The U.S. government is comprised of three layers, federal, state and local, with each one subordinated to the one above it. The U.S. Constitution, the country's governing law, is made up of three parts, the Preamble, the Articles and the Amendments, the first ten of which are known as the Bill of Rights.

The federal government is made up of three branches, the Executive (the President), The Legislative (Congress) and the Judicial (the Courts System).

The President is elected for a four-year term but can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The President signs, or disapproves by way of a veto, legislation passed by the Congress. The President appoints a “cabinet” of advisors, known as Secretaries (of State, Transportation, Labor, etc.) and is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Congress is comprised of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congressmen and -women (officials elected to the House of Representatives) are elected for a two-year term. The number of representatives in “the House” from a given state is proportionate to its population, meaning that more heavily populated states have more elected Congressmen. Senators are elected to the Senate for six years, with two Senators representing each state (100 Senators total).

Composition of the 110th Congress

The judicial branch also operates on a federal, state and local level with the highest court being the Supreme Court of the United States .