American political system

Introduction

According to the Constitution: the legislature is a bicameral parliament with the Senate and the House of Representatives; the judiciary, headed by the Federal Supreme Court, has 11 prosecution courts, 95 local courts and 4 special courts; according to statistics in March 1959, there were 1,156,644 articles of federal law and state legislation in the United States. The executive body is based on the president directly elected by the people as the chief executive, supplemented by the vice president, and has several executive departments. The power of the government is divided into the federal government and the state government. According to the principle that the government must be close to the people so as not to deprive the people of their freedom, the drafters of the constitution reserve the autonomy of the states to the state government. Each state government has its own legislative, judicial, and administrative powers. The powers of the federal government are limited to those that cannot be exercised by a state government alone, such as taxation, finance, national defense, foreign affairs, currency and banking, immigration management, foreign trade, national welfare and postal services, and scientific and artistic development assistance.

Separation of Powers

Administration

The US government is composed of 12 departments and more than 60 independent agencies established by law.

• President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state, the highest executive head of the government, land, sea and air For the highest commanders of the various services, the president’s term of office is four years, during which he will not be dismissed due to opposition forces, except for being impeached by the parliament. After the expiration, you can renew any period.

According to the first paragraph of Article 2 of the Constitution of the United States of America, the president must be 35 years of age or older, have lived in the United States for more than 14 years, and must also be a "naturally born American citizen" (usually interpreted as A citizen of the United States) or a citizen of the United States when the constitution was passed. Among the official positions of the United States, only the two positions of president and vice president have the qualifications of being a citizen of the United States at birth.

●U.S. Vice President

The U.S. Vice President is the president’s first successor and concurrently serves as the Speaker of the U.S. Senate.

• U.S. Federal

The executive branch led by the President and Vice President has 15 ministries And a number of specialized agencies, they constitute what is called a "government department." These departments are responsible for implementing laws and providing various government services. The federal executive branch of the United States is the oldest major group established within the federal executive branch of the United States. The U.S. State Department, the Department of War, and the U.S. Treasury were all established within a few weeks of each other in 1789. Every head of the executive branch of the federal government is a politically appointed minister of the U.S. Cabinet. Since 1792, federal law has stipulated that cabinet ministers shall be designated as members of the U.S. President's succession order.

• Federal government Independent administrative agency

The independent administrative agency of the federal government is an independent administrative agency established by the United States Congress through various laws; it is directly responsible to the President of the United States. Each organizational statutory right (Organic law/statutory grant) is authorized by an independent administrative agency to establish its own scope; and, if any, establish the definition of the federal regulatory law (administrative law). Federal regulations have the same effect as general federal laws. The following are some of the federal government's independent administrative agencies:

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-responsible for collecting and analyzing overseas intelligence publicly and secretly; conducting propaganda overseas (propaganda); and performing secret operations for the president . The CIA reports daily work to the Director of National Intelligence.

Committee Futures Trading Commission (CFTC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission)-oversees the trading of futures markets in the United States.

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Environmental Protection Agency)-to reduce and control all environmental pollution with state and local governments; EPA stipulates and implements environmental standards, assesses the negative impact of pollution; manages and cleans up toxic waste Regional funds.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC, Federal Communications Commission)-is responsible for the supervision, licensing, and price management of any domestic interstate and US external communication channels.

United States Federal Reserve Board (Fed Board)-the central bank of the United States; manages and regulates the banking industry, implements monetary policy by buying and selling U.S. Treasury bonds, and maintains a strong payment system.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC, Federal Trade Commission)-Responsible for enforcing federal antitrust and consumer protection laws; investigating unfair trade incidents.

US General Services Administration (GSA, General Services Administration)-provides daily logistics services to the federal government.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-Founded in 1957, it is responsible for the space program and conducts long-term civil and military aerospace research.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA, National Archives and Records Administration)-preserves and manages the heritage of American historical documents.

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, National Labor Relations Board)-implements major federal labor laws (National Labor Relations Act); is also authorized to prevent or compensate for unfair business operations to ensure that employees become peaceful Exercising the right to organize a trade union.

National Science Foundation (NSF, National Science Foundation)-through monetary rewards, support science and engineering education and research; encourage colleges and universities to cooperate with industries and governments around the world in scientific research.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM, Office of Personnel Management)-the personnel agency of the federal government; and maintain the political neutrality of the federal government's civil servants.

Peace Corps (Peace Corp)-Established in 1961, it sends trained volunteers overseas to assist in infrastructure construction in developing regions in the next two years.

SBA (Small Business Administration)-Established in 1953 to assist the development and survival of small and ethnic minority companies in the United States.

