THE PARTY SYSTEM

Throughout the history of politics in the USA, there’ve been 2 dominant parties
competing against each other due to different interests and social groups.

1792 ~ 1824 Federalist – Democratic Republican

Differences over the role of the federal government led to the first national parties –
the Federalists and the Republicans.

1828 ~ 1854 Whigs – Jacksonian Democrats

Federalism collapsed on the 18th. In 1828, Democratic Republicans officially splitted

into 2 parties: Whigs and Democrats. Because a part of Democratic Republican
supports John Quincy Adams -> Whigs, the others support Andrew Jackson -> Jacksonian
Democrats.

1854 ~ present Republicans (Cộng hòa) – Democrats (Dân chủ)

Because of the differences in Slavery policy between members in Whigs, Whigs

collapsed. A minority of Whigs joined Jacksonian Democrats, a majority of them
combined with Free Soil to form Republicans in 1854.

*Nghiên cứu

-Similarities:

+ People choose government from their own population using votes or any other
methods.

+ Defend the free – enterprise capitalist system, accepted by almost all Americans as
the basis of American society.

+ Have liberal and conservative wings, and in Congress the liberal and conservative
wings of the two parties often side with each other against the other wing

-Differences

Democrat Republican

Symbol Donkey Elephant

Founded in 1828 1854

Ideas the government has a more pushes for a more limited and
progressive approach to helping less controlling government,
citizens. take a more conservative
approach to most rights of
citizens. They promote
citizens' individual rights to
choose.

Philosophy Liberal, left-leaning. Conservative, right-leaning

Membership 44.7 million (2017) 32.8 million (2017)

Famous Franklin Roosevelt (FDR), Bill Abraham Lincoln, Richard

members Clinton, Barack Obama Nixon, Donald J. Trump

Economic push for a progressive taxation on Believe taxes shouldn't be

Ideas citizens. This means that the higher
a person's income the higher their
taxes should be, and the person
that receives a lower income
should be taxed less. They believe
that everyone should have a job
that pays enough to raise family
increased for anyone
(including the wealthy) and
that wages should be set by the
free market.
They believe that every
American deserves the right to
own, invest, build, and prosper

Gay Marriage Support Oppose

Taxes Progressive. Generally not opposed Tend to favor a "flat tax".

to raising taxes to fund the Generally opposed to raising
government. taxes.

Government Government regulations are Government regulations hinder

Regulation needed to protect consumers. free market capitalism and job
growth.
 Healthcare Support universal healthcare;
Policy strong support of government
involvement in healthcare,
including Medicare and Medicaid.
Generally support Obamacare.
Private companies can provide
healthcare services more
efficiently than government-
run programs. Oppose
Obamacare provisions like (1)
requirement for individuals to
buy health insurance or pay a
fine, (2) required coverage of
contraceptives.

Immigration There is greater overall support in Republicans are generally

the Democratic party for a
moratorium on deporting - or
offering a pathway to citizenship to
- certain undocumented
immigrants. e.g. those with no
criminal record, who have lived in
the U.S. for 5+ years.
against amnesty for any
undocumented immigrants.
They also oppose President
Obama's executive order that
put a moratorium on deporting
certain workers. Republicans
also fund stronger enforcement
actions at the border.

*Câu hỏi tương tác

Let's find out whether you belong to Republicans or Democrats.

-Phá thai: Lên án, bảo thủ - ủng hộ, hiện đại

-Nhập cư: Cấm, gánh nặng kinh tế - Cho phép, có chính sách mở

-Kết hôn đồng giới: Không - CÓ

The Democrats, unlike the Republicans, tend to favor some Government intervention.
It is broadly possible to say that poor people vote for the Democrats and wealthy
people for the Republicans. American politics of pragmatism and a party will always
alter its platform to try and catch the mood of the nation, the middle ground.

On the same day as the electors vote for the President, they also vote for Senators,
members of the House of Representatives, state governors and a host of minor
officials. It was once common for people to vote the straight ticket, whereby a single
cross against the party label on the ballot paper means a vote for every one of the
party’s candidates from the President downwards, but this is now rare. This explains
why there have been a succession of Republican Presidents and Democratic majorities
in Congress.

THE REPUBLICANS THE DEMOCRATS

Abraham Lincoln (elected 1860)
Richard Nixon (37th president, term
1960-1974)
George Herbert WAlker Bush ( 41th +
43th president, term 1989-1993, 2001-
2009)
Donald John Trump (45th president,
2017-2021)
Andrew Jackson, the first democratics
president of USA, 7th president (1829-
1837)
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 28th
president.
Franklin Delano, 32th president.
Lyndon B.Johnson, 36th (1963-1969)
Jimmy Carter, 39th (1977-1981)
Bill Clinton, 42th (1993-2001)
Barack Obama, 44th (2009-2017), First
African American President
Joe Biden, 46th, 47th vice president
(2009-2017), 2021-now
Kamala Harris, 49th vice president, the
first vice president and is the woman
holding the highest position in American
history.

