Unit 6 Government and Politics in the U.S..pptVIP

A Suspicion of Strong Government The ideal of the free individual has had a profound effect on the way Americans view their government. Traditionally, there has been a deep suspicion that government is the natural enemy of freedom, even if it is elected by people. The bigger and stronger the government becomes, the more dangerous many Americans believe it is to their individual freedom. This suspicion of strong government goes back to the men who led the American Revolution in 1776. These men believed the government of Great Britian wanted to discourage the freedom and economic opportunities of the American colonists by excessive taxes and other measures which would ultimately benefit the British aristocracy and monarchy [‘m?n?ki](君主统治). Thomas Paine, the famous revolutionary writer, expressed the view of other American revolutionists when he said, “Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.” In fact, the way in which the national government is organized in the U.S. Constitution provides an excellent illustration of the American suspicion of government power. They are checked and balanced by one another. ? The Constitution limits the power of each government branch, and prevents any one branch from gaining undue (过度的) power. ? Both the powers of the federal government and the state government are further limited by certain constitutional guarantees of civil liberties (公民自由权) such as The Bill of Rights. In fact the three branches all represent the basic interests of the monopoly [m?’n?p?li] (垄断)capitalist class. The Powers of the federal government The rights to make war; to tax; to borrow and coin money and regulate its value; to regulate commerce (商业调整法) between states; to maintain a postal system; 美国总统权力的几个方面 在行政方面，总统有权处理国家事务和联邦政府的各种工作。他可以发出对联邦机关有法律约束力的政令，有权选任所有行政部、院、署、局等机关首长（须经参议院认可），以及其他数百名联邦政府高级官员。总统是美国武装部队的