Chapter 5 2. Washington's resignation sets a precedent

Less than a hundred years after the success of the British Revolution, the United States followed suit and started a revolution. In 1607, the British established the first colony in North America—Virginia. By the mid-18th century, a total of 13 colonies had been established along the Atlantic coast of North America.The governance model of the colonies is established according to the British political system, while the British is a constitutional monarchy, and the power of the monarchy is limited.Of these 13 colonies, 8 belonged to the British king, 3 owner colonies, and 2 were completely self-governing colonies.By 1763, the scope of British colonies in North America had expanded again.Owner colonies are big nobles and big landowners, who bought charters from the King of England to own owner colonies.The governors of owner colonies and self-governing colonies are elected by the parliament, not appointed by the king. That is to say, when the United States was still a colony, it had already established a relatively advanced political and economic system.Because it was born out of its mother country—the United Kingdom, many developed countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States today are fragments of the British Empire.After years of development, North America has formed a unified market, English has become a common language, a common culture has emerged, the American nation has formed, and national consciousness has awakened.

For example, the three of us, I am from England, you are from Italy, and he is from Germany.When we landed in North America, we took Europe as our motherland, and then we lived here for 20 years, and English became our common language.We take the land we live in as our motherland, and when our descendants are born on this land, my son has never been to England, your son has never been to Italy, and neither has his son Germany, they were born on the land of North America, and they must think that North America is their motherland and their hometown.In this way, a unified American nation is formed, no matter what country you are from, now you are North American, you are Virginian, you are from North Carolina, you are from Rhode Island, wherever you are , in this land, we are the citizens of this place, and we should be the masters of this place.And now we are ruled by Europeans, why?So be self-governing and independent.

In the first half of the 18th century, Enlightenment ideas were spread in the British North American colonies, and the national democratic consciousness of the British North American colonies was strengthened.Famous Enlightenment thinkers include Franklin and Jefferson. Everyone must be familiar with Franklin and Jefferson. Why?It's printed on the dollar. What is printed on the US dollar is the founding father of the United States - the first and second US President George?Washington; 2 dollars is the third president Jefferson; 5 dollars is the 16th president Abraham who abolished slavery in the United States?Lincoln; 20 dollars and 50 dollars are the seventh US President Andrew?Jackson and the eighteenth President Ulysses?Simpson?grant.Most of the faces on the U.S. dollar are of previous prestigious presidents. The face on the hundred-dollar bill is not the president, but the famous scientist, financier, and politician Franklin. Although he has never been the president of the United States, he is the most valuable.Why do Americans print Washington on the 1 dollar and Lincoln on the 5 dollar?Because it is commonly used, $100 is not commonly used, and one dollar is an angel every day.Holding the father of the nation and giving it away every day, this is the Yankee.

In the 18th century, the economy of the British North American colonies developed rapidly. North America is such a wonderful place. I think God must have American blood if it weren’t for Americans, and gave the United States such a good place.There are two oceans in the east and the west, no strong enemies in the north and the south, and the land can be cultivated everywhere. The north is industrial and commercial, the middle produces wheat, and the south has plantations. The economy is developing rapidly.Back in the days when it was a colony, the economic development had been excellent.The founding of the United States was in the 41st year of Qianlong (1776), and Tongrentang was in the 8th year of Kangxi (1669). Our pharmacy is 107 years earlier than it, but the United States is now the world's most powerful country in every way, known as New Rome. empire.It has a total history of 230 years, and it has been in the first position in the world for 120 years. When it is not the first, it is fourth most of the time.This country is so rich, it has something to do with where it stays, and everyone in Mongolia will be finished.Once the North American economy develops, Britain can't stand it anymore. Britain hopes that the colonies will always be its commodity market and raw material origin.Why did you develop so well, so you began to suppress the development of the colonial economy, and the conflict between the two sides became more and more acute, leading to the outbreak of war.

