Cultural Notes

Directions：Read the following short passage related to the video you are going to watch.

The Republican Party

The Republican Party（共和党），commonly referred to as the GOP（abbreviation for Grand Old Party），is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States，the other being its historic rival，the Democratic Party（民主党）.The party is named after republicanism，the dominant value during the American Revolution.The term“republicanism”is derived from the term“republic”，but the two words have different meanings.A“republic”is a form of government（one without a hereditary ruling class）；“republicanism”refers to the values of the citizens in a republic.Two major parties have used the term in their name—the Democratic⁃Republican party of Thomas Jefferson（founded in 1793，and often called the“Jeffersonian Republican Party”），and the current Republican Party，founded in 1854.Founded by anti⁃slavery activists，modernists，ex⁃Whigs（前辉格党），and ex⁃Free Soilers（前自由党），the Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932.(https://www.daowen.com)

There have been 19 Republican presidents.The first was the 16th president Abraham Lincoln，who served from 1861 to 1865，when he was assassinated（刺杀），and the most recent being 45th and current president Donald Trump，who took office on January 20，2017.

As of 2017，the GOP is documented as being at its strongest position politically since 1928.In addition to holding the Presidency（via Trump and Vice President Mike Pence），the Republicans control the 115th United States Congress，having majorities in both the House of Representatives（众议院）and the Senate（参议院）.The party also holds a majority of governorships（州长的职位）and state legislatures（立法机关）.