Government is the way adults decide the rules that everyone must live by and make sure those rules are followed. It is also responsible for providing services that people need, such as schools and healthcare.
Governments come in many different shapes and sizes, but they all share one important thing: They provide leadership and protection for their citizens. The most common kinds of governments are democracies, totalitarian regimes and authoritarian regimes. But there are many other types of governments, too, and many of them mix elements from multiple kinds of government.
A government that is based on democracy allows its citizens to vote for the people they want to lead them. This kind of government is called a representative democracy.
Other kinds of governments put their leaders in power by force or secret ballot, but they do not allow the citizens to choose their own leaders. These kinds of governments are called dictatorships or autocracies.
A third way to make laws is by consensus, which means that the group of citizens who make up a legislature votes on what rules should be made and how they should be enforced. Most of the time, a majority of the members of the legislature can agree on how to make rules and how they should be enforced. However, a minority can still hold the balance of power by voting against what the majority wants to do.
Most countries have different ways to set their rules and how to enforce them, but the United States uses a form of democratic rule that is based on the Constitution of the United States. This document, written by the founding fathers of the country, gives the country its rules for how to be a good citizen and makes sure that all people are treated equally. It breaks the United States government down into three branches: the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch.
The most important job of the legislative branch is to make laws. It does this by passing bills and amendments that change or add to existing laws. These changes or additions might affect what kinds of cars you can drive, where you can work and what you can say to people in person.
When the bill passes, the President signs it into law. The Executive Branch makes sure that everyone follows the laws that Congress passes. It also takes care of the nation’s security and represents us when we talk to other nations. The Executive Branch is made up of the President, Vice President and the heads of the agencies.
The Judicial Branch helps to make sure that the laws are fair and constitutional. The Justices who make up the Supreme Court are called the Justices of the United States and they judge cases brought against the government or its officials.
The United States has the oldest and largest judicial system in the world. The Supreme Court has nine judges. The country is also home to hundreds of other courts at the state and local levels.