THE US CONSTITUTION
*The way in which the national government is organized in the US:

When the new constitution was adopted in 1787, the structure of the government of
the US called for 3 separate branches: Legislative branch, Executive branch and The
Judicial Branch. This division is based on the belief that if any one part or branch of
government has all, it will become a threat to individual freedom. So each with their
own power and a system of checks and balances. This would ensure that no one
branch would ever become too powerful because the other branches would always be
able to check the power of the other two. These branches work together to run the
country and set guidelines for citizens to live by.
(Khi hiến pháp mới được thông qua vào năm 1787, cấu trúc của chính phủ Hoa Kỳ
bao gồm 3 nhánh riêng biệt: nhánh Lập pháp, nhánh Hành pháp và nhánh Tư pháp. Sự
phân chia này dựa trên niềm tin rằng nếu bất kỳ một bộ phận hoặc nhánh nào của
chính phủ có tất cả, nó sẽ trở thành mối đe dọa đối với tự do cá nhân. Vì vậy, mỗi
người có quyền lực riêng và một hệ thống kiểm tra và cân bằng. Điều này sẽ đảm bảo
rằng không một nhánh nào trở nên quá mạnh vì các nhánh khác luôn có thể kiểm tra
sức mạnh của hai nhánh còn lại. Các chi nhánh này làm việc cùng nhau để điều hành
đất nước và đặt ra các hướng dẫn cho công dân sống theo.)

The first
I: Legislative Branch-Lập pháp
The legislative branch is comprised of 2 houses:
+ The House of Senate (Thượng viện) with two senators from each state regardless of
the size of its population.
Với hai thượng nghị sĩ từ mỗi bang bất kể quy mô dân số của bang đó.
+ The House of Representatives(Hạ Viện) consists of a total of 435 representatives
divided among the fifty states by population.
Bao gồm tổng cộng 435 đại diện được chia cho 50 bang theo dân số.

=> This is better known as the U.S Congress

II: Executive Branch-Hành Pháp

- The leaders of this branch of government are the president and vice president, who
are responsible for enforcing the laws that Congress sets forth. The president works
closely with a group of advisors known as the Cabinet, these appointed helpers assist
the president in making important decisions within their area of expertise, such as
defense (quoc phong), the treasury (ngan kho) and homeland security (an ninh quoc
gia)
Các nhà lãnh đạo của nhánh chính phủ này là tổng thống và phó tổng thống, những
người chịu trách nhiệm thực thi các luật mà Quốc hội đặt ra. Tổng thống làm việc chặt
chẽ với một nhóm cố vấn được gọi là Nội các, những người trợ giúp được chỉ định
này hỗ trợ tổng thống đưa ra các quyết định quan trọng trong lĩnh vực chuyên môn
của họ
- The executive branch also appoints government officials, commands the armed
forces and meets with leaders of other nations.
(Cơ quan hành pháp cũng bổ nhiệm các quan chức chính phủ chỉ huy các lực lượng vũ
trang và gặp gỡ các nhà lãnh đạo của các quốc gia khác.)
III: The Judicial Branch- Tư Pháp
- This branch is composed of all the courts in the land from the federal district courts
to the US supreme court. These courts interpret nation laws and punish those who
break them.
Chi nhánh này bao gồm tất cả các tòa án trong nước từ các tòa án quận liên bang đến
tòa án tối cao Hoa Kỳ. Các tòa án này giải thích luật pháp quốc gia và trừng phạt
những người vi phạm chúng.
- And you can see in the picture. There are 9 justices ( thẩm phán ) on the Supreme
court.
- About the highest court- The supreme court, settles disputes among states, hears
appeals from state and federal courts and determines if federal laws are constitutional.
Giới thiệu về tòa án tối cao- Tòa án tối cao, giải quyết các tranh chấp giữa các tiểu
bang, xét xử các kháng cáo từ tòa án tiểu bang và liên bang và xác định xem luật liên
bang có hợp hiến hay không.

Although the American system of divided government power strikes many observers
as inefficient and even disorganized, most Americans still strongly believe in it for
two reasons:
(1) It has been able to meet the challenges of the past, and
(2) It gives strong protection to individual freedoms.
Mặc dù hệ thống quyền lực chính phủ bị phân chia của Mỹ khiến nhiều nhà quan sát
cho là không hiệu quả và thậm chí là vô tổ chức, nhưng hầu hết người Mỹ vẫn tin
tưởng mạnh mẽ vào nó vì hai lý do:
(1) Nó đã có thể đối mặt với những thách thức trong quá khứ và
(2) nó mang lại sức mạnh bảo vệ các quyền tự do cá nhân.

