100 Fun Facts About Government

How many branches make up the United States federal government?

Legislative, executive and judicial, each designed to check the other two.

How many voting members does the US Congress have in total?

That is 100 senators plus 435 representatives; add three electors for D.C. and you get the 538 of the Electoral College.

How many senators does each US state send to Washington?

Their six-year terms are staggered so that roughly a third of the Senate is up for election every two years.

How many justices sit on the US Supreme Court?

The number was last changed in 1869; it had been as low as six and as high as ten before that.

How many electoral votes does a candidate need to win the US presidency?

There are 538 electors in all, since the 23rd Amendment gave the District of Columbia three.

The first ten amendments to the US Constitution are known collectively as what?

James Madison drafted them; Congress approved twelve articles in 1789 and the states ratified ten of them in 1791.

Which US official presides over the Senate and may vote only to break a tie?

In the vice president's absence the president pro tempore, traditionally the majority party's most senior senator, takes the chair.

Which amendment limits a US president to being elected twice?

It was a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt's four election wins, and came into force in 1951.

What fraction of both houses of Congress is needed to override a presidential veto?

If the president simply sits on a bill as Congress adjourns, that is a pocket veto and cannot be overridden at all.

Who is second in the presidential line of succession?

The president pro tempore of the Senate is third, then the Cabinet secretaries in order of their departments' creation.

Which 1803 Supreme Court case established the power of judicial review?

Chief Justice John Marshall's court struck down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 to make the point.

Which chamber of Congress has the sole power to impeach federal officials?

The Senate then holds the trial, and a two-thirds vote of members present is required to convict.

How many executive departments have heads in the US Cabinet?

George Washington's first Cabinet had just four department heads: Jefferson, Hamilton, Knox and Randolph.

Where do both houses of the US Congress meet?

The Constitution itself was framed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in 1787.

The 'checks and balances' of the US system are meant to keep which three institutions in line?

The idea is that each branch can restrain the others: the president vetoes, Congress overrides, and the courts strike down.

How many times has the US Constitution been amended since it took effect in 1789?

The most recent, on congressional pay, was proposed in 1789 and only ratified in 1992.

What share of the states must ratify a constitutional amendment for it to take effect?

That is 38 of the 50 states; the proposal itself needs two-thirds of both houses of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of the states.

Which state became the ninth to ratify the Constitution in June 1788, putting it into effect?

Rhode Island had refused even to send delegates to the convention that wrote it.

Which state refused to send delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention?

Twelve states were represented; 39 framers eventually signed the document on September 17, 1787.

Which 1929 law fixed the size of Congress's lower chamber at 435 members?

It was briefly 437 from 1959 to 1963 while Alaska and Hawaii were absorbed.

What is the minimum age to serve in the US Senate?

Representatives need only be 25; senators must also have been citizens for nine years.

How many votes are normally needed to invoke cloture and end a Senate filibuster?

That is three-fifths of the Senate; the 'nuclear option' in 2013 and 2017 cut it to a simple majority for nominations only.

Who holds the record for the longest solo Senate filibuster, at 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957?

He read state laws and George Washington's Farewell Address in full to stall the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which passed anyway.

Who was the first US president to be impeached?

The House charged him in 1868 chiefly for sacking War Secretary Edwin Stanton in defiance of the Tenure of Office Act.

Who in 2021 became the first federal officer to be impeached twice?

His second Senate trial began twenty days after his first term had already ended.

Who presides over the Senate when a president is tried on impeachment charges?

The Constitution says so explicitly, to keep the vice president, who would inherit the office, out of the chair.

Which president revived the practice of delivering the State of the Union in person, in 1913?

Thomas Jefferson had dropped the speech in 1801 as too monarchical, and presidents sent written reports for over a century.

Which Cabinet member customarily skips the State of the Union address, and why?

Since 2003 each chamber of Congress has also named its own absent member.

Which two states split their electoral votes rather than awarding them winner-take-all?

Everywhere else the whole slate of electors goes to the ticket that wins the state.

If no presidential candidate wins an Electoral College majority, who chooses the president?

The Senate picks the vice president in the same 'contingent election'.

What was the first constitution of the United States, in force from 1781?

Its weak central government prompted the 1787 convention that replaced it.