The fuse that broke out of the war was the Boston Tea Party in 1773.North Americans are deeply influenced by Britain, and tea is their essential drink.Foreigners mainly eat meat, and after eating meat, they will get tired. Drinking some tea can not only supplement vitamins but also help digestion.Seeing that selling tea was profitable, the British monopolized the monopoly of tea, and only the British government could sell tea to North America.If a North American businessman imports tea from China and smuggles it to the United States, although it takes a year to ship the tea back to the United States, the price is only equivalent to one-sixth of the British government’s tea sales price. One, do you think the British are not profiteering?The Americans were very angry. You sell such cheap things at such a high price and sell them to us forcibly. Have you obtained the consent of the North American people?However, there are no representatives of the North American colonies in the British Parliament. They are all British. The vast majority of North American people have not agreed.Therefore, the people threw tea into the sea in a rage, worth 100,000 pounds. According to the level of purchasing power, 1 pound at that time was equivalent to 10,000 pounds now, and 100,000 pounds was 1 billion pounds. All the tea that was so expensive was dumped.

After the Boston Tea Party, Britain became angry and sent troops to suppress it, and the people of North America rebelled.The British army has been very bright in uniform since the Cromwell era, with tall bearskin hats, scarlet jackets, white tight trousers, two white armed belts, and a long gunpowder gun. The North American people are "kind" They called them "lobster soldiers". When they saw that the "lobster soldiers" were coming to suppress us, we had to fight bravely. We stopped eating meat and drinking tea, and held the first Continental Congress, which was later the U.S. Congress. , organize a militia, and prepare to fight the British.

The American War of Independence started in Lexington in 1775 and ended in 1783 when Britain recognized the independence of the United States.But the history of the American War of Independence was not as complicated as that of China. It was fought for 6 years and more than 6,000 people were sacrificed. In our 8 years, 18 million people died. In 1775, the first shot of the North American Revolutionary War was fired in Lexington, which became the symbol of the beginning of the North American Revolutionary War.The cause was that the British in Boston went to raid the arsenal of the militia and were discovered.In small towns in Europe and America, the main building is the church. In April 1775, it happened to be spring, and everything was revived. The fields were yellow, the trees were green, the village was gray, and only the British soldiers were red. striking.At that time, it was the opposite of what it is now. The military uniforms worn in battle now try not to expose and hide as much as possible. At that time, they tried to be as bright as possible, and tried to make themselves visible. Maybe it was because the communication and command methods were backward. They all wore concealed clothes, and the enemy would not be able to find you. , the officer can't find you either.In the red military uniform, he didn't know where the wound was after being shot.As soon as they came out, they were seen from afar.As soon as the church bell in a small town rang, the church bell in the next town rang, and a series of church bells rang along the route, which was similar to the beacon towers in ancient China.As I said before, the North American Continental Congress has organized a militia and has its own armed forces. The establishment of the North American colony itself was formed by white people pioneering and fighting with the Indians. Therefore, every family has weapons and it is easy to organize an army. Today, the American people There are real guys in hand too.The silversmith was striking a ring, he dropped his hammer, and found his gun from under the stove; the farmer, too, stopped farming, threw away his rake and went home to get his gun; The war went, and the children happily followed, helping the teacher to fill the bullets.

The Lexington conflict broke out. More than 800 British troops attacked. It is said that more than 600 were killed and injured, while the casualties of the militia were minimal. You can't find the North American militia, they hide in the hedges, behind the trees, and start a tunnel war with you.No matter how powerful the British armed forces are, they can't punch a punch into the air with force. The British became angry and increased their troops on a large scale, preparing to annihilate the North American militias in one fell swoop. The North American militias also knew that the British would not let it go. It seemed that they were completely torn apart with the United Kingdom. A big fight must be inevitable, so they held the first meeting Second Continental Congress.This Continental Congress reorganized the militia into the Continental Army and appointed Washington as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.

