U.S. Government

Introduction 

The United States is a federal union of 50 states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government. The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and activities, and defines the relationship between the national government and individual state governments. Power is shared between the national and state (local) governments.

Within each state are counties, townships, cities and villages, each of which has its own elective government. Governmental power and functions in the United States rest in three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive. Article 1 of the Constitution defines the legislative branch and vests power to legislate in the Congress of the United States. The executive powers of the President are defined in Article 2. Article 3 places judicial power in the hands of one Supreme Court and inferior courts as Congress sees necessary to establish.

In this system of a "separation of powers" each branch operates independently of the others, however, there are built in "checks and balances" to prevent a concentration of power in any one branch and to protect the rights and liberties of citizens. Abridged from US State Department IIP publications and other US government materials.

See also: About the USA > U.S. Government - The Constitution

Background
· Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government (Purdue University, Indiana)
· Federal Government of the United States (Wikipedia Encyclopedia)
· Frequently Asked Questions of the U.S. Government (FirstGov)
· A Guide to the U.S. Federal System (LLRX- Legal Web Journal)
· We, the People - the Structure of the U.S. Government (U.S. Department of State)

Statistics
· Federal, State, and Local Governments (U.S. Census Bureau)
· Fedstats
· U.S. Government > Statistics (Yahoo Link List)
· Statistical Abstract 2008: Federal Government Finances and Employment
· U.S. Budget

For Primary and Secondary School Students
· Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids (U.S. Government Printing Office)
· Firstgov. for Kids
· How does government affect me? (The PBS Kids Democracy Project)
· Kids in the House - The Office of the Clerk ( U.S. House of Representatives)
· Our Government- Learn about the three branches of Government (U.S.Department of Labor)

Teacher Resources
· Balancing Three Branches at Once: Our System of Checks and Balances (National Endowment of Humanities)
· Constitutional Issues: Separation of Powers (Teaching with Documents - National Archives)
· Role of the Government (The Educator's Reference Desk, Information Institute of Syracuse)

Link Lists
· About Government Homepage (U.S. Congress)
· Browse Government Resources (Library of Congress)
· Federal Documents on the Internet (Rutgers University)
· Federal Government Resources on the Web (University of Michigan Documents Center )
· FedWorld (U.S. Department of Commerce)
· FirstGov (U.S. Government's Official Web Portal)
· Frequently Used Sites Related to U. S. Federal Government Information (Vanderbilt University)
· GovSpot (StartSpot Network)
· Regulations.gov (Government Website to Federal Regulations by Agency)
· This Nation (Jonathan Mott, University of Oklahoma)
· U.S. Government (Dmoz Open Directory Project)
· U.S. Government (KidsKonnect)
· U.S. Government (Directory)
· U.S. Government & Politics Links (U.S. Department of State/ IIP)


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