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Hi. I'm Craig, and this is Crash Course Government.
嗨，我是克雷格，这是《政府和政治速成课》。
Uh. It's been a dream of mine to be on Crash Course since I was a little kid.
嗯。我从小就梦想着能主持《速成课》。
Speaking of acting like a little kid, today, we're gonna talk about the U.S. Congress,
说的我像个小孩似的，今天，我们要谈谈美国国会，
which, according to the Constitution, is the most important branch of government.
根据宪法来看，这是政府最重要的部门。
That was probably written by Congress. It wasn't. They didn't.
这可能是国会写的。它不是。他们没有写。
So when I say that Congress is supposed to be the most important branch of government,
所以当我说国会应该是政府最重要的部门时，
I'm talking about the national government, not the state government.
我说的是国家政府，不是州政府。
There's a difference, okay? I know this, because the Constitution,
有区别的,对吧？我知道这一点，因为宪法，
which consists of seven articles and 28 amendments, mentions Congress first.
包括7项条款和28项修正案，首先提到国会。
In fact, right after the preamble, the very first section of the very first article, which is helpfully labeled Article I, Section I, says this:
事实上,序言之后,第一篇文章的第一部分第一条，写着：
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States,
这里所有立法权授予应当赋予美国国会，
which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
美国国会由参议院和众议院组成。
So, right away, the Constitution sets up a two house legislature, with a Senate and a House of Representatives.
因此，宪法设立了两院立法机关，参议院和众议院。
The Latin word for this is bicameral, and I promise I'll quit with the Latin now.
拉丁文表达是biccameral，我保证我现在就停止说拉丁语。
I didn't really say much Latin, but, just once, but I'll pr -- I won't say anymore.
我并没有说太多拉丁语，但我只说了一次，但是我要公关——我不会再说了。
That's pretty catchy.
这是很吸引人的。
So let's start with the House of Representatives, because it's a little easier.
让我们从众议院开始，因为这更简单。
In order to serve in the House, you have to be 25 years old, a citizen for seven years,
在众议院任职，你必须年满25周岁，成为公民至少7年，
and a resident of the state that you hope to represent.
并且是你希望你代表的州的公民。
I'd like to think that I represent a state of enjoyment.
我认为我代表着享乐之州。
Vote for me, 2015. Representation is determined by population.
请在2015年投我一票。代表是由公民选举的。
No state has fewer than one, Vermont, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Alaska each have one,
所有的州都有代表，佛蒙特州、北达科他州和南达科他州、怀俄明州和阿拉斯加州都有1个代表，
and the most populous state, California, has 52.
人口最多的加利福尼亚州有52个代表。
Right now, there are 435 members of the House of Representatives.
目前，众议院有435名成员。
The Senate has two senators from each state for a total of 100.
参议院有来自每个州的两名参议员，总共有100名。
To be a senator, you must be at least 30 years old, a citizen for nine years,
要成为一名参议员，你必须至少30岁，成为公民至少9年，
and a resident of the state you hope to represent.
并且是你希望你代表的州的公民。
Originally, senators were chosen by the state legislatures,
最初，参议员是由州立法机关选出的，
which meant that they tended to be politically important members of a state's elite class.
这意味着他们往往是一个州精英阶层的重要政治成员。
But this changed with the 17th amendment, and now, senators are elected by the people, just like representatives.
但随着第十七修正案的通过，这一切都改变了。现在，参议员是由人民选举出来的，就像众议员一样。
I'm gonna explain how the two houses of the legislature actually legislate in a later episode.
我要解释一下立法机关的两个议院是如何立法的。
I'll have a bigger beard, probably.
我可能要留大一点的胡子。
But now, I'm going to point out a few of the ways that they are different.
但是现在，我要指出它们的一些不同之处。
Ultimately, the houses do the same thing, make laws,
两院做的事情本质上是相同的，
but the Constitution grants certain specific powers to each house.
制定法律，但是宪法赋予每个议院特定的权力。
Let's look at those powers in the Thought Bubble.
让我们在思想泡泡里看看这些权力。
The House of Representatives is given the power to impeach the president and other federal officials.
众议院有权弹劾总统和其他联邦官员的权利。
This can be confusing because people tend to think that impeaching means kicking the official out of office, but it doesn't.
