The Government System in the USA
This document will shed some light on the various levels of government in the USA. It is intended for people who do not live in the USA and have questions or have wondered just what the government setup in the US is.
Let's begin with this - the USA is not a democracy. It is not a republic. The constitution set up the government as a federal republic. Under this system of government, ultimate power is with the citizens. This power is the right to choose their representatives through the democratic process of voting. In the United States the federal government makes decisions for the nation as a whole, but is limited by checks and balances and by the powers of other levels of government.
A brief history: In October 1774, all the colonies, except the colony of Georgia, convened a convention (The First Continental Congress, September 5 - October 26) to come to an agreement in regards to England and the relationship between England and the colonies. Up until this time the colonies were not tied to one another in any way, they were all independent of each other. The problem was that they didn't all agree on what to do - let England continue to rule over "America" or not. But, they all agreed that they needed to share their grievances with the King of England.