American system of government

The United States of America is a federation of 50 states with 48 on the continent, Alaska in the North and Hawaii in the Mid-Pacific. There is also one district D.C. (district of Columbia). This territory is not a state and the state capital is situated here.

The USA system of government is based on the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1787. The first amendments are known as the Bill of Rights (1791). This document guarantees the basic rights of individual Americans: freedom of religion, free speech, free press, the right to fair trial etc. The Constitution set up a federal system of states with a strong central government. Rights and powers were divided between the individual states and the central or federal government. The federal government controls matters connecting the country as a whole: defence, foreign affairs, finance, commerce etc. But each of 50 states is sovereign, having its own state government and the Governor.