THE US CONGRESS
- The US government has three branches: the executive, the judiciary and the
legislature. The legislature is also called Congress.
- The United States Capitol Building is where the United States Congress has been
since 1800 in Washington, D.C.
1. FUNCTIONS OF CONGRESS
- Congress makes federal laws. These are laws that everyone in the United States must
follow.
- both the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on all legislation before it
goes to the president, legislation may pass one house but be blocked in the other.
- scrutinizing the policies and actions of the executive
- upholding the interests of states and districts.
- They investigate suspected wrongdoing by people in office and can bring charges
against them.
- they hold the ability to tax and spend public money for the national government.
Even though Congress is one thing; it is made of two parts: the House of
Representatives and the Senate.
- The House has the exclusive right to initiate impeachment proceedings (to impeach
the president or other federal official), while the Senate has the exclusive right to try
the person being impeached and decide whether to remove that person.
- The Constitution awarded both the Senate and the House of Representatives to
declare war, maintain the armed forces, tax, borrow money, mint money, regulate
trade and do all the necessary laws for the government to operate.
2. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE: KEVIN McCathy ( 7/1/2023)
- The House of Representatives has been in a meeting room on the southern wing
since December 1857. Every bill will be submitted here, and after discussion at the
committee level, will be brought back here for debate and vote.
- The chairman of the House of Representatives, or the appointed person, sits on the
upper floor of this platform, with the help of legislators. The lowest floor is the
workplace of the assistant staff to help with the activities in the meeting room

- The House of Representatives is one of the two parts of the U.S. Congress. It is
sometimes called “the People’s House”. That is because the U.S.Constitution sets few
restrictions on who can serve there.
- House members can be as young as 25 years old, be a resident of the United States
and US citizens for at least 7 years. They can be rich or poor, and belong to any
religion. Most members were born in the United States, but more than 300 have been
immigrants.
- House Representatives serving a two-year term.
- Members of the House represent the people who live in part of their state, called a
district.
- Each state has at least one congressional representative.
- When Congress first met in 1789, the House had 65 representatives. Currently, it has
435 voting members. The number rose because the population and size of the U.S. has
sharply increased.
- The House of Representatives has six non-voting members representing Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, Washington, D.C. Although they cannot vote, these members can sit on
congressional committees and introduce legislation.
3. THE SENATE
- The Senate moved into the current meeting room when the northern wing of the Capitol
building was completed in 1859. A chair controlling the meeting from the main podium. The
bottom is for office workers and Senate secretaries.
- 2 senators represent the whole state.
- If you want to run for a senator, you must be at least 30 years old, a resident of the state and
a US citizen for at least 9 years.
- The Senate has the right to advise and approve treaties and nominations for some
government positions. In case the voters do not achieve a definitive voting result in the
presidential election, the House of Representatives will determine who will win the election.
- its members can approve federal officials, such as Supreme Court justices.
- they also vote on treaties with other countries.
- There are currently 100 senators.
- Each state has 2 senators, since 1913 ( Seventeenth Amendment), they have been
chosen directly by the election in the way decided by the legislature in each state.
Senators are elected every 6 years, but the election staggered so that one third of the
Senate is elected every 2 years. And senators can be elected as many times as voters
want.
- The Senate does its lawmaking work through 16 regular committees.
- They study and make decisions on the federal budget, foreign relations, national
laws and other issues.
- Senators also gather together to talk a lot about why they plan to vote a certain way,
and why other senators should support them.
- Because of all their talk, the Senate has been called “the world’s “greatest
deliberative body”.
- But observers have noted that the Senate is a group of very different, independent
individuals.
- The Senate is the conservative counter counterweight to the more populist The
House of Representatives.
- A vacancy caused by death or resignation is filled until the next congressional
election by the nomination of State Governor.
- The Senate has the special privilege of unlimited debate to safeguard the rights of
minorities, but a small group of Senators can prevent the passage of the bill.
Kamala Harris is currently Vice President and President of the Senate. ->
President pro tempore: Patty Murray

ELECTION IN THE US
1. Election Day
An election for president of the United States happens every four years on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The most recent presidential election
was November 3, 2020.
2. The Requirements
a person needs to meet three basic requirements established by the US Constitution
A Presidential candidate must be:
● A natural born citizen (U.S. citizen from birth)
● At least 35 years old and
● A U.S. resident (permanently lives in the U.S.) for at least 14 years
3. The presidential election process
Step 1: Primaries and Caucuses
People with similar ideas usually belong to the same political party. The two main
parties in the U.S. are Republican and Democrat.
Many people want to be President. They campaign around the country and compete to
try to win their party’s nomination.
In caucuses, party members meet, discuss, and vote for who they think would be the
best party candidate.
In primaries, party members vote in a state election for the candidate they want to
represent them in the general election.
Step 2: National Conventions and General Election
After the primaries and caucuses, each major party, Democrat and Republican, holds a
national convention to select a Presidential nominee.
The party’s Presidential nominee announces his or her choice for Vice President.
The Presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the
general population.
On election day, people in every state cast their vote.
When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called
electors.
Step 3: The Electoral College
When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called
electors.
The number of electors each state gets is equal to its total number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress. A total of 538 electors form the Electoral College.
Each elector casts one vote following the general election. The candidate who gets
270 votes or more wins.
The newly elected President and Vice President are then inaugurated on January 20th.