- •American Studies exam
- •Билет 1
- •1. American Civil Rights Movement discrimination against minorities
- •2. David Griffith and the Stars of the Silent Films Era
- •Билет 2
- •1. The American Corporation The Essential Elements of the Corporate Structure
- •The Evolution Of the American Corporation
- •Standard Oil and the arrival of big business
- •2. The Presidency
- •Билет 3
- •1. American Federalism
- •4 Levels
- •2. The American Film Making of the 30ies (Hollywood major studios, the studio years, the Production Code).
- •Билет 4
- •1. The Structure, the Rules and Procedures of the Congress.
- •2. Cultural Regionalism
- •The Northeast
- •The South
- •The West
- •The Midwest
- •Билет 5
- •1. The American Constitution: the Story of Making of the Constitution.
- •2. American Character.
- •Билет 6
- •1. American Newspapers (historical and modern aspects)
- •2. The Frontier Heritage.
- •Western culture is based on the frontier heritage. Билет 7
- •1. American Magazines
- •2. Crime and Law
- •Билет 8
- •1. The American Radio.
- •2. "My Cousin Vinnie": the American Court Procedure.
- •Билет 9
- •1. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.
- •2. New York: Landmarks and Celebrations.
- •Билет 10
- •1. American Educational System: Primary and Higher.
- •2. Puritan Heritage.
- •Билет 11
- •1. Business Tycoons of the 19-th Century: Methods of Doing Business.
- •2. The Bill of Rights.
- •Билет 12.
- •1. Geographical Regionalism.
- •2. The American System of Government.
- •Билет 13
- •1. The Articles of the American Constitution.
- •2. Western Heritage.
- •Билет 14
- •1. Policymaking: Global Policy.
- •2. The System of American Courts.
- •Билет 15
- •1. Us Domestic Policy.
- •2. The Famous Film Directors and Actors of the 30ies
- •Билет 16.
- •1. Nominations, Campaigns and Elections.
- •2. The Federal Reserve System, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Stock Exchange.
Standard Oil and the arrival of big business
In the 1870s and 1880s, several companies achieved spectacular size, not by internal growth, but by merger. Perhaps the most famous example is the Standard Oil Company. Initially, Standard Oil was less a company than a cartel - a group of smaller, separate companies under the guidance of the largest refiner of them all, 'John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company of Ohio.
Rockefeller initially created a trade association of refiners, and became its first president. Ultimately, this association became a massive, vertically integrated, centralized corporation. By 1880, the Standard Oil "group" or "alliance" numbered 40 separate companies.
Though Standard Oil was broken up by a Supreme Court order in 1891, other conglomerates avoided the antitrust axe. The United States Steel Corporation, for example, created by Andrew Carnegie in 1901, created close to 60 percent of the industry's output.
The next stage in the evolution of the corporate structure was widespread (and therefore diffuse) ownership (people bought stock).
It also marked the beginning of a historic shift in American capitalism, a major increase in the influence of Wall Street in companies like Ford.
This was the high-water mark of the old system. Ford became one of the last of the blue chips, just as blue-chip stocks were becoming irrelevant. Instead of a few clubby long-term investors, the postwar era created a world where the New York Stock Exchange vowed to make every American a stockholder and where stockholders could make a lot of money fast by betting on the best of a large group of entrepreneurs.
Wall Street was no longer the exclusive enclave of young men from a tiny group of "good families"; it was open to anyone (well, any white males).
Legal authority over corporations has always been left to the states. The federal government has very little authority over corporate governance.
2. The Presidency
The presidential duties and powers are enumerated in Article 2 of the US Constitution. It stipulates the requirements for the person to become a president: a natural-born citizen; a citizen of the US for 14 years; not younger than 35 years.
Article 2 enumerates the presidential powers:
He is the commander-in-chief of the army and navy
He takes care that laws should be faithfully observed (enforces laws). He issues lots of regulations, orders.
In foreign affairs his power is limited: he does have the authority to negotiate treaties, receive foreigners, but he can’t ratify treaties. Here the Congress helps the president, as it has the advisory role and it’s the Senate, that has the exclusive right to ratify treaties.
He makes nominations to important state offices: ambassadors, consuls, ministers, justices of Supreme Court, federal judges. But all these nominations must be approved by the Senate.
The constitution makes a provision for a poor person to become a president: he gets a salary which can neither be raised nor lowered.
If a president removes from the office or is impeached, his position will be occupied by the Vice-President. Pr.election – every 4 years. When he embarks upon his duties, he makes an oath to protect, preserve and defend the constitution.
The president has a power to pardon or reprieve for offences, except the impeachment.
Every year the president gives a state of the union message to the Congress.(состояние страны) he outlines the program which to implement during his reign.