Social Security Administration (SSA, Social Security Administration)-manages the US social security system.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission)-protects the rights of securities investors; requires listed companies to declare all operating information for more transparency; investigates and prosecutes any deceptive behavior of the company.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID, United States Agency for International Development)-manages US money that provides foreign economic and humanitarian assistance.

U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC, United States International Trade Commission)-Provides expertise in trade financing to U.S. government departments and Congress; and prosecutes violators of intellectual property rights.

United States Postal Service-an autonomous public organization that has undertaken postal services across the country since 1971; international mail exchanges through the Universal Postal Union.

U.S. Postal Rate Commission (Postal Rate Commission)-Established in 1971, specializes in advocating postal prices and will receive greater regulatory powers in 2007.

National Transportation Security Board (NTSB, National Transportation Security Board)-established in 1967, is responsible for the safety and accident investigation of land, sea, air and pipeline transportation.

The Office of the President of the United States (Executive Office of the President, abbreviated as EOP), which is the closest to the President of the United States The staff and assistants at all levels responsible to the President.

White House Office

Office of the Vice President

Administration and Budget Bureau

Presidential Council of Economic Advisers

National Safety Council

United States Trade Representative Office

Policy Development Office

Science and Technology Policy Office

Environmental Quality Improvement Committee

National Narcotics Control Policy Office

White House Administrative Office

Judicial

The judicial power of the United States is given to a Supreme Court, and Congress can formulate at any time And the second-class courts established. The responsibility of the judiciary is to rule on judicial cases that object to or require interpretation of the legislation of Congress, and to hear criminal cases involving violations of federal law. In cases involving the constitution, the federal courts have jurisdiction over state laws. Federal courts are also responsible for hearing cases involving more than one state or citizens of more than one state, as well as foreign-related cases.

In order to guarantee the independence of the judiciary, the Constitution stipulates that federal judges can serve during the period of good conduct, in fact, until their death, retirement or resignation. Judges who break the law during their tenure will be impeached like the president or other federal government officials. American judges are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The salary of judges is also approved by Congress. The annual salary ranges from the magistrate’s $44,600 to the chief. The judge's sixty-five thousand six hundred dollars range.

The Supreme Court of the United States is also the only court specially established by the Constitution. It is set up in Washington, the capital, with nine judges, one chief justice and eight deputies. Thousands of cases are filed each year. The Supreme Court usually only hears about 150 cases, most of which involve the interpretation of laws or the intentions of national legislation. This power of judicial supervision is not a special provision of the constitution, but a theory derived by the court based on its interpretation of the constitution.

The purpose of the Court of Appeal is to facilitate the handling of cases and reduce the burden on the Supreme Court. The country is divided into 11 appellate districts. Each district has an appeal court. Each appellate court has three to fifteen A judge, as the name suggests, the appellate court reviews the judgment of the district court.

District courts across the country’s fifty states are divided into 89 local courts, litigants can proceed with litigation nearby. Each local court has one to twenty-seven judges, and most of the cases handled by these courts They are all violations of federal law.

In addition to the general jurisdiction of the federal courts, the special courts also have courts set up for special purposes. For example, the appeals court makes judgments on compensation claims filed to the United States. The Customs Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over civil litigation involving taxes or limits on imported goods. In addition, there is an appeal court for customs and patent rights to hear appeals against the judgments of the Customs Tribunal and the US Patent Office.

Legislation

According to Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, the federal government delegates all legislative powers to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

• House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the United States One of the two houses of Congress. The proportion of seats held by each state in the House of Representatives is based on population, but there will be at least one member. The total number of members of the court is clearly set at 435 by law. The term of office of the House of Representatives is two years, and there is no restriction on re-election. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is elected by members and is traditionally the leader of the majority party. However, the leader of the majority is also the second most important member of the majority party in the court. According to the U.S. President’s Succession Regulations, the order of succession of the President of the House of Representatives is second only to the Vice President who also serves as the Speaker of the Senate, and is the third most important political leader.

The House of Representatives is generally considered more partisan than the Senate. Many of the framers of the constitution attempted to make the Senate (which was initially elected by the state legislature) a check and balance body for the House of Representatives (directly elected by citizens). Therefore, the power of "suggestion and consent" (such as the power to ratify treaties) is authorized to be exercised solely by the Senate. The House of Representatives also has its own unique powers: the power to advocate revenue bills, to impeach government officials, and to elect the president when the Electoral College is deadlocked. However, all these powers can be counter-checked by the Senate. The Senate is generally more prestigious than the House of Representatives and its members. Senators serve longer terms, are smaller in number, and (in most cases) represent more voters than members of the House of Representatives.

The Chamber of the House of Representatives is located in the south wing of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate meets in the north wing of the same building.