General Washington was born in Wakefield Manor, Virginia, USA in 1732.The son of a wealthy plantation owner, he inherited a considerable fortune at the age of 20.General Washington had no son, but only one daughter. After his daughter got married, the manor gradually fell into disrepair, and later passed on to his great-grandson-in-law.His great-grandson-in-law is the famous commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army during the Civil War in American history-Robert?Edward?General Lee.Because General Lee was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, after the defeat of the Confederate States, General Washington's estate was confiscated by the government, which was similar to expropriation.Today, it has become the most famous Arlington National Cemetery in the United States. All the warriors who died in the war are buried in Arlington National Cemetery, including the American soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan today in the anti-terrorist war.As long as you apply, you can be buried in this cemetery.To date, more than 400,000 people have been buried in the cemetery.

From the War of Independence to World War II, about 1 million people died in the United States in previous foreign wars, and 400,000 people were buried in this cemetery, and a special place in this cemetery is from privates to generals. The big ones, as much space as the second-class soldiers occupy, the generals are also that big.The cemetery is very neatly arranged, and it is very interesting that most people here are buried standing up, and the coffins are placed vertically.The only one that occupied two plots was President Kennedy, who was also buried here after he was assassinated.Why can he have two?It is because the special forces donated a place to him, and in the future our special forces will bury one less person and let the president lie down to bury him. Only he is like this.So you can see that true democracy is not only reflected when people are alive, but also after people die. There is a saying in the Bible, "When we pass through the grave, our souls are all equal".

The current Arlington National Cemetery is the original manor of General Washington. At that time, it was thousands of acres of land and 392 black slaves.To say that the general’s little life is really cool. The general liked to fight since he was a child, and he envied the military profession. During the 7-year war between Britain and France, the general served in the British colonial army and was promoted to colonel through hard work. Unexpectedly, after the British defeated France , The suzerain country discriminated against native-born whites, discriminated against him, an officer of colonial origin, and demoted him from colonel to major. General Washington resigned from the military in a rage, and returned to his hometown farm to feed cows and chickens.Now that the Continental Congress is convening, and his nation is calling to him, the general resolutely abandons his comfortable life, wields his sword and becomes the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, leading the American people to fight for independence and freedom.Before he left, he signed a proclamation, freeing all his slaves, and you are all free men.But none of these black slaves left, and those people didn't even know A, so why did they go out, they could only help the general take care of his manor. The Second Continental Congress promulgated the "Declaration of Independence" in 1776. This day can be said to be a glorious day that will forever be recorded in the annals of human history. The "Declaration of Independence" stated that all men are born equal, and they are endowed by the Creator with inherent and inalienable rights, including life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness. This is actually the Enlightenment's claim of natural human rights.If any form of government violates these rights, the people have the power to change or abolish it, which is the social contract theory.The government has a contractual relationship with the people. The government is hired by the people and serves the people. The people are the masters, and the government serves the masters.Any government that wants to change the contract is violating the spirit of natural human rights, and the people have the power to overthrow you.Therefore, from the date of publication of this declaration, the 13 British colonies solemnly declare that all ties between the 13 states of North America and the United Kingdom are terminated, and King George is no longer recognized as our head of state.The 13 North American states won their independence, and July 4, 1776, became the National Day of the United States, and the United States of America was born. After the birth of the United States of America, the difficulties it faced were beyond imagination.At that time, the population of the British mainland exceeded 10 million, including 40 to 50 million people in the colonies, while