这可能令人困惑，因为人们倾向于认为弹劾意味着把官员赶出办公室，但事实并非如此。
The House impeaches an official by deciding that that person has done something bad enough to bring him to trial.
众议院弹劾一名官员，认为此人做了足以让他受审的坏事。
An impeachment is like a criminal indictment.
弹劾就像是刑事起诉书。
Once the official is impeached, the trial happens in the Senate.
一旦这名官员被弹劾，审判将在参议院进行。
If it's the President who's been impeached, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides.
如果被弹劾的是总统，那么最高法院的首席大法官会来主持。
Otherwise, it's the Vice President.
否则，就是副总统。
You don't let the VP preside over a presidential impeachment,
你不能让副总统主持总统弹劾，
because he has a vested interest in seeing the president removed.
因为他有一个既得利益，那就是看到总统下台。
Then the VP would become president.
然后副总裁就会成为总统。
The second power that the House has is that they decide presidential elections if no candidate wins the majority of the electoral college.
众议院拥有的第二个权力是，如果没有候选人赢得选举人团的多数，他们将决定总统选举。
I'll explain this later, but for now, remember that this barely ever has happened ever.
我稍后会解释，但现在，记住这几乎从未发生过。
The third power that belongs specifically to the House is found in Article I, Section 7.
第三种权力只属于众议院，宪法第7部分第1条提到。
All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.
所有增加收入的法案应由众议院提出。
This is pretty important, because it means that any bill that raises taxes starts in the House,
这很重要，因为这意味着任何提高税收的法案都要从众议院开始，
and if you know anything about America, you know that we care about taxes, a lot.
如果你对美国有所了解，你就会知道我们关心税收。
So this power is huge and is sometimes called The Power of the Purse.
所以这种力量是巨大的，有时也被称为钱包的力量。
The Senate has some important powers, too.
参议院也有一些重要的权力。
The first one I've already mentioned is that they hold impeachment trials.
我提过的第一个权力是他们举行弹劾审判。
That doesn't happen very often at all.
这种情况并不经常发生。
Another power the Senate has is to ratify treaties.
参议院的另一个权力是批准条约。
This requires a 2/3rds vote of the Senate.
这需要参议院投2/3的赞成票。
Most treaties you don't hear much about, except when the Senate refuses to ratify them,
大多数条约你都没听说过，除非参议院拒绝批准它们，
as it did or didn't do with the Treaty of Versailles.
就像《凡尔赛条约》一样。
I totally would have ratified that treaty, just saying.
我完全可以批准那个条约，只是说说而已。
The last significant power that belongs only to the Senate is the confirmation power.
最后一个只属于参议院的重要权力是确认权。
The Senate votes to confirm the appointment of executive officers that require Senate confirmation.
参议院投票批准任命行政官员，这需要参议院的批准。
Some of these, like the cabinet secretaries, are obvious,
其中一些，比如内阁部长，是显而易见的，
but there are over 1,000 offices requiring Senate confirmation, including federal judges, and this is probably too many.
但是有超过1000个职位需要参议院批准，包括联邦法官，还有这个可能是太多了。
Thanks, Thought Bubble.
谢谢，思想泡泡。
Uh, I love saying that, YES!
我喜欢这么说，是的！
So those are the major differences between the two houses of the legislature,
这就是立法机关两院之间的主要区别，
but why do we have two, and why did the framers of the Constitution make them different anyway?
但是为什么我们有两个，为什么制宪者是宪法让两院各担其责?
There are two categories of reason here: historical and practical.
有两种原因:历史的和现实的。
The historical reason for the two houses is that when the Constitution was being written,
这两个议院的历史原因是，当宪法起草时，
the framers couldn't agree on what type of legislature to have, because they came from states with different interests.
制宪者无法就立法的类型达成一致，因为他们来自不同利益方。
Delegates from states with large populations wanted legislatures to be chosen based on the state's population,
来自人口众多的州的代表希望根据州的人口来选择立法机关，
so that their states would have, wait for it, more legislators and more power.
这样他们的州就会有更多的立法者和更多的权力。
This is called proportional representation,
这被称为比例代表制，
states with small populations understandably didn't want proportional representation.
人口较少的州不需要比例代表制，这是可以理解的。
They favored equal representation in the legislature, which would give them equal power.
他们赞成在立法机关中享有平等的代表权，这将赋予他们平等的权力。
Large states supported what was called the Virginia Plan, and small states wanted the New Jersey Plan,
大的州支持所谓的维吉尼亚计划，小的州想要新泽西计划，
and they argued over it until a compromise was reached.