• Senate

The United States Senate is the United States Congress One of the two houses. Each state in the United States has two representatives in the Federal Senate, regardless of the state's population. Therefore, the number of members in the whole house is 100 members. The six-year term of the senators is staggered, so about one-third of the seats are re-elected every two years. The Vice President of the United States is the Speaker of the Senate and is not qualified as a senator; and unless it is to break the deadlock in the event of a tie, he shall not vote.

The Senate is generally more prudent than the House of Representatives; the number of senators is smaller and the term of office is longer, allowing academic and partisan views, and it is easier to be outside of public opinion than the House of Representatives. The Senate has certain powers listed in the Constitution that are not granted to the House of Representatives. The most important of these is that when the President of the United States approves treaties or appoints important personnel, he must "take the Senate’s recommendations and obtain approval" (Chapter 1 of the U.S. Constitution).

The United States Senate inherited the name of the Senate of Ancient Rome. The venue is located in the capital, Washington, DC, in the north wing of Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives meets in the south wing of the same building.

Federal System

The United States was a Confederate country from 1776 to 1787. The Constitution of the United States of America enacted in 1787 changed the structure of the country to a federal system. On the basis of establishing a unified federal government, the states still retain considerable autonomy. The Federation has the highest legislative, administrative and judicial organs, but it has unified laws and laws and is the main body of international communication; each state has its own constitution, laws and government agencies; if the constitution and laws of each state conflict with the federal constitution and laws , The federal constitution and laws are superior to state constitutions and laws. The U.S. Constitution enumerates the powers enjoyed by the federal government, such as taxation, debt collection, coinage, maintenance of the military, diplomacy, and management of interstate and international trade. Other powers not listed in the Constitution are reserved for the state government unless the Constitution expressly prohibits states from exercising them. The power of the state is mainly to handle affairs within the state, such as taxation in the name of the locality, management of industry, commerce and labor in the state, organization of security forces and maintenance of public order, etc. The specific powers of the federal central and local governments have been constantly changing and improving over the past 200 years.

• State government

Before the colony became independent, it was under the jurisdiction of the British monarch. During the period after the establishment of the United States and before the establishment of the Constitution, the states were actually in a state of autonomy. Therefore, at the "Philadelphia Constitutional Convention", the representatives of the states decided to establish a strong federal agency, and at the same time emphasized the protection of the rights of the states.

Generally speaking, the affairs that are fully restricted within a certain state should be completely determined by the state government, including the management of state media, property, industry and commerce, and public infrastructure, the state criminal code, and the public. Working conditions, etc. The federal government requires the state government to be a republic in form, and state laws must never violate the federal constitution or laws and treaties enacted at the national level.

There are many overlaps in interstate and federal administration. Especially in recent years, the federal government has also begun to expand its jurisdiction in the fields of health, education, welfare, transportation, real estate, and urban development. However, this situation is generally carried out on the basis of voluntary cooperation between the two levels of government, and the non-federal will impose its will on the local state government.

Like national institutions, the three powers are separated at the state level: executive, legislative, and judicial, and their functions and jurisdiction are roughly the same as their counterparts at the national level. The chief executive of a state is the "governor" (governor), who is elected by the citizens of the state, usually for a four-year term (in some states, it is two years). Except for Nebraska, which has only one legislature, all other states are divided into upper and lower houses. The upper house is called the Senate, and the lower house is called the House of Representatives (House of Delegates, or General Assembly). But what is confusing is that some states refer to the entire legislature as the General Assembly, including the upper and lower houses. In most states, senators serve a 4-year term and members of the House of Commons serve a 2-year term.

Although the "constitutions" of the states are different in details, they are generally consistent with the federal constitution, including the civil rights declaration and the plan to organize the government. In the fields of commerce, banks, public facilities, and charity operations, the "state constitution" is usually more detailed and clear than the federal constitution, but it stipulates that the ultimate power belongs to the people, and certain norms and principles are also set as the basis for the establishment of government .

• Municipality

The United States has developed from the original agricultural society to a highly urbanized society In countries, around 80% of citizens live in towns or suburbs. Therefore, the municipal government is very important in the American administrative system. The city government is more directly close to the people than the state government and the federal government, and manages all matters that are closely related to people's lives, such as police, fire protection, health, medical health, education, public transportation, and real estate.

The management of big cities is extremely complicated. In terms of population alone, a city in New York City is larger than 41 of the 50 states. It is often said that, besides the President of the United States, the most difficult administrative position is the mayor of New York City. The functions of the municipal government are regulated by the state charter, but in many areas, cities operate independently of the state. However, in most large cities, because of the large number of residents and the management is extremely complicated, it is also necessary to cooperate with state and federal organizations.

The type of city government is different throughout the United States, but there is a central political committee (referendum voted) and a chief executive (the minister who leads the subordinate departments) to manage city affairs. The city government can be roughly divided into three types: the "mayor-parliament system", the "committee system" and the "parliament-manager system". The governments of many cities are a mixture of these types of systems.

