1. The first European settlers who came to America wanted to set up a democratic system.
2. The American democratic government was established in March 1689 in the Constitution of the United States.
3. The federal government has three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.
4. The power of each branch is carefully balanced by the powers of each of the others.
5. The Constitution has been changed twenty-five times since 1789.
6. Twelve amendments in the Bill of Rights (1791) guaranteed the basic rights of individual Americans.
7. Each of the fifty states also has its own government, with a governor, a legislative assembly, and a judiciary.
8. US citizens must be twenty years old to vote.
9. The president is elected for four years with the vice president.
10. The Vice President is commander in chief of armed forces.
11. The Cabinet together with the president, the cabinet members form the government.
12. The Congress consists of: the House of Representatives with 335 representatives elected for two years and the Senate with 100 senators elected for six years.
13. The judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, makes sure that laws are constitutional.
14. The FBI is the only nationwide police force.
