The United States: institutions, politics, economy and society

The United States is the world's largest economy, its leading military power, and the source of most of the debates that end up in British and French newspapers: on trade, technology, immigration, inequality or the limits of presidential power. It is also a country that French candidates often describe through clichés, either admiring or hostile. A good essay does neither: it explains how American institutions work, and uses precise, dated, sourced facts.

This chapter covers the Constitution and the separation of powers, the party system and its polarisation, the 2024 election and the first two years of the second Trump administration, then the economy and the great social debates. It was written in November 2026: the results of the midterm elections of 3 November 2026 were not yet certified, and they are not discussed here.

12.1 The Constitution: a republic built on distrust of power

The Constitution was drafted in Philadelphia in 1787 and came into force in

1. It is the oldest written national constitution still in use. The first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights (1791), protect freedom of speech and religion (First Amendment), the right to bear arms (Second Amendment) and the rights of the accused. Only twenty-seven amendments have been adopted in more than two centuries, because the procedure is extremely demanding: two thirds of both houses of Congress, then three quarters of the states.

Federalism. The United States is a federation of fifty states. The Tenth Amendment reserves to the states, or to the people, all powers not delegated to the federal government. States therefore control most criminal law, education, elections and, since 2022, abortion law. This is why American life differs so much from one state to another, and why governors and state legislatures matter as much as Washington in many debates.

12.2 The three branches

Congress

Congress has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 435 members, elected every two years in districts of roughly equal population. The Senate has 100 senators, two per state whatever its population, elected for six years, a third of them every two years. A bill must pass both chambers in the same terms. In the Senate, most bills need 60 votes to end debate, because of the filibuster; budget ``reconciliation'' bills are an exception and can pass with a simple majority.

The presidency

The President is head of state and head of government, commander in chief, and is elected for four years; since the Twenty-second Amendment (1951), no one can be elected more than twice. The President cannot dissolve Congress and does not sit in it. Presidential power has grown through executive orders, instructions to the federal administration published in the Federal Register, which do not need a vote of Congress but must rest on the Constitution or on a law.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has nine justices, nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate and appointed for life. Since Marbury v. Madison (1803), it can declare laws unconstitutional: this is judicial review. Six of the nine current justices were appointed by Republican Presidents, which explains a series of conservative rulings, such as Dobbs v. Jackson (2022), which ended the federal right to abortion recognised in Roe v. Wade (1973).