The Constitution of Great Britain and the USA

In one important respect England differs conspicuously from most other countries. Her constitution is to a large extent unwritten, using the word in much the same sense as when we speak of unwritten law. Its rules can be found in no written document but depend, as so much of English law does, on precedent modified by a constant process of interpretation.

A Constitution is the basic law of a state. The main elements of the constitution are the definitions of the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.

In theory, the constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which "executes' law, i.e. puts them into effect, and the law courts, which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially1 head of all three branches, she has little direct power. The Queen is a symbol of the unity of the nation. The hereditary principle still operates and the Crown is passed on to the sovereign's eldest son (or daughter if there are no sons). The Queen takes part in ceremonial functions of opening Parliament; she meets the Prime Minister every week and receives copies of all Cabinet papers.

The Parliament of Great Britain consists of two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the voters of 650 constituencies. They are known as MPs, or Members of Parliament The Prime Minister, or leader of the Government, is also an MP, usually, the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons.

The former colonies, now "the United States of America", first operated under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation (1781). It was soon clear that this loose agreement among the states was not working well. Delegates from the states met in Philadelphia They wanted to revise the Articles, but they did much more than that they wrote a completely new document, the Constitution. The US Constitution was adopted by the thirteen states by 1790. The US Constitution defines a federal system of government It gives certain powers to the national government All others powers belong to the states. The US Constitution has 26 amendments. The first 10, called the "Bill of Rights", established certain individual liberties. The White House, the President's residence is located in Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.