the 13 North American states had only 3 million people, including 800,000 black slaves.About 90,000 British troops and their mercenaries came to North America, and less than 30,000 at the peak of the Continental Army.The British army is well-equipped, well-trained, and generally professional soldiers.The Continental Army used to be farmers, ring-players, teachers, and church bell-ringers. Their fighting qualities were poor, their experience was inexperienced, and their poor equipment was even more difficult to imagine.Four or five soldiers share one gun. When soldiers march in town in winter, a line of bloody footprints will be left on the ground, indicating that they have no shoes to wear.To keep out the cold in winter, soldiers had to take off their horse blankets and wrap them around their bodies. Wrapped in the horse blankets, they charged forward with ragged clothes and a disheveled appearance.Not to mention the navy. Britain defeated Spain in 1588, the Netherlands in three Anglo-Dutch wars in the 17th century, and France in the 18th century.The U.S. Navy has only three armed anti-smuggling boats, which is almost zero compared with the United Kingdom.Under such circumstances, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston were successively captured by the British army. The war was once in an extremely difficult situation. The Continental Army was able to persevere, relying entirely on the desire for national independence and freedom, and finally achieved victory in 1777. The Latoga victory turned the tide of the war. Saratoga defeated the U.S. army from north to south, annihilating the troops of the British general Burgoyne in one fell swoop, and Burgoyne led 5,000 British troops to surrender to the Continental Army.More importantly, after the news of Saratoga's victory reached Europe, France began to provide assistance to the United States.When the United States became independent, Franklin was sent as ambassador to France. After arriving in France, he could only stay in a hotel for a year. No one received him, nor did he accept his credentials.And when the news of the Saratoga victory reached France the next day, King Louis XVI summoned Franklin at the Palace of Versailles and promised to provide assistance to the United States.One is to help the army pay, otherwise the Continental Army has no pay, I used to farm the land, but you don’t let me farm now, let me fight every day, and don’t pay, then I have to mutiny; the Continental Army has no navy, France It also provided the United States with a navy, and sent its own navy to cut off the British sea transportation line; in addition, the army commanded by the Marquis of Lafayette landed in North America and attacked the British army together with the U.S. Army. A lot of weapons and equipment were bought, and instructors were assigned to them to help them train soldiers.All of a sudden, the combat level of the U.S. military improved, and they fought vigorously. In 1781, in Yorktown, the British commander Cornwallis led 7,000 British troops and put down their weapons in front of the ragged Continental Army. Kang Huali is not reconciled to failure. Our group of gentlemen were actually defeated by North American farmers. How embarrassing, I am upset!So the British army was ordered to play a song when they surrendered-"Hi!Yankees.The Chinese translate it as "Yanke", but in fact it literally means Yankee.Although I was defeated, I was a gentleman, and I failed proudly. Although the defeat was glorious, your peasants did not fight according to the rules. They were all playing guerrilla warfare, which was boring!I don't accept the loss, I despise you stupid Yankees.If we Chinese, you are defeated by me, and you still refuse to accept it, I will go up and beat you, calling me a fool, and you are the big fool.But the Americans are different from the Chinese. The victorious General Washington ordered this song to be used as the military song of the Continental Army.Dumb Yankees?You can't even beat a fool, aren't you more foolish? When watching the American blockbuster "Pearl Harbor", there was a scene that impressed me deeply.The Japanese pilot was about to bomb, and found a child playing on the ground, so he waved to the child, you stay away, I'm going to drop a bomb.The war movies made by Americans will never vilify the enemy, and will never portray the enemy as the kind of person who is ineffective and delicious. The enemy is also a samurai and a knight. I defeated such a person even more. sharp.The war movies made in China uglify the enemy to nothing. The enemy is afraid of death, the enemy is stupid, and the enemy is funny... The most boring thing is "Hands Up".This kind of person has been fighting with you for 8 years?We made a movie on the theme of the War of Resistance Against Japan. A Chinese soldier held a machine gun without a magazine, and killed hundreds of Japanese devils in a short while. Your machine gun only has 20 bullets, can't you run out?One