Question

Now you have learnt some more facts about the political system of the USA. Could you answer these questions?








1. When did the War of Independence begin?
2. On what country did the colonies in America declare a war?
3. What country won the Revolutionary War? When was it?
4. What problem did the young country face after the war?
5. Where was the US Constitution written? Who wrote it?
6. Why can the US government be compared with a tree?
7. What is the US Congress? How is it divided?
8. How many people does each state send to the Senate? Does the number of senators depend on the size of the state?
9. Do all states send people to the House of Representatives? What does the number of people depend on there?
10. Who carries out the laws that the Congress makes?
11. Who helps the President to make decisions?
12. When do Americans vote for the President?
13. What do you call the third branch of the US government?
14. How many judges does the Supreme Court consist of?
15. How long do the judges work in the Supreme Court?
16. The US Constitution can be changed, can't it?
17. What do you call changes to the Constitution?
18. How many amendments to the Constitution can you name?

Answer 1

1. 1. The War of Independence began in 1775.  2. The colonies in America declared a war on Great Britain.  3. America won the  Revolutionary War. It was in 1783.  4. One of the major problems that the young country faced after the war was finding a governmental system.   5. The US Constitution was written during the Convention in Philadelphia by the representatives of all the states. ( James Madison wrote the document that formed the model for the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. John Adams wrote "Defense of the Constitution of the Government of the United States of America." Thomas Paine wrote the influential pamphlet "Common Sense". )  6. The US government can  be compared with a tree with a strong trunk and three branches. Where trunk is american people with their ability to vote and branches: legislative, executive and judicial.   7. The US Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government that represents the American people and makes the nation's laws. It is divided into two houses (parts): The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.  8. Every state, no matter how large or small, sends two people to the Senate.  9. Yes, all states send people to the House of Representatives. They are called congressmen. The number of congressmen from each state depends on the number of people who live in the state. The larger states have more congressmen than the small states.  10.  The second branch of government, thePresident and his helpers, carry out the laws that the Congress makes.  11. The Vice President and members of the Cabinet help the President to make decisions.  12. Americans vote for the President in November of every leap year.  13.  The third branch of the US government is the Supreme Court.  14.  The Supreme Court consists of nine judges – the most important judges in the land.  15. The judges work in the Supreme Court as long as they live.  16.  Yes, the US Constitution can be changd by the people of the United States of America.  17.  Changes to the Constitution are called amendments.  18. There are 26 amendments to the Constitution. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights. The 13th amendment ended slavery, the 14th amendment made all Black people citizens of the United States, the 15th amendment gave Blacks the right to vote. The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote and the 26th amendment gave people 18 years and older the right to vote.