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Survival Guide

Presidents, Governments and the Constitution

Government

The United States of America is a constitutional republic and representative democracy in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. Citizens are usually subject to three levels of government- federal, state and local government. Officials are usually elected by the people, however some are appointed by elected officials.

The federal government is composed of three branches:

1) Legislative: Congress is made up of two divisions- the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, sets federal budgets, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected for a term of six years.

2) Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to Senate approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice.

3) Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members, who serve for life.

State and local government structure tends to mirror that of the federal government with each state having a Governer overseeing state business.

The President of the United States

Obama

Having been elected in November 2008, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on the 20th January 2009.

Prior to his election as President, Obama was the Junior Senator from the State of Illinois to the United States Senate between 2004 and 2009.






United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States. It provides the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government to the states, to citizens, and to all people within the United States.