person wielded a large knife and hacked to death more than 100 devils. At that speed, he could fight as far as Tokyo in a year.Looking back at the great victory at Yorktown, you played music and called me a fool, and I still sang this as an army song.What the Americans mean is that we don't bicker, winning is the most important thing. Two years later, Britain and the United States signed the "Paris Peace Treaty", and Britain recognized the independence of the United States.The United States became independent, but General Washington, who made immortal contributions to American independence, retired.I once read a beautiful article about this period of history, and I recorded it as follows: December 23, 1783 was an extremely important day for the United States, where the smoke had just cleared.Because of this day, the Continental Congress will hold a grand and simple ceremony in Annapolis. George?Here General Washington will surrender his commission and resign from all his public duties. It was called a ceremony because he had actually dismissed his subordinates and delivered a moving farewell speech before that.He said: You used to be indomitable and invincible fighters in the army; in society, you will also be worthy of being moral and useful citizens... With such aspirations and these favors, your general Commander is about to retire.The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, and he will be out of the stage of history forever. Two days later, Washington left New York Harbor by ship.A barge was waiting at Whitehall to take him across the Hudson to Pauls Point.The leading officers of the army gathered at a hotel near the ferry to pay him a final farewell.This was the last time they had gathered with the commander they lived and died with, so they were very excited.According to records, Washington was soon moved by the sadness of separation like everyone else. They burst into tears, hugged and toasted countless times, and then Washington left. He had already checked his military luggage back home, but he knew that before he was officially discharged and returned to Mount Vernon, he had one more important thing to do.That is, to return to the Continental Congress, which symbolized the power of the people at that time, the post of commander-in-chief that was bestowed on him by the Second Continental Congress eight years ago. The handover ceremony was performed by his fellow countryman, Virginian Thomas?Jefferson came all the way from Paris to design.He was signing the Treaty of Independence in Paris on behalf of the nascent United States and Great Britain.As soon as the signing ceremony was over, he hurried back to New York and personally designed this great and solemn ceremony. In Jefferson's imagination, the ceremony went like this: General Washington walked into the "Capitol" (then the Continental Congress Hall), and he was given a seat opposite the congressmen.Then the speaker will make an introduction, and Washington will stand up and bow to the congressmen to show respect, while the congressmen don't have to bow, they just need to touch the brim of their hats to return the salute.In the end, Washington "handed over power" with a short speech, and the speaker also accepted it with a short speech. As a result, the entire ceremony was carried out exactly as Jefferson had planned. Washington's final speech was remarkably terse, as simple and unassuming as he usually is.He said: "Now that I have fulfilled the mission entrusted to me, I will step down from this great arena and bid farewell to that august Congress under which I have fought so long. I hereby surrender my mandate and Resign from all my public offices." The Speaker replied: "You have stood up for the idea of ​​liberty in this new land, and set an example for the wounded and oppressed. You will leave this place with the blessing of your fellow citizens. Great stage. But your moral strength doesn't die with your military service, and it will inspire generations to come." According to historical records, the whole ceremony was very short, only a few minutes before and after, but it was this few minutes of ceremony that moved everyone present.When General Washington, the commander-in-chief who had not only sold his fortune to win the war, but was overworked with gray hair and nearly blind, everyone's eyes filled with tears. This is the first time in human history that he has consciously given up the power gathered in the process of serving the public by relying solely on inner moral strength without relying on external pressure.Before it, there have been all kinds of examples of abdication, resignation, and "retirement after success" in fear of various disasters in human history. There are heroes all over the world, but with these few minutes, the stories of those heroes, big and small, who fought for power and profit, and who did not hesitate to kill their fathers and children have dimmed... Let us try to take several actions of this ceremony as an