American Politics

After the War of Independence was over, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government, the Congress.
独立战争结束后，新美国由邦联条款与软弱的国家政府-国会进行管理。
Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs.
各州有自己的政府，制定自己的法律，处理自己的内部事务。
The states did not cooperate with the Congress or with each other.
州与州之间、州与国会之间没有合作。
The Congress had no power to tax any citizen or to force any state to contribute money.
国会无权向公民征税，无权强迫各州筹资。
The Articles of the Confederation failed. The Congress decided to hold a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.
邦联条款失败后，国会决定召开制宪会议以对其进行修改。
The delegates from 12 states gathered in Philadelphia in 1787, Rhode Island refused to participate.
1787年，12州代表齐聚费城，罗得岛州拒绝参加。
The president of the meeting was George Washington.
乔治·华盛顿担任会议主席。
The Convention ended up in writing a new constitution and set a federal system with a strong central government.
会议制订新宪法，设立联邦制及强大的中央政府。
A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each.
联邦制规定中央联邦政府与各州政府的权力分配。
The Constitution was finally approved by the majority of the citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1789.
宪法最终得到十三州中九州的多数公民批准，1789年正式生效。
The Constitution provided that an election of the president would be called, federal laws would be made only by a Congress and a Supreme Court would be set up.
宪法规定总统的选举办法，联邦法律只能由国会制定，由最高法院设立。
There are 27 amendments to the Constitution.
宪法有27条修正案。
A Congress that is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate.
国会由众议院与参议院组成。
The House of Representatives comprises 435 lawmakers who serve two-year terms.
Each member represents a district in his or her home state.
众议院由435名立法者组成，任期2年，每名议员代表其所在州的一个选区。
The number of districts in a state is determined by a count of the population taken every 10 years.
各州选区的数量由每10年进行一次的人口普查决定。
The Senate comprises 100 lawmakers who serve six-year terms. Each state has two senators.
参议院由100名立法者组成，任期6年，每州选出2名参议员。
The legislative is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war or put foreign treaties into effect.
立法机关是唯一有权制订联邦法律、征收联邦税、宣战、同外国缔结条约并实施的部门。
The chief executive is the president, who is elected to a four-year term.
行政权属于总统，总统任期4年。
A president can be elected to only two terms according to the Amendment to Article 22 passed in 1951.
根据1951年通过的第22条修正案，总统连任不得超过两任。
The president can propose legislation to Congress.
总统有权向国会提出立法建议。
He can veto any bill passed by Congress. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses.
有权否决经国会通过的法案，但两院三分之二的投票可推翻总统的否决。
He can appoint federal judges. He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
总统可任命联邦法官，是武装部队总司令。
He has other authorities in running the government departments and appoints the heads and senior officials of the executive branch agencies.
总统有权管理政府各部门，任命各行政部门部长与高级官员。
Each appointment must be confirmed by a vote of the Senate. Today there are 15 departments and the appointed secretaries collectively make up the president's cabinet.
其任命须参议院投票确认，目前有15个政府部门，其任命的部长一同组成总统的内阁。
He is primarily responsible for handling foreign relations and appoints ambassadors and other officials, subject to Senate approval.
总统主要负责处理对外关系，获参议院允许可任命大使与其他官员。
The judicial is headed by the Supreme Court, which is composed of 1 chief justice and 8 associate justices.
最高法院是最高司法部门，由1名首席法官与8名副法官组成。
The Congress has established 11 federal courts of appeals and 91 federal district courts.
国会设立11个联邦上诉法院与91个联邦地方法院。
The Supreme Court has the function of determining whether Congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution, which is called judicial review, not specifically provided for by the Constitution, but interpreted by the Court from its Constitutional Role.
最高法院有权决定国会法案或行政法令是否违反宪法，该职能被称为司法复审权，由法院据宪法职能演绎，宪法本身无特别说明。
Check and Balances, the idea was first provided in the Federalist Papers.
制衡原则最初见于《联邦党人文集》。
It is a way of restricting government power and preventing its abuse.
制衡原则限制政府权力，防止权力滥用。
In the three-part national government, this system works in many ways to keep serious mistakes from being made by one branch or another.
在三权分立的国家政府，制衡原则能尽可能防止各部门铸成严重错误。
The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to
the Constitution in 1791.
权利法案由宪法前10条修正案组成，于1791年写入宪法。
As another basic foundation in the Constitution, it was passed to prevent tyranny and to guarantee freedom and individual rights.
作为宪法的另一基础，旨在防止专制，保障个人自由与权利。
It guarantees freedom of religion, speech and press.
权利法案保障公民宗教信仰、言论及出版自由。
It provides the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions and to demand change.
保障公民在公众场合集会、反对政府举措及请愿的权利。
It guarantees the right to own weapons and to a speedy trial if accused of a crime.
保障公民持械权及指控犯罪迅速审判权。
The Democratic Party evolved out of Thomas Jefferson's party and was formed
before 1800.
民主党由托马斯·杰斐逊1800年前成立的党演变而来。
The symbol of the party is the donkey.
It is thought to be more liberal.
该党象征为驴，被认为是更开明的。
In the 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt started the New Deal in order to solve the Depression.
20世纪30年代，富兰克林·罗斯福实施新政以应对大萧条。
Democrats set up many government programs including the program that provided paid employment for people building dams, roads and public buildings and Social Security.
民主党设立许多政府计划，包括为修大坝、道路及公共建筑的人提供有偿就业的计划及社会保障计划。
The Republican Party was formed in the 1850s by people in the states of the
North and West.
共和党成立于19世纪50年代，由北部与西部各州政客组成。
The symbol of the party is the elephant.
It is believed to be more conservative.
该党象征为大象，被认为是更保守的。
Republicans place more emphasis on private enterprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the government too expensive and of creating too many laws that harm individual initiative.
共和党更重视个人首创精神，常批评民主党让政府耗巨资且制定了许多损害个人积极性的法律。
Americans do not have to join a political party in order to vote or to be a candidate for public office.
美国人不必为了投票或成为公职候选人而加入一个政党。
However, running for office without the money and campaign workers a party can provide is difficult.
然而，没有政党提供资金与选举活动分子，想竞选公职是困难的。
Everyone votes in secret. The high cost of campaigning for public office has aroused great concern in the public.
选举以不记名形式进行，竞选公职的巨额费用已引发公众关注。
Many Americans question whether, after election, the officials will feel beholden to the groups which gave them money than to the people they represent.
许多美国人质疑，大选过后，官员可能只会感激赞助他们的利益集团，而非他们所代表的人民。