United States: a Presidential or Congressional?
The U.S. Constitution of 1787 provided for a immediate, clear and strict separation of powers.
Thus, the legislative and executive powers, in principle, do not interfere with each other's affairs.
So often we talk about the system of the United States as a ‘unitary presidential system’ because, in addition to the separation of powers, the President combines the functions of the Head of the State and the functions of the Head of the Government. For this reason, unlike a parliamentary system, the President is responsible for his actions and for the the people who elected him. These are the people he needs to answer to.
Also the chief executive cannot be reversed or dissolved by the Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Congress has two chambers: the Senate, which represents the federal states and the House of Representatives, which represents the people.
Senators are elected for a period of six years, this term is renewable indefinitely. The Senate is chaired by the vice-president of the USA.
The representatives are elected for a period of two years. The House of Representatives is presided over by a speaker who is much more influential than the speaker in England because has the power to distribute the time allowed for each member and judge the legality of the procedures.
Each state must have at least one representative, regardless of the size of its population.
The American constitution was the first constitution that was written down and its principle of the separation of powers is particularly significant. This constitution still influences the constitutions of many other countries.
The Congress has significant powers that have often blocked the President's policy, especially during the ratification of the Treaty as the Treaty of Versailles (1920). And often, the President has found himself powerless.
The United States operates on a presidential system but the Congress often acts against the powers of the President.
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