The executive branch.

The executive branch of the United States government consists of the Executive Office of the President, the executive departments, and the Independent Agencies.

The President of the United States is the nation's chief executive and head of state. The President lives in the White House in Washington, D.C., and has offices there.

As chief executive, the President has the responsibility of enforcing federal laws and appointing and removing high federal officials. The President commands the armed forces, conducts foreign affairs, and recommends laws to Congress. The President also appoints American representatives to international organizations and to diplomatic missions in other lands. As chief of the state, the President performs many ceremonial duties. Elected by the people to hold office for a four-year term, the President cannot be elected to more than two terms.

The legislative branch.

The legislative branch of the United States government includes Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Congress makes, repeals, and amends federal laws. It also levies federal taxes and appropriates funds for the government.

The Senate has 100 members. Each state, regardless of size or population, has two senators, who serve six-year terms. The vice-President of the United States presides over the Senate. The Senate has certain exclusive powers. It alone can sit as a court of impeachment to try federal officials impeached by the House of Representatives. It alone has the power to approve the President's nominations for major federal offices. Any treaty made by the United States is a subject to the Senate's approval.

The I louse of Representatives consists of 435 members. A state's representation is based on population. The number of representatives changes as population changes. Only the House can bring charges of impeachment against high federal officials. It alone can initiate tax bills.

The judicial branch.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land. It has a chief justice and eight associate justices. The President appoints all justices with the approval of the Senate. The justices hold office for life.

About 95 federal district courts are located in various cities. Above the district courts are 13 federal courts of appeals, often called Circuit courts. Above the courts of appeals is the Supreme Court. Decisions of a district court may be appealed to an appeals court, and from the appeals court to the Supreme Court. Federal courts decide cases that involve the Constitution and federal laws. Judges of these courts hold office for life. The President appoints them with the approval of the Senate.

The American people have a strong voice in their government. They can exercise their democratic rights by voting in national, state, and local elections, and by working in political parties and campaigns.

The two-party system. The United States has two major political parties, the Democratic and the Republican. Members of these two parties hold almost all the offices in the national, state, and local governments.

Minor political parties of the United States rarely elect candidates to government offices. They serve chiefly to rail attention to problems that the major parties may have neglected. Often, one or both of the major parties may then attempt to solve such a problem. Then the third party, which brought attention to the problem, may disappear.

National elections to elect a President and vice-President are held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. All members of the House of Representatives and about one-third of the members of the Senate are elected at the same time. Between the Presidential elections, all of the representatives and another one-third of the senators are elected. This election is held on the same day in November in even-numbered years.

Federal and state laws regulate elections and the qualifications of voters. Most states hold primary elections in which party members nominate candidates for state and local offices. Some states use primary elections to nominate candidates for Congress. National political conventions nominate candidates for President and vice- President.

The President is not elected directly by the people. At Presidential elections, voters cast their votes for electors. The electors make up the Electoral College, which officially elects the President.

Each state has as many electors as the total of its senators and representatives in Congress. The District of Columbia has three electors. The candidate who receives the highest number of a state's popular votes usually receives all that state's electoral votes. A candidate for President must receive a majority of the electoral votes to become President; however, a candidate may be elected President without having received a majority of the popular vote.

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It was once predicted that British and American English would draw so far apart that eventually they would become separate languages. The opposite has happened. The links between the two countries are so strong that linguistically, and probably culturally too, they are closer together than ever.