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The US political system was established on the basis of the three main principles—federalism，the separation of powers and respect for the constitution and the rule of the law.According to the US Constitution，neither the central nor the state government receives its powers from the other；both derive them from a common source，the Constitution.The national government has only those powers delegated to it by the Constitution.The states have the powers not delegated to the central government except those denied to them by the Constitution and the constitutions of their states.This division of powers by a constitution between the central government and state government is called federalism.It should be observed that federalism operates only on two levels，the national and the state.Units of government within a state enjoy no independent existence.

Separation of powers means constitutional division of powers among the legislative，executive，and judicial branches.In America，this principle means more than allocating legislative power to Congress，executive power to President and judicial power to the Supreme Court.It also means giving each branch constitutional and political independence and checks and balances that ensure each of the three branches a sufficient role in the actions of the others so that no one branch may dominate the others.The branches must work together if government business is to be performed.

“This Constitution，and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof；and all Treaties made，or which shall be made，under the Authority of the United States，shall be the supreme law of the land；...”（Constitution，Art.Ⅵ）Every American citizen is required to respect the Constitution and to obey the laws of the United States.The citizen who disapproves of a particular law can legally and peacefully strive for its change through participation in government，that is，through voting or communicating with the representatives.