Political divisions

Main articles: Political divisions of the United States, U.S. state, Territories of the United
States, List of states and territories of the United States, and Indian reservation
Further information: Territorial evolution of the United States and United States territorial
acquisitions

Map of U.S. Economic Exclusion Zone,[285] highlighting states, territories and possessions

The United States is a federal republic of 50 states, a federal district, five territories and
eleven uninhabited island possessions.[286] The states and territories are the principal
administrative districts in the country. These are divided into subdivisions of counties and
independent cities. The District of Columbia is a federal district which contains the capital of
the United States, Washington DC.[287] The states and the District of Columbia choose the
President of the United States. Each state has presidential electors equal to the number of
their Representatives and Senators in Congress, the District of Columbia has three. [288]
Congressional Districts are reapportioned among the states following each decennial
Census of Population. Each state then draws single member districts to conform with the
census apportionment. The total number of Representatives is 435, and delegate Members
of Congress represent the District of Columbia and the five major US territories. [289]
The United States also observes tribal sovereignty of the American Indian nations to a
limited degree, as it does with the states' sovereignty. American Indians are U.S. citizens
and tribal lands are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S Congress and the federal courts.
Like the states they have a great deal of autonomy, but also like the states tribes are not
allowed to make war, engage in their own foreign relations, or print and issue currency.[290]

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Statehood dates and State flags

Parties and elections

Main articles: Politics of the United States and Political ideologies in the United States

President Obama meets with congressional leadership in 2011.[291]

The United States has operated under a two-party system for most of its history.[292]For
elective offices at most levels, state-administered primary elections choose the major
party nominees for subsequent general elections. Since the general election of 1856, the
major parties have been the Democratic Party, founded in 1824, and the Republican
Party, founded in 1854. Since the Civil War, only one third-partypresidential candidate
former president Theodore Roosevelt, running as aProgressive in 1912has won as much
as 20% of the popular vote. The President and Vice-president are elected through
the Electoral College system.[293]
Within American political culture, the center-right Republican Party is considered
"conservative" and the center-left Democratic Party is considered "liberal".[294][295]The states
of the Northeast and West Coast and some of the Great Lakes states, known as "blue
states", are relatively liberal. The "red states" of the South and parts of the Great
Plains and Rocky Mountains are relatively conservative.
The winner of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, Democrat Barack Obama, is the
44th, and current, U.S. president. Current leadership in the Senate includes Democratic
Vice President Joseph Biden, Republican President Pro Tempore (Pro Tem) Orrin
Hatch, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Minority Leader Harry Reid.[296] Leadership in
the House includes Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.[297]
In the 114th United States Congress, both the House of Representatives and
the Senate are controlled by the Republican Party. The Senate currently consists of 54
Republicans, and 44 Democrats with two independents who caucus with the Democrats;
the House consists of 246 Republicans and 188 Democrats, with one vacancy.[298] In state
governorships, there are 31 Republicans, 18 Democrats and one independent. [299] Among
the DC mayor and the 5 territorial governors, there are 2 Republicans, 2 Democrats (one is
also in the PPD), and 2 Independents.[300]

Foreign relations