example, and analyze the "cultural" meaning contained in it point by point: 1. Seats.This is the first step in the beginning of the ceremony. Like several other actions, it expresses the understanding and imagination of Jefferson and a generation of founding fathers for the new system.When Washington walked into the Capitol, there were no flowers for him, and no chanting of "Welcome, welcome, warm welcome" from lawmakers.He just got an ordinary seat opposite the MP.This seat was not arranged in the member's seat, and no one voluntarily gave up the center seat to create an atmosphere of "close unity" among the stars, but let him sit quietly "opposite the member". Shows the political wisdom of Americans.Because according to the principle of separation of powers, Congress is a legislature representing public opinion, while the military chief is an armed force subordinate to the executive branch.The last thing Americans want to see is that the "representatives" who represent public opinion end up colluding with the military in an attempt to commit crimes. Therefore, the beaming and cordial handshake of the military chief and the elected representatives can only be paid for in this ceremony. 2. Bow.This is the core action in the whole ceremony.Jefferson and a nascent nation's reflections on military-political relations were almost entirely contained in Washington's bow.It symbolizes the submission of the country's armed forces to civilian government.That is, from that bow, the US military was strictly placed under the country.The army is not allowed to participate in the suppression of domestic civilians. It is only a tool used by the people to resist foreign enemies, that is, it can only be used externally, not internally. Even future laws clearly stipulate that it is illegal to use the military to maintain internal security.That is to say, from that moment on, Americans have made it clear that a country cannot be managed by force.In this way, a person who conquered the country did not "sit in the country" logically.What still amazes me, all these years later, is that no one, including Washington, seemed to feel that anything was wrong. 3. Repay the gift.This is an important detail in the whole ceremony, because since Washington's bow expresses "the obedience of the country's armed forces to the civilian government", the parliament composed of civilian officials can no longer "bow", otherwise it will become a "bully leader". politics".The congressmen touched the brims of their hats to return the salute, just to show a kind of gentle and elegant gentleman's demeanor.They don't have the awe and fear that we usually see when "a scholar meets a soldier, and the reason is hard to explain", nor does they have the gratitude of the almighty savior for delegating power to the grassroots.Since everyone's rights and dignity are innate, then it is only natural for you to return to the people some of the rights that the people voluntarily gave up in extraordinary times.There is no need to explain, and there is no need to be grateful. If you want to be grateful, you can only thank God. You only need to touch the brim of your hat to show politeness. Washington left Annapolis the next morning and returned to Mount Vernon, living the contented life of a country gentleman under his vine arbor and fig tree. Since then, no one can tell how many coronation ceremonies of elite overlords have been held in human history.But I believe that within a few years, all these ceremonies, including large and small oaths, allegiances, assemblies, parades, kowtows, insincere fist-raising, and shouting long live, will be forgotten, and only this ceremony will be immortal.It will be remembered for a long time, like Socrates's generous drinking of poison, Bruno's body being burned at the stake, and the Parisians' storming of the Bastille. That's what those minutes were about, and what Washington meant to the world. General Washington handed over the military power to the Congress, and the general changed from the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to a commoner. This outstanding Continental Army was also disbanded. It turns out that those who wear rings still wear rings, and there is no pension. If the country calls you in the future, you have to come.It is your duty to fight for the country. You are a member of this nation. You should fight, but there is no pension, let alone a small building for you, and a young wife for you.The country has no money, and the money for the war is still borrowed.So when the commander-in-chief met with his subordinates, he said emotionally, I believe that you are good soldiers on the battlefield and good citizens in society when you return to society.Just do what you should do, there is no money for you. The U.S. military has been reduced from 30,000 to 80 to guard the treasury of the Treasury Department.There are a lot of bonds in the treasury vault and no cash.The troops were disbanded and the general retired. Something