Political system of the United States of America

Political divisions and their authorities

Ana Macanović

SAD – Država i društvo

United States

• A number of sub-national entities form the United States

• The primary division is the state• System of parallel sovereignty, meaning than

states are units which compose the US• Federal Government and State Government

have specific areas of jurisdiction

Federal Government

• The federal government is composed of three branches:

1. Legislative (Congress)2. Executive (The President)3. Judicial (The Supreme Court)

• The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress

• This principle was formalized in 1788, with the ratification of the Constitution

Separation of government

• Separation ensures that no person or group would gain too much power

• Each branch is balanced by two other coequal branches:

The President can veto the laws of the Congress The Congress confirms or rejects the President‘s

appointments and can remove him from office in exceptional circumstances (impeachment)

The justices of the Supreme Court who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by the President and confirmed by The Senate

Federal Government

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.“

— Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence

The Executive Branch• The power of the Executive Branch is represented by

the President of the United States Head of the state and Commander-in-Chief of the

armed forces Implementation and enforcement of laws written by

Congress Appointment of the heads of federal agencies The Cabinet is responsible for the day-to-day

enforcement and administration of federal laws Responsibilities: defense, environmental protection,

social securities• The Executive Branch employs about 4 million people

The President of the US

• Three qualifications: 35 years of age, a natural born citizen and must have lived in the US for at least 14 years

• Not directly elected by the people• Every four years people elect the members of the

Electoral College• These Electors the voted for the President, apportioned

by population of the states• There are currently 538 electors• Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States

The Legislative Branch• The United States Congress consists of: The House of Representatives (435 members divided in

proportion of states’ population; elected every 2 years and must be 25 years of age and a U.S. citizen)

The Senate (composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state; about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years; must be 30 years of age and a U.S. Citizen)

• Congress enacts legislation, declares war, has the right to confirm or reject Presidential appointments and has substantive investigative powers

The Judicial Branch

• Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate• Currently nine members of Supreme Court • Congress determines the jurisdiction• Authority in disputes between U.S. States is granted by

the Constitution• Federal courts have the sole power to interpret the law

and apply it to individual cases• Inferior courts must comply to the decisions of the

Supreme Court

States of the U.S.

• Primary political entity is a state• States constitute the United States• Every state shares its sovereignty with the federal

government• Each state has its own written constitution, often far

more elaborate than their federal counterpart• They are divided into counties or equivalents

(boroughs or parishes), which are not sovereign but have certain governmental authorities

States of the U.S.

• 50 states and the federal district (District of Columbia)

Image source: Business USA, http://business.usa.gov/stateandlocal

Authority• Political sovereignty is divided between the states and

federal government• States take care of law enforcement, public education,

public health, transportation and infrastructure• Today, many of these are being partially or fully

funded by federal funds• All powers not granted to the federal government are

reserved for the states and the people• All state governments are modeled after the federal

government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.

State Government

• All powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states

• State governments are modeled after the federal government

• They have to uphold a “republican form”, although they are not required to have all three branches

Executive branch: Governor (directly elected by the people)

• Every state has different executive organization

Legislature branch: Elected Representatives • Approve state budget and initiates tax legislation

Judicial branch: State Courts (usually led by the State Supreme Court)

State Government

Local Government

• Local governments include two levels: Counties (also boroughs or parishes) Municipalities or cities/towns

• The county is the level of administration subordinate to the state.

• County seat is the administrative center of a county • Sheriff is generally the highest law-enforcement

official for the county, and is often elected by the people of the county

Municipal governments

• A local government is granted power by the state where it is located

• Municipalities can be structured in numerous ways. • They are called: villages, townships, boroughs, towns or

cities (also census-designated places and unincorporated communities)

• Representatives (councils, mayors and other governing bodies) are in most cases directly elected by the people

• They vary greatly in size, from several millions to several hundreds

• Municipalities are responsible for: parks and recreation services housing services emergency medical services public transportation police and fire departments (about 69 percent of

firefighters are volunteers) public works (such as street lights, roads, sewers,

snow removal, etc.)

Municipal governments

The End

Sources• UMKC School of Law. (2013) The Question of States' Rights. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/statesrights.html• U.S. State. (2012). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state• United States Courts (2013) Difference Between Federal and State Courts. Retrieved November 13, 2013,

from http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/UnderstandingtheFederalCourts/Jurisdiction/DifferencebetweenFederalAndStateCourts.aspx

• White House. (2013) State and Local Government. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/state-and-local-government

• White House. (2013) The Executive Branch, The Legislative Branch, The Judicial Branch. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government

• Wikibooks. (2012) United States Government/Federalism and State Authority. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/United_States_Government/Federalism_and_State_Authority