Mayor-Council: It is the oldest municipal government system in the United States. Until the early 20th century, almost all American cities were governed by this method. The structure is similar to that of the state and federal governments. The mayor is elected by the people as the chief executive of the executive branch; the legislative assembly is also elected by the people, representing different districts in the city. The mayor refers to the ministers and other officials of various departments of the city, and sometimes the approval of the parliament is required. The mayor has the power to veto the city's decrees and is responsible for planning the budget for the city's operations. The council is responsible for formulating municipal laws, setting tax rates, and distributing funds among different departments. As the city gradually expanded, so did the seats in the parliament.

The Commission: The legislative and executive organs are combined together, usually with more than three people, and are elected by the residents of the city. Each committee member supervises the operation and management of one or more subordinate departments. A committee member assumes the chairmanship, usually called the mayor, but its actual power is no different from other committee members.

Council-Manager: Because elected officials do not necessarily have the professional ability to deal with complex and diverse problems in the city, a "manager" is hired to solve these issues. City managers must have outstanding management capabilities and be able to exercise most of the administrative powers, including law enforcement, allocation of funds, and so on.

This system is being adopted by more and more American cities. The people elected a small council to make laws; at the same time, they hired a chief executive (i.e. city manager) to manage city affairs. The manager is responsible for planning the budget and supervising most of the subordinate departments. Generally speaking, there is no term limit. As long as the parliament is satisfied with its work, it can go on forever.

• County government

The "county" in the administrative divisions of the United States is a state A sub-division of, often (but not absolutely) covers more than two towns and some villages. In fact, most counties in the United States have a higher level than "cities", so they are not suitable for comparison with China's "counties". New York City is an obvious exception. Because of its large area, the subordinates are divided into 5 independent counties. The other opposite exception is Arlington County, Virginia, which faces Washington, D.C. across the Potomac River. The county’s cities and suburbs coexist and are managed by a single county government. Subordinate divisions. This situation is called "consolidated city-county government" and it also occurs in other larger cities in the United States, such as the City and County of San Francisco in California and Honolulu in Hawaii. City and County of Honolulu and other places.

In most counties in the United States, a certain town is usually chosen as the seat of the county government. In small counties, the official committee (composed of county political committees) is generally elected by the county without divisions, but in larger counties, their officials represent different electoral districts. The committee is responsible for collecting taxes, borrowing loans, stipulating the salaries of county civil servants, supervising elections, building roads and bridges, and managing welfare projects in the country, state, and county, and so on. In several states in the New England region, counties only represent regional divisions and do not have any government management functions.

• Village and township government

The village and township government is only responsible for building roads, supplying water, law enforcement and fire protection, Establish sanitation facilities, garbage, sewage treatment, taxation and other local affairs, and also cooperate with state and county governments to directly manage the local education system. Please note that in many states, the word "town" does not specifically refer to "town", but merely expresses the meaning of place of residence, an informal term. In addition, in some states, "town" means "town". In other words, the administrative concepts covered by the word "town" are different from state to state.

Government affairs are managed by an elected parliament or committee, with various names. The committee can set up the chairmanship, and the chairman can manage it as the chief executive, or it can be elected by the people as a mayor. Local civil servants can include clerical, treasurer, police, fire, health and welfare officials, etc.

• Other local governments

The various levels of government mentioned above do not cover the administration of the United States All aspects. According to the statistics of the United States Census Bureau (a subsidiary of the Department of Commerce), there are more than 84,955 local government units in the United States.

In the early days of the United States, a lot of work was done by the people themselves. With the development of society, many tasks have gradually shifted to the shoulders of the government, and Americans have become increasingly dependent on the functions of the government. During the colonial period, police and firefighters were rare even in large cities. The government was not responsible for installing street lights or cleaning streets. The people are all in their own right to protect their property.

In modern times, these tasks are generally handled by certain departments of the government. Even in very small villages and towns, public security, fire protection, welfare, health and other matters are organized by the government. As a result, the division of jurisdiction across the United States is extremely inconsistent.

Political Party System

Many American constitutional fathers hated the idea of ​​political parties at the beginning, because political parties are more concerned with how to compete with their opponents than for the sake of the country. They hope that individual citizens can vote for individual candidates without being influenced by certain organizations, but the development of history has not followed their will at all. By the 1890s, different concepts of governing the country had emerged in the country, and people were all trying to gather people with the same political opinions as their own to win wider support. The followers of Alexander Hamilton referred to themselves as the "Federal Party". These people hope to establish a strong central government to ensure the prosperity of commercial production and trade. The followers of Thomas Jefferson called themselves the "Democratic Republican Party." They support the establishment of a non-centralized agricultural republic in which the federal government has only limited powers. By 1828, the Federal Party had disappeared as an organization and was later replaced by the American Whig Party, which was formed because of opposition to Andrew Jackson. On the other side, the "Democratic Republican Party" has become a "Democratic Party", and this has given rise to the bipartisan struggle for hegemony in the United States, which continues to this day. Therefore, although the history of the United States is not long, the history of its political parties is very old.

