Political system of the United States

The United States is an indirect democracy – that is, the people rule through the representatives they elect. The capital of the country is the City of Washington, situated in the Columbia District – a territory not included in any of the states.

The Constitution The United States Constitution, written in 1787, established the country’s political system and is the basis for its laws.

Federalism The United States has a federalist system. This means that there are individual states, each with its own government, and there is a federal, or national, government.

Three Branches of Government legislative законодательная executive исполнительная judicial судебная

The legislative The legislative branch consists of Congress, which has two parts – the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress’s main function is to make laws. There are 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 representatives (the number from each state depends on the size of the state’s population).

The executive The President is the head of the executive branch of the country. The executive branch administers the laws (decides, how the laws should be carried out).

The judicial The judicial branch interprets the laws and makes sure that new laws are in keeping with the Constitution. There are several levels of federal courts. The Supreme Court is the most important. It has nine members who are appointed for life.

State and Local Government Each state has its own constitution. Like the national government, state governments are divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches. There are state senators and representatives and state court system. Just as the President is the leader of the national government, each state has a governor as its leader. Below the state level of government, there are country and city governments.

Two-Party System The United States has two main political parties – the Democratic and Republican parties. Many other smaller parties play little if any role. There are not clear differences between the Republican and Democratic parties. In general, the Republicans tend to be more conservative and to have more support among the upper classes, while the Democrats tend to be more liberal and to have more support among the working classes and the poor.