US Constitution II

The former colonies, now “the United States of America”, first operated under the agreement called the Articles of Confederation (1781). It was soon clear that this loose agreement among the states was not working well. The central, federal government was too weak, with too few powers for defence, trade and taxation. In 1787, therefore, delegates from the states met in Philadelphia. They wanted to revise the Articles, but they did much more than that. They wrote a completely new document, the Constitution, which after much argument, debate, and compromise was finished in the same year and officially adopted by the thirteen states by 1790.

The Constitution, the oldest still in force in the world, sets the basic form of government: three separate branches, each one having powers (“checks and balances”) over the others. It specifies the powers and duties of each federal branch of government, with all other powers and duties belonging to the states. The Constitution has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but is still the “supreme law of the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local must operate within its guidelines. The ultimate power under the Constitution is not given to the President (the executive branch), or to the Supreme Court (the judicial branch). Nor does it rest, as in many other countries, with a political group or party. It belongs to “We the People, in fact and in spirit”.

They stated in the first ten Constitutional Amendments, known together as the Bill of Rights, what they considered to be the fundamental rights of any American. Among these rights are the freedoms of religion, speech, and the press, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. Other rights guarded the citizens against unreasonable searches, arrests, and seizures of property, and established a system of justice guaranteeing orderly legal procedures. This included the right of trial by jury that is, being judged by fellow citizens.

The federal and state governments formed under the Constitution were designed to serve the people and to carry out their majority wishes (and not the other way around). One thing they do not want their government to do is to rule them. Americans expect their government to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.

Over the past two centuries, the Constitution has also had considerable influence outside the United States. Several other nations have based their own forms of government on it. It is interesting to note that Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution, drafted the French declaration of rights when he returned to France. And the United Nations Charter also has clear echoes of what once was considered a revolutionary document.

Vocabulary:

an agreement- соглашение

loose agreement- свободное соглашение

taxation- налогообложение

freedom of religion; speech; press- свобода вероисповеданий; слова; печати

unreasonable search; arrest- необоснованный обыск; арест

strong attitude- жесткая позиция

United Nations Charter- Устав ООН (Организации Объединенных Наций)

ultimate power- необоснованно большая власть

9. Complete the following text with the words and phrases using them in the appropriate form (you may use the text above):

jury; branch; Bill of Rights; to adopt; religion; to guard; power; Congress; to divide; amendments; to assemble; citizens; President; arrests; executive; rights; seizures; document; speech; legislature; freedoms; judiciary; founding fathers; system of.

When the Constitution was written in 1787, there were only 13 states. Because the a) ____ of the Constitution saw that the future might bring a need for changes, they b) ____ a method of adding c) ____. Over the years 26 amendments have been added, but the basic d) ____ has not been written. The pattern of government planned so long ago for 13 states today meets the needs of 50 states.

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, called the e) ____ assure individual f) ____ and g) ____. Added in 1791, they include provisions for freedom of the h) ____ and of i) ____; the right of citizens to j) ____ peacefully; the right to be k) ____ in one’s own home against unreasonable l) ____ and m) ____ of person or property; the right of any person charged with n) ____ the law to have a speedy trial by a o) ____ of fellow p) ____.

The Constitution q) ____ the powers of the government into three branches: the r) ____ headed by the s) ____; the t) ____, which includes both houses of u) ____ (the Senate and the House of Representatives) and the v) ____ which is headed by the Supreme Court. The Constitution limits the role of each w) ____ to prevent any one branch from gaining undue x) ____.

10. Find the English equivalents for:

- пересмотреть документ;

- действовать в соответствии с соглашением;

- управлять своими собственными делами;

- принять конституцию;

- определить чьи-либо полномочия и обязанности;

- действовать в рамках конституции;

- получить необоснованно большую власть;

- свобода собраний;

-захват собственности;

- удовлетворять требованиям;

- суд присяжных заседателей;