B. General Political Structure
At the national level, the U.S. Constitution establishes a democratic system of governance and guarantees a republican system at the state and local level. It establishes the will of the people as the basis of governmental legitimacy.
The federal government consists of three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The executive branch is headed by the President, who is elected for a term of four years. The President has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government, including the various executive departments and agencies. The President is charged with "taking care" that the laws are faithfully executed.
The U.S. Constitution vests legislative powers in the Congress, which consists of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate is made up of 100 Senators; two elected from each state to six year terms. Senate terms are staggered so that one third of the Senators are elected every two years. The U.S. House of Representatives is made up of 435 members, each of whom is elected to a two year term from a single member congressional district. House seats are allotted to each state on the basis of population. The third branch consists of a system of independent federal courts headed by the Supreme Court of the United States and including subordinate appellate and trial courts throughout the country. Federal judges are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. That means that Presidential appointments to the federal bench must be approved by a majority vote of the Senate. The power of the federal judiciary extends to civil actions for money damages and other forms of redress, such as injunctive relief, as well as to criminal cases arising under federal law. The Constitution safeguards judicial independence by providing that federal judges shall hold office during "good behavior" -- in practice, until they die, retire or resign.
At the state level, this tripartite governmental structure is replicated, with each state having its own constitution and executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The state governor acts as head of the executive; all states have two legislative houses (except Nebraska's, which has only one); and most state court systems mirror the federal, with at least three levels. One important difference is that state judges are often elected rather than appointed by the state's chief executive. Most states are divided into counties, and areas of population concentration are incorporated into municipalities or other forms of local government (cities, towns, townships, boroughs, parishes or villages). In addition, states are divided into school and special service districts to provide education and various other public services (e.g., water, sewer, fire and emergency, higher education, hospital services, transportation). The result is that literally hundreds of governmental entities and jurisdictions exist at the state and local levels; for the most part, the leaders of these entities are elected, although some are appointed by others who are elected.
A significant number of U.S. citizens live in areas outside the fifty states, yet within the political and legal framework of the United States. These areas include: the District of Columbia (seat of the national government and a federal enclave); the insular areas of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Johnston, Midway, Palmyra and Wake Atolls. The specific governmental framework for each is largely determined by the area's historical relationship with the United States.
A special relationship exists between the U.S. government and Native Americans. While the diversity of the indigenous North American population makes generalizations difficult (there are more than 550 federally recognized American Indian and Alaskan Native tribes and groups, speaking more than 150 different languages), many enjoy considerable governmental autonomy on reservations or other Indian lands and Alaska villages. The provision of "federal recognition" reflects the principle of government-to-government relations founded under U.S. law and practice. Other tribal groups have over time been assimilated into local society.
Since 1924, Native Americans have enjoyed the protections of the U.S. Constitution when not on their own reservations. When on their own reservations, Native Americans are subject to Tribal law, the Indian Major Crimes Act and the Indian Civil Rights Act which sets forth the essential protections of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. The protections afforded to Native Americans while on their own reservations are consistent with U.S. Constitutional guarantees.
The U.S. government has a similar relationship with Native Hawaiians. Since Hawaii's admission into the Union, Congress has endeavored to protect and improve the welfare of Native Hawaiians by establishing special programs in the areas of health care, education, employment, and loans; and enacting statutes to preserve Native Hawaiian culture, language, and history. A recent case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Rice v. Cayetano, 527 U.S. 1061, 120 S.Ct. 31 (1999), has cast doubt on the Congress' authority to legislate in a manner that grants Native Hawaiian preferences. The Court's decision in Rice has thus prompted spirited debate over the relationship between Native Hawaiians and the U.S. government, and indeed, the U.S. Departments of Interior and Justice are in the process of preparing a report on a reconciliation process between the federal government and Native Hawaiians initiated by Senator Daniel K. Akaka in 1999.
