The Many roles of the President chief of state-the role of the president as the ceremonial head of government chief executive-- the role of the president as the head of the executive branch of the government commander in chief of the armed forces-- the role of the president as the supreme commander of military forces of the U.S

The Common Law Tradition common law-judge made law that originated in England and was derived from prevailing customs precedent-a court ruling bearing on subsequent legal decisions in similar cases - emanates from stare decisis, or standing on decided cases

What is Foreign policy? ~ nation's' external goals and techniques and strategies used to achieve them American foreign policy includes national security policy, which is policy designed to protect the independence and the political and economic integrity of the United States

Three Systems of Government Unitary System-centralized government in which local governments exercise only those powers given to them by the central government Confederal System -consists of a league of independent states, each having essentially sovereign power Federal system-power is divided by a written constitution between a central government and

Civil rights all rights rooted in the Fourteenth Amendments guarantee of equal protection under the law what the government must do to ensure equal protection what the government must do to ensure freedom from discrimination

Defining Interest Groups and Political Parties What is an Interest Group? an organized group of individuals who share common goals or objectives who attempt to influence policymakers in all three branches of government, and at all levels What is a political party?

Why was Congress Created? founders feared tyrannical rulers founders also had experienced the weakness of the congress under the Articles of Confederation bicameralism attempts to balance the power among large and small states

《世界经济与政治》：帝国的光环——美国金融危机的历史制度解释（李辉、唐世平、金洪）

Who Is Eligible to Run for office there are few eligibility requirements to run for most U.S. offices President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old must be a resident of the country for 14 years before inauguration Vice President must be a natural born citizen must be 35 years old

Defining Public Opinion Public Opinion-the- aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population -Consensus opinions-when there is general agreement among the citizenry on an issue - Divisive opinionswhen- public opinion is polarized between two quite different positions