went wrong at this time.Is the United States of America a federation or a confederation?The English name of the Federation is Federal. Let us see that the English abbreviation of the FBI is FBI, F is Federal, Confederation plus Con, Confederation.The Chinese translation is very ingenious. Federation emphasizes "union", and each confederation is united into one country; confederation emphasizes "state".At that time, the United States was a confederation. They thought that having a central government meant oppression. It turned out that our 13 colonies were all loyal to the King of England. Do you care?Therefore, the Continental Congress has only legislative functions and no executive functions.The United States was originally a loose confederation.What is the Confederation like?Ever heard of the Commonwealth of Independent States?After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a freak emerged. This is a typical confederation. There is no unified constitution, no unified army, and each country operates independently. This is the confederation.The largest confederation in the world today should be the Commonwealth of Nations. Australia, New Zealand, and Canada all have the Queen as their head of state, but do these countries listen to Britain?impossible!India and Pakistan are also members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Loose Confederation would have many serious problems, and goods shipped from North Carolina to South Carolina would have to pay taxes.The Continental Army that fought in the American Revolutionary War consisted of militias recruited by the states themselves.This scene often happened during the War of Independence. The main force of the Continental Army assembled and went to South Carolina to fight the British army. Suddenly, the militiamen in North Carolina withdrew. Because the British attacked North Carolina, I had to defend my hometown. This is mine. obligation.The military uniform I wear, the military pay I get, and the gun I carry are all hard-earned money paid by the people of North Carolina. My house is burned there, can I not go back?Otherwise, why did the War of Independence last for six years?After the war, each state paid back the money borrowed by each state. The southern states were relatively rich, and the debts were quickly repaid, and the soldiers' pensions were issued.The northern states can't do it, so the soldiers in the northern states are not happy. Why did they lose an arm when they were born and died for the country? They have pensions, but I don't?So Xie Si, the retired captain of the Continental Army, led the uprising and asked for military pay, which was actually a rebellion. At this time, one of Washington's old subordinates, Colonel Lewis, wrote to Washington, suggesting that Washington come out and raise his arms to establish an American dynasty or an American empire. They support Washington as king or emperor.Washington replied to him with a letter, if you still have a little respect for the country you are loyal to and me, don't say such things in the future, I don't know you anymore, and we will break off diplomatic relations.Just broke up with that old subordinate.But General Washington was also very anxious when he saw that the country was in such a mess, what should he do?So he invited representatives from each state to Philadelphia, let's have a meeting to discuss it. Representatives from 12 states gathered in Philadelphia, but one state did not come.In order to formulate the constitution, the representatives quarreled for four or five months. General Washington just sat there and listened, and did not speak, allowing everyone to quarrel.Noisy, noisy, you put forward conditions and I also raised conditions, and finally found a point of convergence of interests, so the 1787 Constitution was promulgated, and the United States existed as a federation, not a confederation. The first feature of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 is the establishment of a federal republic, the earliest federal republic in human history.The U.S. Constitution is still valid today, with 23 amendments added, which shows the ultra-stability of American politics.The founding fathers formulated all the rules, and future generations just play according to these rules.The Constitution is the fundamental law of the country, and it cannot be changed forever. Old changes will prove that the country's political situation is chaotic.For example, if you are going to take a bus, the rules on how to buy a ticket should be formulated before getting on the bus, and the fare is calculated according to the distance of the road.Once you get in the car, you regret it. We calculate the money according to the weight, so there is no way to do it.The 1787 Constitution of the United States first established that the federal government has political, economic, military, and diplomatic powers.The United States is a country with a capital, a flag, a constitution, an army, and a