In the 1850s, slavery became a central issue in the American political arena. There were great social differences, especially on the issue of whether slavery should be allowed in the new western region. The division was extremely sharp. The Whig Party adopted a fence-riding attitude, which led to its immediate demise and was replaced by the Republican Party in 1854. The main policy of the Republican Party was to eliminate all slavery in the United States. Six years later, Lincoln won the 1860 election, and the nascent Republican Party took the center of the political arena for the first time. In the environment at that time, political parties had a high status and were the political institutions that ruled the country. Therefore, the idea of ​​party affiliation became part of the daily lives of most ordinary people. Loyalty to a certain party is passed from parents to children, and party activities (including large-scale propaganda activities, formal wear marching activities, torch parades, etc.) are part of the social life of many community groups.

However, by the 1920s, this kind of crowded party phenomenon had largely disappeared. The town management has undergone reforms, improved the civilian affairs of the administrative organs, passed a series of anti-corruption bills, and established a primary election system for the presidential election in order to offset the powerful influence of politicians at the National Assembly... This has improved the political environment in the United States, but at the same time it has also made political activities a lot dull.

Compared with other countries, the internal organization of political parties in the United States is very loose. In principle, it is an "election machine". It does not have much function at ordinary times and only organizes and operates during elections at all levels. In particular, the two major parties have no formal organization at the national level to control membership, activities, policy making and other matters, but some state-level organizations are responsible for managing such matters. So if an American says that he is a Democratic or Republican party, the meaning of this is very different from that of a British person who says he belongs to the Labour Party or the Conservative Party. U.S. voters can freely register as members of a certain party and can freely vote for a certain party, but these can not limit the voter's choice, nor will it give the voter any special rights or obligations against the party. Voters can participate in a local party meeting today and another party tomorrow. Similarly, registered voters can also change political parties "at any time" in accordance with laws and procedures.

When someone decides to run, his/her party status becomes official. In most states, this means that he/she wants to be nominated by a certain party and participate in the primary election to run for a certain position. Next, the election committees within each party will choose which candidate they approve for the nomination. However, the final result has to be decided by the voters who participated in the primary election, and it is very difficult to know who will vote for the primary election.

This kind of system has caused the central organizations within the various political parties in the United States to be very weak, and there is almost no common ideological guidance, only opinions are the same on some issues. As long as a person wins the primary election, regardless of whether he/she crosses the river to demolish the bridge, or suddenly changes face to openly oppose the party’s policies, the party has no way to prevent him/her from gaining full party membership.

At the federal level, the two major parties have their own national committees, whose functions are to raise funds, organize propaganda activities, and especially actively prepare for the presidential election. The composition of the committees is different, but they are mainly composed of representatives of state-level parties, affiliated organizations, and other important parties. However, the National Committee does not have the power to direct the actions of individuals within the party. Therefore, although each party has a chairman, this chairman is not really the "leader" of the party, and it is generally difficult to say who holds the leadership of a political party in the United States. Usually those who persuade other members to follow their own leadership can be regarded as party leaders. But often speaking, people in high positions are de facto party leaders, such as the President of the United States and the leaders of the upper and lower houses. Moreover, it is said that it is a "leadership" and it is only necessary for others to follow it voluntarily, and cannot be forced.

Both parties have separate committees responsible for elections. The most important committees are "Hill committees", which are responsible for electing members of Congress.

The large national party has its own branches in 50 states, and changes the organizational structure and job functions according to the laws of each state.

Why the two-party system developed in the United States is mainly due to the following reasons. Most officials are elected from a single-representation system of local zoning, and this system is called the "most-vote-election method" (also known as the "first pass system"), which means that whoever gets the most votes wins , Not to scale. This system has played a role in promoting the situation of the two powers fighting for hegemony: one political party is in power while the other is in the opposition; if the opposition parties unite, it is possible to defeat the current ruling party next time. Sometimes the third party will also rush out to win its own place and maintain it for a period of time. The most successful third party in the United States in recent years is H. Ross Perot's American Reform Party, which won 8% of the vote in the 1996 presidential election. Perot himself won 19% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election, but the Reform Party had not yet been formed. Another small party that has performed well is the US Libertarian Party, which has more than 400 elected officials across the country. Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998, becoming the first Reform Party to win state office.其他还有两位无党派人士拥有州层官职：参议员詹姆斯·杰佛玆（James Jeffords）和众议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders），两人都是佛蒙特州的（佛蒙特只有一个众议院席位）。大多数小党派生存很困难，因为两个大党经常采用这些小党最受选民欢迎的某些主张，从而夺走小党派的选民。

