The American Political System
The United States of America is a federal republic.
The Constitution, the oldest in the world (1787), sets the basic form of government: three separate branches, each one having power (“checks and balances”) over the others. It specifies the powers and duties of each federal branch of government, with all other powers and duties belonging to the states. The Constitution has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but it is still the “supreme law of the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local, must operate within its guidelines.
The federal government of the USA is divided into three branches:
n legislative (the U.S.Congress);
n executive (the President of the U.S.);
n judicial(the U.S. Supreme Court).
Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and theHouse of Representatives. There are 100Senators, two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.
The House Representatives has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. They represent the population of “congressional districts” into which each state is divided. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population.
Almost all elections in the United States follow the “winner-take-all” principle: the candidate who gets the majority of votes wins the seat being contested.
Congress makes all federal laws, and each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other. Because legislation only becomes law if both houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and sets the federal budget. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also regulates the naturalization of foreign citizens.
According to the American Constitution the executive power belongs to the President and his Administration, namely the Cabinet. The President of the United States is elected every four years to a four-year termof office, with no more than two full terms allowed. As is true with Senators and Representatives, the President is elected directly by the voters.
There are certain requirements for a person to become President. The President must be:
n a natural-born citizen;
n at least 35 years old;
n a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.
At a special ceremony called “Inauguration”(which takes place in Washington on January 20 at noon) the President promises to preserve and protect the Constitution.
The U.S.President is advised in Administration by a Vice-President and a Cabinet that consists of 10-12 members.
The third branch of government is the federal judiciary. Its main instrument is the Supreme Courtwhich determines whether or not the laws and acts are in accordance with the Constitution. A decision of the Supreme Court cannot be appealed to any other court. Neither the President nor Congress can change its decisions.
The Constitution provides for three main branches of government which are separate and distinct from one another. The powers given to each are carefully balanced by the powers of the other two. Each branch serves as a check on the others. This is to keep any branch from gaining too much power or from misusing its powers.
The Constitution says nothing about political parties, but over time the U.S. has in fact developed atwo-party system.The two leading parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. There are other parties besides these two, among them are the Communist party and several Socialist parties. Minor parties have occasionally won offices at lower levels of government, but they do not play a role in national politics. In fact, one does not need to be a member of political party to run in any election at any level of government. Also, people can simply declare themselves to be members of either of the two major parties when they register to vote in a district.
Americans expect their governments to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.