Законодательная власть Исполнительная власть Судебная власть Административно-территориальное деление США

1. 
   Географическое положение США
   
2. 
   Важнейшие события истории
   
3. 
   Законодательная власть
   
4. 
   Исполнительная власть
   
5. 
   Судебная власть
   
6. 
   Административно-территориальное деление США
   
7. 
   участие в военных блоках
   
8. 
   Население США
   
9. 
   Политические партии
   
10. 
    Религиозный состав в США
    
11. 
    Социально-политические особенности США
    
12. 
    военная доктрина США
    
13. 
    виды ВС США
    
14. 
    Структура высшего военного руководства США
    
15. 
    комплектование в ВС и порядок прохождения службы в США
    
16. 
    Категории военнослужащих
    
17. 
    Назначение и состав сухопутных войск США
    
18. 
    Организация механизированной (бронетанковой) дивизии США
    

The total area of the United States (including the District of Columbia) is 9,629,047 sq km (3,717,796 sq mi), of which 1,593,440 sq km (615,230 sq mi) are in Alaska and 16,729 sq km (6459 sq mi) are in Hawaii. The total land area of the country is 9,158,918 sq km

The present-day pattern of the landforms of the United States is the result of a long sequence of collisions and separations of large blocks of the earth’s surface crust (see Plate Tectonics). The oldest part of the continent is the Canadian Shield, or Laurentian Plateau, a mass of granite and related rock that underlies eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. The shield was formed during several long periods of crustal convergence in Precambrian time (a period that stretches from the formation of the earth to about 570 million years ago). During these slow but relentless collisions of crustal plates, the rigid surface rocks buckled and cracked. Large pieces of crust were forced downward into the hot interior of the earth, where they warmed and eventually melted. This lighter molten material then moved upward through the crustal cracks, occasionally erupting as a volcano, but more often pushing surface rock upward in a broad bulge, or dome. In time, the molten material cooled and crystallized. The characteristic rock of the shield is granite, a slowly cooled and therefore coarse-grained rock. The margins of the ancient continent are more complex in structure, with zones of granite, darker ocean-bottom rocks, fine-grained volcanic rocks, hardened ocean sediments, and rocks of all types that were altered by heat and pressure during later crustal activity. The iron deposits of Minnesota, Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and northern New York all occur in contorted rocks near the edges of the ancient shield.

A long period of inactivity in the crust followed the formation of the shield. Erosion reduced the mountainous continent to a low plain, and the adjoining seas were filled with thick beds of sediment. Near the end of this period, great forests covered the land, and the addition of organic material to the sediment formed the vast coal and petroleum layers that stretch in a broad curve from northern Pennsylvania through West Virginia to Alabama, then west to Texas and northwest through the Great Plains states and Canadian prairies to Arctic Alaska.

The climate of a place is the seasonal pattern of its inputs of solar energy, wind, and precipitation. With the exception of the principal islands of Hawaii, no place in the United States ever sees the sun directly overhead. In general, sun intensity and, consequently, temperatures decrease from south to north; in summer, however, the decrease in intensity is partly offset by longer days in the north. Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota actually have higher record temperatures than New Mexico and Alabama. In winter, on the other hand, the short days in the north exaggerate the effect of low sun angles, creating wide temperature differences from south to north. Forests use much solar energy to evaporate water, and therefore the humid states of the eastern United States do not get as warm as the dry western deserts. Oceans and lakes moderate temperatures; this is especially true of the western coast, where the ocean is cool and the wind is usually onshore. Finally, mountains are somewhat cooler by day and much colder at night than surrounding lowlands. Effects of each of these factors can be seen in the accompanying table of temperatures.

The first manifestation of parliamentary authority over the colonies was the Navigation Act of 1651, which required that colonial imports and exports be shipped in English-flag vessels.

In 1787 Congress agreed to permit a convention of delegates from all the states to propose amendments to the system. Meeting at Philadelphia from May to September, with George Washington as its president, the convention drew up the Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution became the law of the land in 1788, after 9 states (the required two-thirds) had ratified it; 12 states ratified the document by the end of 1788. On March 4, 1789, the first Congress of the United States elected under the Constitution assembled in New York City, then the national capital. On April 30, George Washington, who had been unanimously elected the first president of the United States, was inaugurated in New York City.

