System of Government in the United States. The United States is a democratic republic (a representative democracy)The United States is a democratic republic (a representative democracy). The national government is a government of all the people and their representatives (elected officials). It is called the federal government because the nation is a federation, or association, of states. The US Constitution gave the federal government only limited powers, The Founding Fathers established three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Each branch has different functions and powers under the principle of separation of powers. There is also a system of checks and balances so that each branch has some control over the other two branches. This way, no one group can have too much power.
The legislative branch of the US Government, or the Congress, represents all of the American states. It consists of two parts: the Senate or upper House and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 members, two from each state who are elected for a term of six years. One-third of the Senate is elected every two years. A senator must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for nine years, and live in the state he or she will represent. The House of Representatives has representatives from each state depending on population, but every state no matter how small it is, has at least one representative in the chamber. A representative must be at least 25 years old, a citizen for seven years, and live in the state. The presiding officerof the Senate is the Vice-President of the USA. The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the Speaker, is elected by the House. The work of preparing and considering laws is done by the committees of both houses. There are 15 standing committeesin the Senate and 19 in the House of Representatives. The Congress assembles at least once a year. The main task of each house of Congress is the same – to make laws. Because the House of Representatives and the Senate differ in many ways, each chamber has organized itself to carry out its work of making laws. Article I of the US Constitution says that each house may determine the rules of its proceedings. In the Senate, the rules are more flexible and designed to make certain all senators have maximum freedom to express their ideas. For example, the Senate usually allows unlimited debate on proposed legislation, whereas the House limits representatives to speaking for five minutes or less during a debate. The executive branch of the government consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Cabinet. The highest executive power is with the President who must be a native-born citizen, resident in the country for 14 years, at least 35 years old and a civilian. The President of the United States is elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. As is true with Senators and Representatives, the President is elected directly by the voters (through state electors). In other words, the political party with the most Senators and Representatives does not choose the President. This means that the President can be from one party, and the majority of those in the House of Representatives or Senate (or both) from another. This is not uncommon. Thus, although one of the parties may win a majority in the midterm elections (those held every two years), the President remains President, even though his party may not have a majority in either house. Such a result could easily hurt his ability to get legislation through Congress, which must pass all laws, but this is not necessarily so. In any case, the President's policies must be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate before they can become law. In domestic as well as in foreign policy, the President can seldom count upon the automatic support of Congress, even when his own party has a majority in both the Senate and the House. Therefore, he must be able to convince Congressmen, the Representatives and Senators of his point of view. He must bargain and compromise. This is a major difference between the American system and those in which the nation's leader represents the majority party or parties, that is parliamentary systems. Within the Executive Branch, there are thirteen executive departments. Currently these are the departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, and Education. Each department is established by law, and, as their names indicate, each is responsible for a specific area. The head of each department is appointed by the President. These appointments, however, must be approved by the Senate. None of these Secretaries, as the department heads are usually called, can also be serving in Congress or in another part of the government. Each is directly responsible to the President and only serves as long as the President wants him or her to. They can best be seen, therefore, as Presidential assistants and advisers. When they meet together, they are termed "the President's Cabinet". The President must carry out the programmes of the Government, recommend much of the legislation to the Congress. The President is also responsible for • carrying out and enforcing laws made by the Congress • nominating people for federal offices • negotiating treaties with other nations • conducting wars. In addition, the President is given the power • to pardon people convicted of crimes • to send and receive ambassadors to and from other countries.
When the President receives a bill from the Congress, he must sign it, and then the bill becomes a law. However, if he disagrees with the law, he can veto it. The President can also ask the Congress to declare war. He also appoints the justices to the Supreme Court. He must do his job according to the Constitution, or he may be impeached. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme (highest) Court, eleven Circuit Courts of Appeals, and ninety-four District Courts. This branch explains and interprets laws and makes decisions in lawsuits. It has power over the other two branches because it can declare their laws and actions unconstitutional (against the principles of the Constitution). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. It consists of nine justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The President appoints the justices, but the Senate must approve them. The justices are appointed for life. The Supreme Court makes sure that people obey the laws. The Supreme Court can also decide if a law is constitutional, that it is in agreement with the Constitution. The judicial branch works together with the legislative and executive branches to protect the Constitution and the rights of people. The United States is a federal Union, and the President is the head of the Federal government which deals with international problems and national matters. But every state has its own constitution and the state government headed by the Governor managing its local affairs. Their laws and decisions must not contradict the Constitution of the USA. All the power in each state is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial. Each state has its own system of courts similar to that of the Federal courts.
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