波多黎各有自己单独的政党，主要有波多黎各新进步党、波多黎各人民民主党和波多黎各独立党。

公民权利

美国宪法和法律条文规定，政府的权力来自人民，最终属于人民；政府的权力不是绝对的，而是受宪法和法律限制的。联邦宪法和法律一方面规定公民享有人身保护、言论、出版、集会、宗教信仰自由，私有财产权和选举权等权利；另一方面规定，国会不得制定剥夺公民的言论、出版、和平集会和请愿等自由的法律，公民的人身、住宅、文件和财产不受非法的搜查或扣押，非依法定正当程序，不得剥夺任何人的生命、自由或财产。此外，各州宪法和法律对公民的权利也有规定。

选举制度

美国总统选举实行间接选举制。首先由各州选民投票选出本州选举人（人数与本州国会议员人数相等），再由各州选举人同时在各州首府投票选举正、副总统。议员选举实行直接选举制。众议员由各州选民直接选举；参议员最初由各州议会选举，1913年生效的第17条宪法修正案规定，参议员也由各州选民直接选举。州长、议员和某些州的法官、重要行政官员都由选民选举产生。各级选举一般都由两党包办。为了保证两党的统治地位，一般实行单名选区制和多数代表制。

1787年，美国制定并颁布了世界近代史上的第一部成文宪法，该宪法将国家元首（总统）的选举权交给了人民。两百多年来，美国的选举制度随着美国的政治气候变化而变化，产生了许多不成文的习惯。原宪法和不成文的习惯同时生效，使美国总统选举变得更加复杂。为帮助广大同学更加全面地了解美国的总统选举制度，准确把握教材的相关知识，笔者从以下几个方面对美国的总统选举制度作简要介绍和分析。

• 从选举过程看

美国的总统选举有严格的程序，具有明显的阶段性

美国的总统选举从民主党和共和党的前期竞选准备到正式大选，经历了一个漫长的过程。但实质性的选举主要包括四个阶段:

第一阶段，党内预选。在总统选举年的2至6月，民主党和共和党在各州由普通党员直接选举出席全国代表大会的代表。由于全国代表大会的代表明确表示支持哪位总统候选人，因此，预选结果就能清楚地知道各总统候选人的支持率。从某种意义上讲，总统预选也就是普通党员直接选举本党总统候选人的过程。

第二阶段，确定总统候选人。总统选举年的7、8月份，民主党和共和党分别召开全国代表大会，大会的主要任务是确定本党的总统和副总统候选人。事实上，在各州的预选过程中，总统候选人的优势已基本明确，全国代表大会不过是为选举的优胜者履行一下正式手续而已。

第三阶段，展开竞选。总统选举年的9至11月份是民主党和共和党候选人的竞选阶段，总统竞选是美国政治生活中最引人注目的现象，在竞选中两党候选人动员一切人力、物力和财力，采取一切可能采取的手段为自己拉选票，为最后竞选成功奠定基础。

第四阶段，总统大选。总统选举年的11月的第一个星期一后的星期二是美国总统大选日，这一天，各州选民到指定的选票站选举总统选举人。

总统选举人被选出后，组成选举团，于12月的第二个星期三后的第一个星期一在本州首府集会，分别选出正副总统；次年1月6日下午1时，参议院和众议院的全体议员在众议院集会，由参议长主持开票，当众公布选举结果；当选的正、副总统于1月20日宣誓就职。

• 从选举方式看

美国的总统选举实行选举人制度，属于间接选举

许多人认为，美国总统是在总统大选日由选民直接选举产生的。其实不然，美国实行的是间接选举制，即由选民选出总统选举人，再由总统选举人选出总统。由于选民在推举选举人时，已经明确表示选某一总统候选人的选举人，因此，美国总统虽为间接选举，却有直接选举的意义。

另外，总统选举人制度作为美国总统选举中的一项独特的制度，还有一些特殊的规定。诸如，各州选举人的数目同本州在国会里的议员人数相等，一些大州议员人数多，选举人数目也就多；选举人的选举实行“胜者得全票制度”，就是说，如果某党获得一个州的多数选举人票，则该党就获得该州的全部选举人票；等等。