3

Executive

Article II of the Constitution provides for a president and vice president chosen by a majority of voters in the Electoral College, for a fixed term of four years. The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits presidents to two terms in office. By state law, electors are chosen by a plurality of the popular vote in each state and in the District of Columbia. In almost all cases the winner of the popular vote is elected president.

The American president typically has a greater range of functions than prime ministers in parliamentary governments because the president serves as ceremonial chief of state as well as head of government. Unlike most presidents in other nations, the American president is also the head of his or her party, an important legislative leader, and the chief executive.

The Constitution makes the president commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces. The president defends the nation against invasion or attack and may order American armed forces into combat. The president’s authority to deploy forces on his or her own initiative is regulated by Congress under Article I, Section 8, which reserves to Congress the power to declare war, and under provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973.

The president’s diplomatic powers include negotiation and ratification of treaties, with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate; the appointment of ambassadors to foreign nations, also with the consent of the Senate; and the reception of foreign ambassadors. The president negotiates, on his or her own authority, executive agreements with leaders of other nations.

By law the president prepares an executive budget and an economic report, which are submitted to Congress each year. The president submits requests for legislation, the most important of which usually regard taxation and other economic and military matters. The president also exercises executive authority over the various government departments and agencies.

An extensive advisory system serves the president. Aides in the White House, where the president resides and has offices, provide advice, manage press relations, schedule appointments and travel, and communicate with Congress, government departments, lobbying groups, and the president’s political party. Staff agencies in the executive office include the Office of Management and Budget, which prepares presidential budget requests and controls spending; the National Security Council, which is concerned with the nation’s defense; and the Council of Economic Advisers. The President’s cabinet also serves as a source of information and advice. It consists of the heads of the governmental departments and a few other officials, such as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN). The cabinet has no power of its own.

The executive branch of the government comprises 14 departments: the Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, and Department of Veterans Affairs. Some government agencies are not directly supervised by the president. These include independent establishments such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve System.

The Senate and House are organized by the majority party in each chamber, which chooses the presiding officer, the majority leader, and the chairpersons of each committee. Through much of American history the party controlling the White House did not control both houses of Congress. This situation, known as divided government, can lead to reduced output of legislation and an increase in presidential vetoes of bills passed by Congress. Unlike the chief executives of parliamentary systems in other countries, the U.S. president neither resigns nor calls for new elections, even when majorities in Congress reject the president’s programs.

Congress has extensive powers in domestic affairs, including the power to tax, borrow money and pay debts, coin money and regulate its value, and regulate commerce among the states. Congress helps to establish and oversees the departments and agencies of the executive branch; it also establishes the lower federal courts and determines their jurisdiction. Congress has the power to declare war, raise and maintain the armed forces, establish tariffs, and regulate commerce with foreign nations.

A bill is passed by Congress by majority vote of those present in each chamber; it is then sent to the president. The president may sign the bill, to indicate approval, or allow the bill to become law without signing it; or may veto the bill and return it to Congress, giving reasons for this action. The president’s veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the members of Congress voting in each chamber.

Each house of Congress has some distinct powers. Revenue measures must originate in the House of Representatives. The House, with a majority vote, can initiate proceedings to impeach (charge with misconduct) the president. If the Electoral College cannot produce a majority to elect a president, the House chooses one of the top three contenders. If both the president and the vice president die, are incapacitated, or are removed from office, the Speaker of the House becomes president.

The Senate advises and consents to presidential treaties and to nominations for major executive officials, ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and federal judges. The Senate tries all impeachments, with a two-thirds vote necessary to convict. In the event of a deadlock in the Electoral College, the Senate chooses the vice president from the top two contenders. The president pro tempore of the Senate comes after the Speaker of the House in the line of succession to the presidency.

The legislative branch also includes agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, the General Accounting Office, the Library of Congress, and the Government Printing Office.

⁵

Judiciary
The federal court system derives its powers from Article III of the Constitution. The system includes the Supreme Court of the United States, established by the Constitution; and 12 courts of appeal (sometimes called circuit courts), 91 district courts, and special courts such as the Tax Court, the Claims Court, and the Court of Veterans’ Appeals, all established by Congress. See Courts in the United States.

The federal courts perform two constitutional functions. First, they interpret the meaning of laws and administrative regulations; this is known as statutory construction. Second, the courts determine whether any law passed by Congress or state legislatures, or any administrative action taken by the national or state executive branches, violates the U.S. Constitution; this is known as judicial review. Federal courts can declare null and void laws or actions, at the national and state levels, that violate the Constitution. This power of judicial review exists in a few other nations, but in none is it so significant in resolving important issues or in checking and balancing branches of government.

