Greatbritannia Blog

THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Minimum requirements to become the U.S. president:

• age limit: 35 max. age limit: NO
• nationality at birth: American; U.S. residence: yes; min. length: 14 yrs

Presidential roles / duties:

• Chief of State; Head of Government; Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces;
• Must live in the White House? Yes.
• Greet leaders of other nations; help to create treaties;
• the U.S. president is elected for 4 years, maximum 2 times
• Sign or veto bills made by the Legislative Branch

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THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Congress: The House of Representatives and  The Senate

Duties:

• Make laws; regulate trade (= commerce);
  tax the people;
• declare wars;

A member of the H. of Reps:

• must live in the state s/he represents;
• is one of the total of 435 members elected every two years;
• age limit: 25 max. age limit: NO; U.S. residence: yes; min. length: 7 yrs

Member of the Senate:

• must live in the state s/he represents;
• is one of the total of 100; each state gives two senators;
• age limit: 30 max. age limit: NO; U.S. residence:  yes; min. length: 9 yrs;
• 1/3 of the Senate is elected every two years, a senator is elected for 6 years;
• the President of the Senate is the Vice President

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THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

• courts; the highest is: the Supreme Court
• Chief Justices are chosen by the President and approved by The Senate
• length of term: till death or retirement
• decides if a bill is unconstitutional or not

 

Don’t forget Names, terms and dates and Quizlet.

Washington D.C. is neither a state, nor a city, it is a federal republic. It was George Washington’s idea to choose a capital city that is somewhere in the middle of the territory of the 13 original colonies. Both Maryland and Virginia gave some land on their borders and Washington, D.C. was formed.

Today the city’s population is around 700,000, but thanks to the large number of tourists the capital city is always on the move.

D.C., nicknamed ‘Our Nation’s Capital’ is the center of / home of

• ­important government buildings, including the Capitol, where the Senate and the House of Representatives meet (center of the Legislation);
• the White House, where the president lives and works (center of the Executive Branch);
• the Supreme Court Building, where many important court rulings are made (Judicial Branch);
• the U.S. Armed Forces (the Pentagon, home to offices and headquarters of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine and the Coast Guard);
• landmarks including the Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial;
• the world’s largest museum, the Smithsonian Institution (19 museums altogether including the National Zoo, galleries, the National Air and Space museum etc.);
• Washington, D.C., is bordered on the west by the Potomac River, which divides D.C. from Virginia. The Anacostia River runs through its east side.

(D.C. is not a center for financial matters since the Stock Exchange is in Wall Street, New York City. Culture is also hosted by “the Big Apple” with The Broadway where the greatest theaters are found.)

Washington, D.C. has several islands in the Potomac River, like Theodore Roosevelt Island, a popular place visited by local citizens. There’s Kingman Island, a man-made island in the Anacostia River which runs through the D.C.’s east side.

Rock Creek Park has over 32 miles of hiking trails, horseback riding, and is home to deer, coyotes, foxes and raccoons. In Washington, D.C., bald eagles are often seen. In its parks and forests, numerous mammals can be found such as opossums, groundhogs, flying squirrels or amphibians like toads, bullfrogs, moreover, venomous copperhead snakes can be seen.

New York City is situated at the mouth of Hudson River in New York State. The city is divided into 5 boroughs. One of these is Manhattan which was populated by Indians  and also got its name from them (Mana-Hatin which means hilly island).

In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up the river from the Atlantic Ocean past the island that we call Manhattan today. The river was named after Him.

In 1624, a Dutchman bought Manhattan Island and named the place New Amsterdam, but 38 years later the English took control and renamed the land New York.

The oldest part of Manhattan Island is the Downtown, which is the financial district with Wall Street, home of the New York Stock Exchange. You can also find traditional international districts here, like Chinatown or Little Italy. Wall Street got its name from the wooden fence (called a palisade) built by the Dutch in the 17^th century to protect the settlement from Indians’ attacks.

Uptown Manhattan is home to Central Park, Harlem (where a lot of black and Hispanic people live) and the famous Guggenheim Museum.

Midtown Manhattan is the cultural centre of the city with the Broadway and Times Square which is the heart of the whole city. You can find a popular ice-skating rink in the Rockefeller Center, and a beautiful cathedral named St Patrick’s Cathedral in this part of Manhattan.

The most popular sight of New York City is an iconic landmark once used to greet immigrants to the States. It is the Statue of Liberty that is a symbol of freedom as well as a token of friendship of the French and the Americans. These nations allied during the American Revolutionary War in 1778. The statue is a woman’s figure holding a torch in her right hand (to symbolize freedom). In her left hand, she holds a tablet  with the words “July 4, 1776 – American Independence Day” inscribed.

Vocabulary:

• FLOOD
• EARTHQUAKE
• TSUNAMI
• AVALANCHE
• (VOLCANIC) ERUPTION
• LAVA
• TORNADO
• STORM (SAND…, WIND…, RAIN…, SNOW…)
• HURRICANE
• HAIL

Story with pictures HERE.