• 政权组织形式

美国实行严格的三权分立制度，总统选举与国会选举分别进行

美国是总统制共和制国家，与其他资本主义国家一样，实行严格的三权分立制。美国总统与国会不仅在权力上相互牵制，而且在产生途径上也各不相同。美国宪法和相关法律规定，总统选举每四年一次，称为“大选”；国会选举则是两年一次，称为“中期选举”。美国国会由参议院和众议院组成。其中，众议院议员435名，任期2年，每两年全部改选；参议院议员100名，任期6年，每两年改选三分之一。众所周知，美国总统选举获胜的党是执政党，但执政党并不一定是国会中的多数党，执政党往往在国会的一院或两院中占少数席位。当总统所在的党在两院中均占少数席位时，美国的总统被称为“跛鸭总统”。

• 从政党制度看

美国实行两党制，总统选举是政党选举与公民选举交融结合进行的

美国是两党制国家，其总统的选举产生与国内的两大政党密不可分。美国总统选举实际上是决定由哪个政党执掌政权，成为新的执政党，这是美国两党实现轮流执政的一种方式。美国的总统选举主要是由民主党和共和党运作和控制的。两党的总统候选人必须是本党的全国代表大会的代表，总统候选人是由党的全国代表大会决定的，要想被确立为总统候选人，首先必须在党内击败其他的竞争者；总统候选人能否在总统竞选中获胜，除其个人因素外，也与本党有密切联系，总统候选人所在党的威信、形象直接会影响到他的支持率；“胜者得全票制度”则保证了两大政党对总统选举结果的控制。在个别情况下，作为总统候选人，也可以是一些小党成员或无党派人士，但这些总统候选人获胜的可能性很小。而两大政党人多势众、势力强大，这就保证了各州的选举人票落入两党手中。

美国总统选举虽然操纵在两大政党手中，但并非与美国的公民没有关系。美国公民拥有选举权，总统选举人是由公民直接选出的。总统候选人为了在选举中获胜，就必须争取选民，在选民中树立良好形象，提出吸引选民的口号和纲领，甚至向选民作出某些承诺。选民的向背，最终决定总统候选人竞选的成败。总之，两党的总统候选人虽由党的全国代表大会推举，但能否当选总统是由公民选举决定的，并非由两党决定。

• 从阶级本质看

美国的总统选举是典型的金钱选举，体现了资产阶级统治的国家性质

金钱是进入白宫的钥匙，这从近几十年来美国当选总统的情况和历届总统竞选的费用中可以得到充分体现。

20世纪60年代以来的9位美国总统，大多是富豪。其中，肯尼迪是波士顿财团的大资本家，约翰逊和卡特是大农场主，里根是有名的富翁，布什家族则是美国的制造业巨头。因此，说美国政府是“富豪内阁”是再恰当不过了。

• 从竞选费用看

自20世纪60年代以来，美国总统的竞选费用急剧增加。 1964年美国总统竞选费用为2亿美元，1968年是3亿美元，1972年为4亿美元，1976年达到5.4亿美元，1980年高达10亿美元，1996年达到创记录的11.4亿美元。美国总统竞选费用的来源主要有三个方面:一是总统候选人个人拥有雄厚的财力；二是政府补助；三是来自大财团和社会各界的捐款。虽然美国的《竞选运动资助法》规定，个人直接给总统候选人的捐款不得超过500美元，团体捐款不得超过1000美元，但一些大财团通过各种途径钻法律的空子，为自己所支持的候选人提供资金，与总统候选人进行“金钱与政策”的交易。难怪有人说美国的总统选举是“钱举”。

从捐款对象来看，总统选举并非为“钱举”。通常竞选人拥有自己的竞选理念，且需要迎合大部分人的理念。而竞选人募捐通常并非因为捐款人捐款而轻易改变理念，而只是从大部分人理念中综合一种理念进行推广，在此基础上进行募捐。任何人捐款往往也看竞选人的理念是否和自己的理念是否一致或者大致一致。如果一致则会捐款，如果不一致则一般不愿捐款。因为捐款人数在历史中通常呈现增多的趋势，故此总的捐款规模在不断扩大。捐款规模的增大从一定程度上显示了选民对选举的重视。

虽然有财团企图控制选举，但是财团的资金在全国选民的资金中所占比例通常较小。且在言论自由的情况下，财团的捐款会受到选民的注意和揭穿，故此，财团通常非常难以控制选举。如果一个财团支持的竞选人无法赢得选民支持，那么通常意味着财团支持的资金在选举过程中打了水漂了。所以财团控制选举的说法事实上很难成立。

●从思想取向层面来看

美国两大政党分别代表两种差别极大的政治哲学:民主党－－自由主义；共和党－－保守主义。 Liberalism and conservatism have different meanings in different countries, and there are no fewer than dozens of definitions even in the United States. Generally speaking, contemporary American liberalism advocates innovation, tolerance, and social equality, and advocates that concepts, systems, and laws should change with changes in the social environment; while conservative thinking emphasizes cultural continuity, focusing on traditional values, social stability and social stability. The role of religion.

