United States Government

The United States government is the system that runs the country and makes its laws. It is based on a document called the Constitution, written in 1787. The government is split into three parts, called branches. Each branch has its own job. Each one also has powers to check the other two. This setup is called "checks and balances."

The first branch is the legislative branch. Its job is to make laws. Congress is the legislative branch. Congress has two parts, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 435 members. Bigger states get more members than smaller states. The Senate has 100 members, two from every state, no matter how big or small the state is. Both parts of Congress have to agree before a bill can become a law.

The second branch is the executive branch. Its job is to carry out the laws. The president leads the executive branch. The president is also the leader of the military and the head of the country. A president serves a four-year term and can be elected twice. The vice president, the cabinet, and millions of federal workers help the president run things like the post office, the army, and the parks.

The third branch is the judicial branch. Its job is to decide what the laws mean. The Supreme Court is the most powerful court in this branch. It has nine justices who serve for life. The Supreme Court can strike down a law if it goes against the Constitution. That is a huge power, and it is one of the main ways the courts check the other two branches.

The United States is also a federal system. That means power is shared between the national government in Washington, D.C., and 50 separate state governments. States run their own schools, roads, police, and many other services. The national government handles things like the military, money, and treaties with other countries. Sometimes the two levels disagree about who is in charge of what. The Supreme Court often has to settle the fight.

Citizens shape the government by voting. Adults vote for the president, members of Congress, governors, and many local officials. Voting rights have changed a lot over time. At first, only white men who owned land could vote. Black men got the right to vote in 1870, women in 1920, and the voting age dropped to 18 in 1971. Each change came after long struggles by people who pushed the country to live up to its own ideas.