他们争论直到妥协达成。
Since it was brokered by Connecticut's Roger Sherman,
因为它是由康涅狄格的罗杰·谢尔曼促成的，
it was called the Connecticut Compromise,
所以被称为康涅狄格协议，
or, more usually, The Great Compromise, because historians are really bad at naming things.
或者，更通俗的叫法是，伟大协议，因为历史学家不善于命名事物。
Hey, this war is nine years long.
这场战争持续了九年。
Let's call it the Seven Years War.
我们称之为七年战争。
That's actually genius.
真是个天才。
If you guessed that the compromise was an upper house with equal representation and a lower house with proportional representation,
如果你猜到协议是一间有平等代表权的上议院和一个比例代表制的下议院，
congratulations, you understand the Great Compromise!
恭喜你。你理解了伟大协议！
You don't win anything if you guessed it right.
猜对了什么都赢不到。
Actually, if you guessed it right, click here and watch me punch an eagle.
事实上，如果你猜对了，点击这里，看我打老鹰。
So that's the historical reason for the two houses, but what about the practical reasons?
这就是这两院的历史原因，但实际原因是什么呢?
One of the main reasons to divide the legislature and to give the two houses power is to make it
其中一个主要原因就是划分立法机关和赋予两院权力
so that the legislature doesn't have too much power.
就是让立法机关没有太多的权力。
How do we know that the Framers wanted this?
我们怎么知道制宪者想要这个?
Because one of them, James Madison, told us that in one of the Federalist Papers.
因为其中一位，詹姆斯·麦迪逊，在一份联邦党人文集中告诉我们。
In Federalist 51, Madison wrote: In republican government,
在《联邦党人文集》第51章中，麦迪逊写道:在共和党政府中，
the legislative authority necessarily predominates.
立法权必然占主导地位。
The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches
解决这种不方便的办法是把立法机关分成不同的部门，
and to render them different modes of election and different principles of action,
赋予他们不同的选举模式和不同的选举方式、行动原则，
as little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions
它们的共同功能的性质以及它们对社会的共同依赖，
and their common dependence on the society will admit.
彼此之间的联系微乎其微
James Madison may not have sounded like Foghorn Leghorn.
詹姆斯·麦迪逊听起来可能不像福克斯霍恩·里霍恩。
But that's one of the theories.
但这是其中一个理论。
My theory. I say, I say.
我是说我自己的理论。
Anyways, the idea that one house of the legislature can limit the power of another house is called an intrabranch check.
无论如何，立法机关的一个议院可以限制另一个议院的理念被称为内部控制。
We'll look at this in more detail when we talk about checks and balances.
在讨论制衡时，我们将更详细地讨论这个问题。
In general, the Framers of the Constitution were kind of obsessed with the idea that the government might have too much power.
总的来说，宪法的制定者们对政府可能拥有过多权力的想法非常着迷。
So we'll be seeing lots of examples of how they try to deal with this.
所以我们将会看到很多他们如何处理这个问题的例子。
So let's finish up by looking at the reasons why the specific powers were given to each house.
最后我们来看看为什么每个议院都有特定的权力。
To do this, let me introduce my assistants.
为了做到这一点，我来介绍一下我的助手们。
By assistants, I really mean clones.
助理是指我的复制品们。
Let's go to The Clone Zone! So I made these clones to help us understand these multi-sided issues.
我们去克隆区吧!所以我做了这些复制品来帮助我们理解这些多方面的问题。
This is Senate clone and this is House clone, and they're quite good looking I might add.
这是参议院的复制品，这是众议院复制品，他们很好看，我可能会说。
So you may have noticed, according to the Constitution, Senators are expected to be older than Representatives,
所以你可能已经注意到，根据宪法，参议员的年龄应该比众议员大，
and although 30 isn't all that old today, it was in 1787 when the Constitution written.
直到1787年，美国宪法才正式颁布30岁这个限制。
This was because older people are wiser, or at least more experienced, and the Framers wanted the Senate, which is sometimes called the Upper House, to be more serious, or just more dignified.
这是因为老年人更聪明，或者至少更有经验，制宪者希望参议院，有时也被称为上院，更严肃，更有尊严。
And above all, deliberative than the House.
