Overall, the United States system of government is effective in protecting the rights and freedoms of its citizens. Systems of checks and balances and competing powers exist to protect Americans' freedoms and represent their interests. The use of public opinion and the media also plays an important role in the functioning of the system of governance and at the same time acts to safeguard the freedoms and rights of the American people. The United States government consists of three branches, in which each branch oversees the actions and decisions of the other two branches (Schmidt, 2013). The three branches of government include the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. When it comes to the federal government, the primary responsibility of the executive branch is to oversee and enforce the laws passed by Congress. The executive branch consists of the president, vice president, and the Cabinet. The legislative branch is responsible for creating and implementing legislation and exercising the power to declare war, as decided by Congress. The House of Representatives and the Senate constitute Congress, which is the legislative branch of government (whitehouse.gov). The judiciary is responsible for interpreting laws passed by Congress and ensuring that they are constitutional (court.laws.com). The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the highest court of the United States judiciary (judiciary.senate.gov). Specifically, components of each of these branches oversee the actions of the others and have overlapping functions within the federal government. For example, the Supreme Court, which is part of the judiciary, can rule that a president's actions or decisions are...... middle of paper ...... //www.activistpost.com/2013 /06 /the-constitution-does-not-guarantee.htmlThe Supreme Court of the United States. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/SupremeCourt.cfmWhat does the judiciary do? Lois.com. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://court.laws.com/what-does-the-judicial-branch-doWhat is ObamaCare. Obamacarefacts.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013 from http://obamacarefacts.com/whatis-obamacare.phpWhy did the US government shut down in October 2013? Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/why-did-the-us-government_b_4064789.html10 effects of a federal government shutdown. American News. Accessed December 2, 2013, from http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/30/10-effects-of-a-federal-government-shutdown