the United States consists of three levels:

The first level is unergraduate: bachelor's degree. During the first two years of undergraduate programs, students receive a general education, and a specialization, major, is chosen in the 3rd year of study. Specialization is a block of items required to acquire a certain profession. However, the uniqueness of the US educational system is that specialization can be changed several times during the course of training - although this most often will require additional training time and costs.

The second level is graduate: master's degree. As a rule, in the USA, a master's degree is obtained by those who plan to build a scientific career, as well as a career in the field of psychology, education, and engineering. A significant part of master's programs are educational programs consisting of classroom and independent studies and a final written thesis - it is called a “master’s thesis” or “master’s project”.

The third level is postgraduate: graduate school. A master's degree prepares a student for this level, but he can also immediately enroll in a program leading to a PhD degree, receiving a master's degree during his studies as an intermediate one. The PhD degree is awarded after defending a dissertation.

All of the listed levels of education in the United States generally correspond to European educational levels. Read about how the education system in the USA and Russia compares and differs here.

The educational system in the United States is also quite unusual in terms of assessing student work.

The education system in America is highly flexible and variable, which attracts students from all over the world.

The United States of America is a federal republic.

Since 1959 the Federation comprises 50 states.

The president is the head of the state and executive body. He is also the commander-in-chief of the army and Navy of the USA. The president and vice-president are elected for a term of four years.

All the legislative power is vested in Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 senators and 435 members in the House of Representatives. Two Senators from each state are elected by popular vote for a term of six years, the Representatives are elected for two-year term. Both houses must approve the bill for it to become a law.

An essential role in the US political system is played by the Supreme Court, which may declare a law, passed by Congress, to be a contradictory to the Constitution of the country.

The various states have legislative and executive bodies of their own. Their structure, function and competence are determined by the Constitution of each state. There is an elected governor at the head of each state. States enjoy independence in their domestic affairs, including financial matters. However, state laws and actions of state authorities must not conflict with the Constitution of the USA.

US political system

The United States of America is a federal republic.

Since 1959, the Federation has consisted of 50 states.

The President is the head of state and executive power. He is also the Commander in Chief of the United States Army and Navy. The President and Vice President are elected for a term of four years.

All legislative power belongs to the US Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 senators and 435 members of the House of Representatives. Two senators from each state are elected by popular vote for six-year terms, and representatives are elected for two-year terms. Both houses must approve the bill for it to become law.

The Supreme Court plays a significant role in the US political system, which can declare a law passed by Congress to be contrary to the Constitution of the country.

The various states have their own legislative and executive branches. Their structure, functions and competence are determined by the constitution of each state. At the head of each state there is an elected governor. States enjoy independence in their internal affairs, including financial issues. However, state laws and government actions must not conflict with the US Constitution.