What makes American politics so fascinating is a unique way of solving problems that reflects the typical American team spirit. When elections are held in the world's most powerful country, the whole world is watching. And with few exceptions, other countries look up to the leading military, economic, and cultural superpower USA.
The president of the USA is the most powerful person in the world. That is why the US election concerns all of us. The history of this legendary office has been marked by outstanding personalities, deeds of great kindness and universal scope, and one or another scandal. But who were and are the 46 presidents of the USA?
Every four years, Americans elect their president. The remarkable thing about the American electoral system is the primaries and the meeting of the US electoral college, which stretch the process over a period of more than two months. Thus, each US presidential election lasts from the beginning of November until January 20th.
To ensure a balanced government structure within the USA, there are three pillars of power in the US administration: Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court. This system is called "checks and balances" and focuses on preventing a monopoly of power within the USA.
The US Congress is composed of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. In addition to enacting laws for the United States, Congress has a control function over the US President and can also initiate impeachment proceedings, as most recently happened in February 2021.
The head of the executive branch of the USA is the American President. Together with the judiciary, i.e., the Constitutional Court, he ensures that the current laws of the USA are observed or enforced. The organs of the executive and judicial branches also include, for example, soldiers, police officers, and judges.
The American Constitution came into being in 1787 to solve many of the prevailing problems raised by differences in legislation among the United States. As a tool of a new, strong central government, the US Constitution described overarching rights and duties for the organs of government, and thus for its citizens, for the first time.
As a supplement to the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights was published two years later with ten additional articles that were intended to better protect the rights of individual citizens. The Bill of Rights regulates rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of the press.