在具体政治领域，保守主义与自由主义的最大分歧莫过于“大政府”与“小政府”之争。 Conservative theories start from the basic point of safeguarding individual freedom and firmly believe that the expansion of government power means the reduction of individual freedom.这种理论认为，政府对经济的干预和对社会问题的涉入必定会危及美国文明的根基－个人自由。 What's more, conservative theory also believes that the federal government's social welfare, high expenditure, high taxation, and protection of minority rights and interests have caused or deepened the socio-economic problems in the United States to varying degrees, such as productivity decline, inflation, and so on. The income of the upper and middle class has decreased, the enthusiasm for investment in the business sector is not high, and lazy people rely on government relief and so on.

In contrast, liberal theory believes that a laissez-faire capitalist economy has led to serious inequality, high unemployment and a series of other problems, while highly developed technology and economic development have not changed significantly Inequality in American society, such as racial discrimination and insufficient protection of women’s rights, etc. Therefore, liberal theory firmly believes that the urgent problem of American society is not the violation of individual rights, but the uncorrected social inequality. At the same time, liberal theory also believes that many social and economic problems in the United States are so serious and so profound that the government must be involved in solving them. In other words, liberal theory firmly believes that government power is not the cause of American social and economic problems, but an important means to eliminate these problems.

Because conservatism and liberalism hold different opinions on large and small governments, in recent decades, Republicans and Democrats have dealt with issues such as funding, taxation, government regulation of the economy, civil rights protection, gun control, and environmental protection. Fighting against each other, tit-for-tat. The disagreement between the two major U.S. political parties regarding the size of government power appears most prominent in the election year. 1980年，罗纳德·里根以“小政府”，作为其竞选基调，猛烈抨击民主党的社会经济政策，认为自由主义派的高开支，高税收及“福利社会”政策导致了高速货膨胀、高失业、高利率、高国债与低速增长。 1988年，乔治·布什挟里根保守主义当权八年之余威，再次祭起“小政府”旗帜，信誓旦旦地向全国选民保证， “ Read My Lips No New Taxes”， 1992年，民主党时来运转，比尔·克林顿利用美国经济不景气而布什政府应对无力之机，又向全国选民开出沉寂了十二年的“大政府”药方，强调政府必须采取强有力措施，以帮助人们渡过难关。 Revitalize the economy and get out of the depression. Judging from the above three cases, the prescriptions of "big government" and "small government" are both effective, because the two major political parties in the United States have long been demarcated on the issue of government power and role. As long as the social conditions and timing are favorable, they can win the sympathy of the middle forces. , The direction of the political pendulum will be obvious.

The controversy between the two major parties in the United States over large and small governments is equally fierce in Congressional legislation. In spite of the phenomenon of inter-party voting by congressmen, in general, Republicans and Democrats usually vote on bills related to government power in a clear line. After Clinton took office in 1993, his economic stimulus bill was blocked by Republicans in the Senate, and his federal deficit reduction bill was also unanimously resisted by Republicans in both houses of the Senate. During the Bush administration, the Democratic Party had an advantage in the Senate and the Senate and successfully passed dozens of bills. However, because the Republican Party occupied the White House, Bush used the president's power to veto the bills related to the "big government" one by one. During the four years, Bush vetoed a total of nearly 30 bills passed by the two houses of Congress. Only one bill on the government's control of cable TV prices was later passed into law by the two houses with a two-thirds majority. Died prematurely.克林顿一入主白宫，民主党议员急忙又将被布什否决的一些法案重新通过（如“Family Leave Bill”)，交由民主党总统顺利签署。 Partisan disputes between large and small governments are not limited to the Federal Congress. Similar situations exist in the state assemblies of the 50 states in the United States.

民主党与共和党，自由主义与保守主义关于大、小政府的争执实际上已经延续了一个世纪。在十九世纪末美国工业化、城市化兴起的所谓“镀金年代”里，共和党占尽上风，政府对经济放手不管，任卡特尔、辛迪加、托拉斯等垄断形式自由发展，这个时期国会所通过的几个“反托拉斯法”也只不过是虚晃一枪。二十世纪初叶美国兴起“进步主义”运动，试图解决伴之工业化、城市化而来的种种社会弊病，如政治腐败、商企巨子垄断豪夺、工人工作环境恶劣、工资低、工作日长，农民生计维艰等。 “进步主义”是一个改良主义运动，它的理论基础是刚诞生不久的美国哲学－－实用主义。这个哲学流派的集大成者约翰·杜威开美国现代自由主义先河，明确主张利用政府力量帮助消除社会弊病。由此而进，美国现代自由主义与保守主义关于大、小政府之争的帷幕正式拉开，政权之争。