American Political System ( By Kong Lingyu)Part 1. Constitution and the State System The focus of teaching: the composition of American revolutionary constitutionsTeaching aim: let the students know the general knowledge of American constitution, and the state system Teaching style: instruction and group discussionTeaching procedure:1. warming-up exercises2. General introduction of American constitution and the state system by PowerPoint;3. Discussion on the assignment;4. Assignment on information- gathering Warming-up exercises: discuss the following two questions:1. What are the basic principles of American constitution?2. Do you know any amendment of American constitution? I. American Revolutionary Constitution The USA is a capital republic whose political power belongs to monopoly capitalists. It is a federal union of fifty states. The District of Columbia is the seat of the national government. The form of the government is based on the Constitution adopted on September 17,1787,which came into effect on March4, 1789.A. a. Prior to independence - Charters from the British Crown; b. instructions given by the Crown to royal governorsc. After independence - state constitutions-democraticd. The most democratic - Pennsylvania constitution of 1776e. The source of political power- the peoplef. legislatures - all-powerfulB. Join or Die Englands colonies in North America were fragmented before the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1788. This illustration highlighted the need to unite as a single nation.C. Constitutional ConventionUnder the Articles of Confederation, the federal government was too weak to govern the states. After several proposals for reform, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write the document that still forms the basis of the United States government. The new Constitution delegated extensive powers to the central government, especially economic and war powers, but reserved many powers for the individual states.a. ROGER WILLIAMS An English religious nonconformist, founded the American colony of Rhode Island in the 1630s under the principles of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. b. JOHN LOCKE developed theories of empiricism1 that emphasized the role of human experience in the pursuit of knowledge and truth. Many of Lockes political theories influenced the authors of the Constitution of the United States.c. James MadisonThe fourth U.S. president. became known as the “Father of the Constitution.” sponsored the first ten Amendments known as the Bill of Rights. Madison, a strong supporter of human rights, was by nature a mediator. II. The U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States has been the supreme law of the nation since 1788. Drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, it calls for a government of limited and delegated powers. 1. George Washington was chosen to serve as president of the convention by the 55 delegates, who represented 12 states. The delegates drafted the document and sent it to the Congress of Confederation for approval. It was then sent to the states for ratification. All 13 states had ratified the Constitution by May 29, 1790. 2. The First U.S. Congress drafted 12 amendments, from which the states ratified 10. Those 10 amendments became known as the Bill of Rights.3. The Preamble4. Seven articles5. Twenty- Seven amendmentsa. The first ten of them - the Bill of RightsFirst Through Tenth Amendments: Bill of Rights Because the Constitution of the United States granted the federal government so much power, as compared with the earlier Articles of Confederation, several states demanded a list of amendments to guarantee individual rights against intrusion by the federal government. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, embody libertarian ideas in the United States. The amendments protect such rights as freedom of speech (First Amendment), right against unlawful search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), and the right to a public criminal trial by jury (Sixth Amendment).b. Abortion Rights Protest Abortion rights advocates demonstrate on the steps of the Capitol in 1989. The Constitution of the United States provides the national framework for deciding controversial issues such as abortion, school prayer, and gun controlc. Flag burningOn June 11, 1990, the Supreme Court struck down the constitutionality of the 1989 Flag Protection Act, which outlawed flag burning. The Court maintained that flag burning is a form of political speech and therefore is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. That same year, President George Bush proposed a new, and much criticized, constitutional amendment outlawing flag burningd. Miranda WarningsIn the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court of the Uni