The supreme law of the United States is the Constitution. The Preamble is the Introduction of the constitution. An amendment is a change to the constitution. In 200 years the constitution has had only 27 changes. Much credit goes to men like Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. The constitution was drafted in 1787, but it wasn't until 1789 that in was put into effect. In 1791, changes known as the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) were added, guaranteeing Americans the freedom of speech, religion and more.

The United States has a Republican type of government. This means the government is run by the people. There are three branches in the United States government: Executive, Legislative, and the Judicial.

The Executive branch consists of the President, the Vice President and the cabinet. The electoral college elects the President. Presidential elections are held every four years in November. In January the new President is inaugurated. A president can serve a maximum of two terms. If the President should die then the Vice President will become President. If both the President and the Vice President die the Speaker of the House of Representative will become President. A special group called the Cabinet advises the president. The President's duties are to enforce laws, to be the commander in chief of the U.S. military, and to sign bills into laws.

Congress makes up the Legislative branch. Congress includes the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their duties are to make laws. Congress is elected by the citizens. There are 100 hundred senators in Congress, two from each state. Senators' elections are held every six years. There are 435 representatives in Congress. The number of representatives from each state depends on the population of the state. Representatives are elected every two years. There is no limit to the number of terms for which the Senators and Representatives are elected. Congress has power to declare war.

The Judicial branch of our government is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the Nation. The Supreme Court's duty is to interpret laws. There are nine Supreme Courts justices. They are selected by the President. Once they are selected they serve for life.