最重要的是，比众议院更慎重。
It was supposed to be more immune from the desires of the public,
它应该对公众的意愿有更大的免疫力，
which the Framers were kind of afraid of because of their unfortunate propensity to riot.
因为制宪者害怕公众的意愿，因为他们不倾向于暴乱。
One of the ways that the Framers hoped to ensure this was by giving Senators a 6 year term,
制宪者希望确保这一点的方法之一是给参议员一个6年的任期，
which really would mean that they could ignore the ranting and ravings of their constituents for at least, like, 5 years at a time.
这真的意味着他们可以忽略选民的胡说八道，至少是5年。
Because the Senate is supposed to be the more deliberative body and the one that is more insulated from public opinion,
因为参议院应该是更慎重的机构，而更不受公众舆论影响的机构，
they are the ones given the power to confirm public ministers and to ratify treaties.
他们才是有权利选出公共部长并批准条约的人。
I guess they thought that being older and wiser,
我猜他们认为，参议员年纪越大越聪明，
Senators would be better judges of character and better able to govern based on their sense of what is in the public interest.
就会更能判断人的性格，也更能根据公众利益来管理。
Sometimes the idea that a representative should govern based on what he thinks is best for the people
有时候，一个代表应该根据他认为对人民最有利，
rather than what they say they want is referred to as a representative acting as a trustee.
而不是他们说他们想要什么来进行治理。
House clone: Haha, which is another way of saying that the Senate is full of elitist snobs
哈哈，这是另一种说法，说参议院充满了精英主义势利者，
who don't care what their constituents want at all.
他们根本不在乎选民想要什么。
In the House of Representatives, we're supposed to take into consideration the desires of the people in their district,
在众议院，我们应该考虑到他们选区的人民的愿望，
who voted for them, acting in the role of delegates.
他们投票支持他们，应该考虑到选民的意愿。
So the main way that the Framers tried to ensure that Representatives could be more responsive to their voters,
所以制宪者希望众议院对选民做出更多回应，
other than having them directly elected for by the voters instead of state legislatures, was to give them 2 year terms.
所以他们是选民直接选出来的，而不是州议会直接选定，他们的任期是2年。
This method meant that they have to be responsive to the changing opinions of voters in their districts,
这种方法意味着他们必须对选区选民的变化做出反应，
otherwise they could easily be voted out of office.
否则他们很容易被选下台。
You don't want that, no way.
你不希望那样，没门。
Oh boy. Why they would be given the power of impeachment is beyond me, but it totally makes sense
我不明白为什么他们会被授予弹劾的权力，
to give the power of the purse to the branch of government that is closest to the people.
但把钱包的权力交给政府部门是完全有道理的
After all, one thing that the government does that is directly related to almost everybody is taxes.
毕竟，政府所做的一件事与几乎所有人都直接相关，那就是税收。
So you want the most democratic body making the decisions that have the most direct effect on people.
所以你希望最民主的机构做出对人们影响最直接的决定。
Huh, thanks clones.
克雷格:嗯，谢谢克隆。
So there you have it, that's the basics of our bicameral Congress, including the differences between the two Houses and why they are that way.
这就是我们两院制国会的基本原则，包括两院之间的差异以及为什么会这样。
Oooh, I used Latin again.
哦，我又用拉丁语了。
I'm sorry. Mea culpa. We'll be going into much greater detail about how the two houses work together, or don't, in future episodes.
我很抱歉。认错。在以后的剧集里，我们会更详细地讨论这两院是如何合作的，还是不合作。
But that's enough for now, thanks for watching Crash Course.
但这就够了，谢谢收看节目。
I'll see you next week.
下周见。
Crash Course Government and Politics is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios.
《政府与政治速成课》是与PBS数字工作室联合制作的。
Support for Crash Course U.S. Government comes from Voqal.
对《美国政府速成班》的支持来自Voqal。
Voqal supports non-profits that use technology and media to advance social equity.
Voqal支持利用技术和媒体促进社会公平的非营利组织。
Learn more about their mission and initiatives at Voqal.org.
在Voqal.org了解更多关于他们的使命和倡议。
Crash Course was made by all of these nice people.
《速成班》是由所有这些善良的人做的。
Thanks nice people.
感谢这些善良的人。
And thanks for watching.
感谢收看。
You're nice people, I assume.
我认为你们都是善良的人。
