The American civic field guide · Updated 2026
Government,
made visible.
Explore the institutions, people, documents, elections, landmarks, and everyday procedures that turn constitutional ideas into public power.
A larger public reading room
Not just who holds power.
How power works.
About Government turns a forgotten web directory into a deep, readable, nonpartisan guide to the United States government.
Start with a branch, a person, a document, or a question. Every section explains formal authority, practical limits, historical context, and where citizens enter the process.
Browse the guide
Six ways into the system
Three branches
How power is divided—and shared—across Congress, the presidency, and the federal courts.
Open chapter →02Who governs now
The president, vice president, Cabinet, congressional leaders, and Supreme Court justices.
Open chapter →03The Constitution
Seven articles, 27 amendments, separated powers, federalism, rights, and unresolved arguments.
Open chapter →04Elections & voting
From registration and primaries to the Electoral College, congressional races, and peaceful transfer of power.
Open chapter →05Citizenship
Practical routes for finding representatives, following a bill, contacting an agency, and making a public comment.
Open chapter →06Symbols & places
The Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, flag, seal, monuments, and rituals of civic life.
Open chapter →The current administration
The people behind the offices
Titles matter because authority flows through offices—not personalities alone. Meet the officials currently leading the executive branch and learn what each department actually does.
View all 23 leaders →Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
JD Vance
Vice President
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
Scott Bessent
Secretary of the Treasury
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of War
Todd Blanche
Acting Attorney General
Doug Burgum
Secretary of the Interior
Brooke Rollins
Secretary of Agriculture
The republic in numbers
A compact constitutional map
The Constitution took effect and the first federal government assembled.
Separate branches share federal power: legislative, executive, and judicial.
Amendments have been ratified since the Constitution was adopted.
Voting seats in the House of Representatives, apportioned by population.
Senators: two from each state, serving staggered six-year terms.
Justices currently sit on the Supreme Court.
The constitutional experiment
Seven articles.
A living argument.
The Constitution establishes institutions, distributes powers, and creates procedures. It does not settle every political question. Its meaning has developed through amendments, elections, legislation, executive practice, court decisions, and public movements.