currency. In the United States, the central government and the local government are separated, not centralized. The federal government has the power of the federal government, and the local government has the power of the local government.The power of local governments is most prominently manifested in the judiciary and education. In 50 states, there are 50 kinds of police uniforms, brown, blue, black, caps, cowboy hats, caps, all kinds.In the city of Los Angeles, there are four uniforms that can enforce the law on you: federal agents, state troopers, city police, and county police.The uniforms of the four law enforcement officers are different, and only the big cross-state cases are detected by federal agents.Generally, the central government does not interfere with the law enforcement of the states.Some states have the death penalty, and some states have no death penalty. If I killed someone in a state with the death penalty, I would not be able to die if I fled to a state without the death penalty, because this state without the death penalty will not extradite prisoners to a state with the death penalty. I die.Extradition is only used between countries, and extradition is also required between states in the United States.In some states the death penalty is by shooting, in some by injection, in some by electric chair, and in some by hanging. The methods are different. In terms of education, the states are at their own discretion.President Reagan wanted to abolish the Ministry of Education, because the education of each state is done by the people of each state, so what is the purpose of having a Ministry of Education?There is no task of writing questions for the college entrance examination, nor is there any training for teachers, and there is no requirement that teachers must take computer and English exams, so it can be cancelled.Americans joked that the governor of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the United States—3,000 square kilometers—went to the toilet, and when he rushed in, he saw a pit. The president was squatting there, so he picked up the president, go, I will come first.Why?Which of these two is older and who is younger?No.The president and the governor are not as big as the other. We Chinese people think that your governor is not as big as the prime minister. People don't say that.The United States is a decentralized country. It has no concept of centralization. The president is not comparable to the governor. The second feature is that it is the first constitution in human history that practiced the separation of powers.The three powers are legislative, judicial and executive.The legislative power of the United States is controlled by the Congress, which is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is called the Senate in English.There are two senators in a state, and there should be 100 senators in the United States today, but the vice president also serves as the president of the Senate and has no voting rights. There are 99 senators with voting rights.The term of office of senators is 6 years, and 1/3 of them are re-elected every two years.The House of Representatives is The House of Representatives, which is actually the People's Congress.Representatives are selected by each state according to the population ratio. Today, there are 435 representatives in the United States, and the term of office is 4 years.In this way, there are 534 members of Congress with voting rights in the United States today. Judicial power in the United States is held by courts at all levels, and the Supreme Court is responsible for interpreting the Constitution.It doesn't matter where you file for divorce.The justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the president and appointed by Congress, and unless they are dereliction of duty, they serve for life and count until death.里根总统时代的最高法院首席大法官98岁了，那哥们儿估计连自己姓什么都忘了，还在那儿当法官。什么事应该老头儿干？法官应该老头儿干，欧洲、美国你见过年轻的法官吗？基本上都是白发苍苍者当法官，审案子就是看经验。你说我能把法律条文都背下来，那没用，你就是一台电脑。审案子主要是靠经验，有些案子没有法律规定，你以前审过的成例就可以作为依据，以前怎么审，现在还怎么审，所以法官应该岁数大。 行政权属于总统。美国没有总理，总统跟总理是一个人，既是武装部队最高统帅，又是国家元首，还是政府首脑。美国国务院相当于我们的外交部。美国第一届联邦政府组成的时候，内阁只有三个部：财政部、战争部、国务院。最小的政府是最好的政府，政府越小老百姓的负担就越少。 1789年华盛顿将军就任美国第一任总统，蝉联两届，还能接着往下当，只要有人选你就可以继续。有没有人选他？当然了，都不用选，谁敢跟他竞争？但是华盛顿将军说，我为国家服务了八年，没有任何功劳，犯了不少错误，所以我不能再干了，我要给后来人以改正我错误的机会，如果我的错犯得太多就改不过来了。 华盛顿将军之后，继任的是副总统亚当斯。亚当斯就干了一任，再竞选的时候有人给他泼脏水，搁在今天两人竞选，互相泼脏水很正常嘛，但是亚当斯是那种典型的老派绅士，坦荡君子，你给我泼脏水是吧，我为了证明我的清白，我走，回家了，什么总统不总统的，我不干了。接下来的第三任总统就是杰斐逊，《独立宣言》的起草者。他干完了两任，还能不能再干？能，随便，想干几任干几任。但是杰斐逊说华盛顿将军开创了一个伟大的先例，我将追随他，有更多的先例就会成为惯例，使那些妄想延长任期的人无计可施。所以他干了两任也不干了。这样在美国就形成了一个不成文的规定，总统最多只能干两任。你再牛有国父牛吗？国父干了两任就下去了，你觍着脸在那儿坐着合适吗？唯一的例外是二战时期的富兰克林？罗斯福，就是小罗斯福，他是连着四任。那会儿没有法律规定说不能，所以他连着四任也没人说，干满了三任，第四任当上不久就死了。 二战后美国的宪法修正案规定，总统只能两任，甭管克林顿怎么优秀，布什如何糟糕，只能两任。我记得克林顿那会儿，非洲有一个国家叫扎伊尔，现在改名叫刚果（金），那个国家的独裁者叫蒙博托，被反政府军推翻了，当时在非洲是挺大的事。克林顿总统评价说，我上大学的时候他是总统，我当律师的时候他是总统，我当州长的时候他是总统，我当总统的时候他依然是总统。你干的时间太长了，你什么时候落山啊？我要想当总统就只能把你干掉。你要是四年、八年乖乖滚蛋，我用得着干掉你吗？所以民主不光对人民有好处，对统治者也是一种保护。我对政府不满，我上法院告它去。总比在政府门口扔石头，把办公大楼烧了强吧，法院判下来不定谁赢呢。