Kennedy in 1963 and Robert Kennedy in 1968 shocked the world. The Vietnam War brought further internal unrest. This continued till the 70s with the political corruption - the Watergate Scandal and the resulting resignation of president Richard Nixon (he was the first U.S. president who was forced to resign). U.S. troops were finally withdrawn from Vietnam in 1975.
Economic issues dominated the 80s which began with high unemployment, high inflation and slow economic growth. By the middle of this decade this recession had ended and the U.S. continues to have one of the highest standards of living in the world.


GOVERNMENT
 official name: United States of America (U.S.A.)
 national anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner
 national flag: 50 white stars on a blue field, 13 horizontal stripes (7red and 6 white) symbolizing the original 13 states which used to be the British colonies
 monetary unit currency: American dollar ($)
 legal system: based on the English Common Law
 military: over 18 non-compulsory

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
The Constitution has the historical background. U.S. system of government is based on the constitution adopted in 1789. There are two political groupings in the U.S.A.

THE POWERS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Federal government exercises control over matters concerning the country as a whole:
defence, foreign affairs, finance, commerce, postal services, etc.

THE ROLE OF THE SUPREME COURT
All the states of the U.S. are bound to accept the decisions of the Supreme Court as final. There are some important amendments (the first amendments, adopted in 1791, are known as ‘the bill of rights’).

THE SEPARATION OF POWERS
The federal government has 3 branches of department:
1) the executive (the President)
2) the legislative (the U.S. Congress - 2 houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives)
3) the Judiciary or the judicial department (the U.S. Supreme Court)

1) THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
The President is an effective head of the executive as well as the head of the state. The cabinet and the Vice-president belong to the President.

PRESIDENT
 at least 35-years old
 be natural-born citizen
 have lived in the U.S. for 14 years
 can be elected max.