The nine justices of the Supreme Court and the other federal judges are nominated by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president, in making district court nominations, usually follows the recommendations of senators from the president’s party. All federal judges and justices of the Supreme Court serve on good behavior for life. They may be removed from office only through the process of impeachment, which has been used fewer than 20 times, and never successfully against a Supreme Court justice.

Decisions of the Supreme Court that involve the statutory construction of laws may be overturned by Congress. Decisions involving judicial review may be checked and balanced in either of two ways. The president and Senate may deliberately fill vacancies on the Supreme Court with new justices who can be expected to overturn the decision; or the Constitution can be amended, as was the case after the Supreme Court ruled income tax unconstitutional.

The U.S. Constitution provides for a federal system, with those powers not exercised by the national government retained by the states. States are denied the power to conduct foreign relations, enter into treaties or alliances, or lay tariffs. They may not coin currency, levy taxes on interstate commerce, or prevent the movement of persons across their borders. States may cooperate with one another through creation of interstate compacts, which require the approval of Congress. These often involve water resources, navigation, pollution control, or port development.

The major functions of the states include qualified control of voter eligibility requirements; administration of state and national elections; supervision of municipal and county government; promotion and regulation of commerce, industry, and agriculture; and maintenance of highways, prisons, hospitals, and mental-health facilities. The states also support extensive systems of higher education. They share with local units of government the responsibility for welfare, medical care for indigents, employment services, and other social services.

Almost all states are divided into territorial units called counties. In 1992 the United States had 3043 counties. Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, which are similar to counties. Alaska has no counties as such; much of the state is organized into 16 boroughs. In a number of states, such as Connecticut, counties have virtually no governmental function. In several states, notably Virginia, one or more cities are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of the state. In relatively heavily populated areas, communities are organized into a total of 19,296 municipalities, which include cities, towns, villages, and boroughs. Municipalities generally provide basic services, including police, sanitation, and fire protection. Education at the elementary and secondary levels usually is supervised by school boards, which share authority over finance, curriculum, and teacher certification with state government; the United States had 14,556 school districts in 1992, down from 108,579 in 1942. Also important are so-called special districts, which are independent, limited-purpose local government units dealing with water supply, flood control, fire protection, community development, housing, and other matters. The United States had 33,131 special districts in 1992.

According to the 1990 census, the resident population of the United States was 248,709,873. The population grew by 22,164,068 people—or 9.8 percent—during the decade from 1980 to 1990. This increase was not evenly distributed: About 12 million, or 54.3 percent of the growth, occurred in the states of California, Texas, and Florida. The 1997 estimated population of the United States was 266,993,000.

Another trend evident during the 1980s was that although urban areas grew at a somewhat higher rate than rural areas, growth rates were low in some of the largest metropolitan areas, and the population of a number of major cities—such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit—decreased substantially from 1980 to 1990.

Ethnic Composition

The United States is becoming a more diverse society racially and ethnically. While the total U.S. population increased by 9.8 percent between 1980 and 1990 and by an estimated 7.4 percent between 1990 and 1997, the black population grew by 14.2 percent, from 26.7 million in 1980 to 30.5 million in 1990 and had reached an estimated 33.8 million by 1997. Persons of Hispanic origin, who may be of any race, increased by 53 percent, from 14.6 million in 1980 to 22.4 million in 1990 and increased by an estimated 29.7 percent to 30.0 million between 1990 and 1997. The Native American population, including Inuit (Eskimo), and Aleut, also increased, from 1.4 million in 1980 to 2.1 million in 1990; the population grew 12.1 percent between 1990 and 1997, reaching 2.3 million. The number of Asians and Pacific Islanders was 7.5 million, double the 1980 figure of 3.7 million; by 1997 the number had reached 10.0 million.

As a percentage of the country’s population, the white majority was reported as reduced somewhat between the 1970s and early 1990s both by migration from Asia, Latin America, and other areas and by higher population growth rates among blacks. During much of its history, the United States had an official policy of admitting more European immigrants than Asian, African, and Latin American immigrants. Changes were made in immigration policy during the 1970s that resulted in large numbers of non-European immigrants entering the United States. This in turn added new cultural dimensions to American life.