Topic summary
United States federal government
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Federal government of the United States.
The United States federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of these three branches are defined and vested by the Constitution of the United States, which has been in effect since 1789. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress, including the creation of executive departments and courts subordinate to the Supreme Court of the United States.