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United States (US) Government

What is the capital of United States (US)?

Country Name United States
Full Country Name United States of America
Abbreviation US or USA
Etymology- history of name The name America is derived from that of Amerigo VESPUCCI (1454-1512), an Italian explorer, navigator, and cartographer
Government Type Constitutional federal republic
Capital Name Washington, DC
Capital - geographic coordinate 38 53 N, 77 02 W
Capital Time Difference UTC-5 (during Standard Time)

Note: the 50 United States cover six time zones
Daylight Savings Time +1hr, begins the second Sunday in March; ends the first Sunday in November
Independence 4 July 1776 (declared); 3 September 1783 (recognized by Great Britain)
National Holiday Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Constitution Previous 1781 (Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union); latest drafted July - September 1787, submitted to the Congress of the Confederation 20 September 1787, submitted for states' ratification 28 September 1787, ratification completed by nine states 21 June 1788, effective 4 March 1789; amended many times, last in 1992

United States (US) Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

United States (US) Government and Politics

Who is the president of United States (US)?

Executive Branch: Chief of state: President Joseph R BIDEN Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala HARRIS (since 20 January 2021); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

Head of government: President Joseph R Biden (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala HARRIS (since 20 January 2021)

Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president, approved by the Senate

Elections/appointments: president and vice president are indirectly elected on the same ballot by the Electoral College of 'electors' chosen from each state; the president and vice president serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); the election was last held on 8 November 2020

Election results: Joseph R BIDEN (Democrat) elected president; electoral vote - 306, Donald J. TRUMP (Republican Party) 232
Citizenship Criteria: Citizenship by birth: yes

Citizenship by descent: yes

Dual citizenship recognized: no, but the US government acknowledges such situations exist; United States citizens are not encouraged to seek dual citizenship since it limits protection by the US

Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System: Common law system based on English common law at the federal level; state legal systems based on common law except for Louisiana, which is based on Napoleonic civil code; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Legislative Branch: Description: bicameral Congress consists of:

Senate (100 seats; 2 members directly elected in each of the 50 state constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia and Louisiana which require an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years)

House of Representatives (435 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote except in Georgia which requires an absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 2-year terms)

Elections:

Senate - last held on 6 November 2018 (next to be held on 3 November 2020)

House of Representatives - last held on 6 November 2018 (next to be held on 3 November 2020)

Election Results:

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Republican Party 53, Democratic Party 45, independent 2; composition - men 75, women 25, percent of women 25%

House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Democratic Party 234, Republican Party 200, 1 seat still undecided; composition - men 328, women 106, percent of women 24.4%; note - total US Congress percent of women 24.5%

Note: in addition to the regular members of the House of Representatives there are 6 non-voting delegates elected from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands; these are single-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority vote to serve a 2-year term (except for the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico who serves a 4-year term); the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote; election of delegates last held on 6 November 2018 (next to be held on 3 November 2020)
Judicial Branch: Highest court(s): US Supreme Court (consists of 9 justices - the chief justice and 8 associate justices)

Judge selection and term of office: president nominates and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints Supreme Court justices; justices appointed for life

Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (includes the US Court of Appeal for the Federal District and 12 regional appeals courts); 94 federal district courts in 50 states and territories

Note: the US court system consists of the federal court system and the state court systems; although each court system is responsible for hearing certain types of cases, neither is completely independent of the other, and the systems often interact
Regions or States: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Political Parties and Leaders: Democratic Party [Interim Chairperson Donna BRAZILE]

Green Party [collective leadership]

Libertarian Party [Nicholas SARWARK]

Republican Party [Reince PRIEBUS]
International Law Organization Participation: Withdrew acceptance of compulsory ICJ jurisdiction in 2005; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2002
International Organization Participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), ANZUS, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CICA (observer), CP, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNSC (permanent), UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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