Hamilton, Madison and Jay wrote the 85 Federalist essays under which shared pen name?

The essays urged New York to ratify the Constitution; the last eight appeared in the summer of 1788.

Which amendment reserves undelegated powers to the states or the people?

It is the last of the Bill of Rights.

Which US president issued a record 3,721 executive orders?

The Supreme Court overturned five of them in 1935 alone.

Which 1870 law bars officials from spending unappropriated money, the legal basis for shutdowns?

The longest shutdown so far ran 43 days from October 1, 2025.

Who in 2007 became the first woman to hold the House's top post, the speakership?

Elected in 2007, she was also the first Speaker since Sam Rayburn in the 1950s to return to the chair after losing it.

Who was the first woman appointed to the US Supreme Court, in 1981?

Thurgood Marshall had become the first African-American justice 14 years earlier.

The Supreme Court did not get its own building until which year?

Before that it sat in the Capitol, in what is now called the Old Supreme Court Chamber.

Which country's parliament, the Althing, is the oldest legislature in the world?

It was founded in 930 at Thingvellir, about 45 km from what is now Reykjavik.

The 'Westminster system' of parliamentary government takes its name from what?

It shaped the systems of former British colonies, which is why Britain's is called the 'mother of parliaments'.

Besides the Commons and the Lords, what is the third part of the UK Parliament?

The Crown normally acts on the prime minister's advice, and the Lords can generally only delay legislation.

Which Whig politician, in office from 1721, is regarded as Britain's first prime minister?

'Prime minister' began as a jibe; his official title was First Lord of the Treasury, which PMs still hold.

How many members does Israel's Knesset have?

The number matches the ancient Great Assembly of 120 scribes, sages and prophets from which the parliament takes its name.

Germany's Bundestag has met since 1999 in which historic building?

The building dates from 1888; the chamber now has a fixed 630 seats after the 2023 electoral reform.

What is the name of Japan's legislature?

It has a lower House of Representatives and an upper House of Councillors.

How many permanent, veto-wielding members sit on the UN Security Council?

Russia, China, the US, the UK and France, the great powers of the Allies in 1945, alongside ten elected members serving two-year terms.

In which Swiss cantons do citizens still vote by show of hands at an open-air Landsgemeinde?

In Appenzell, a man may still present a ceremonial sidearm instead of a voting card as proof of citizenship.

Switzerland's collective head of state is a council of how many members?

The presidency rotates among them every year and carries no special authority.

Which 1215 royal charter, sealed at Runnymede, is cited as a founding document of limited government?

Victorian historians showed the original was really about the king and his barons, not ordinary subjects.

Which country has the longest written national constitution in the world?

The US Constitution, by contrast, is the oldest codified national constitution still in force.

Which of these countries is generally classed as an absolute monarchy?

Brunei, Eswatini, Oman and Qatar are the others most datasets agree on; Russia was the last European state to abolish absolutism.

France, Portugal and Ukraine share which system, with both an elected president and a prime minister?

Political scientist Maurice Duverger coined the term for a president who is elected, has real power and serves a fixed term.

Which US amendment, proposed in 1789, was finally ratified in 1992 after 202 years?

It says any change to Congress's salary can only take effect after the next House election.

How many members sit in the Senate of Canada?

They are appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's advice and, since 1965, must retire at 75.

Why do Canadian parliamentary ceremonies involving the sovereign take place in the Senate chamber?

The tradition dates from 1642, when Charles I tried to personally arrest five members in the English Commons.

How many senators does each of Australia's six states elect, regardless of population?

With two more each from the ACT and Northern Territory, the Australian Senate has 76 members in total.

China's NPC, its supreme organ of state power, holds its annual session in which Beijing venue?

The spring sessions on the west side of Tiananmen Square usually last 10 to 14 days.

Germany's Bundesrat, representing the 16 states, meets in which former building in Berlin?

It moved to Berlin in 2000, a year after the Bundestag, and keeps a second seat in Bonn.

India's upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha, translates as what?

Its members are chosen by state and territorial legislatures, while the Lok Sabha is the directly elected 'House of the People'.

Up to how many Church of England bishops sit in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual?

Most other members are appointed peers for life; the last 92 hereditary seats were abolished in 2026.

The word 'gerrymander' combines 'salamander' with the name of which politician?

As governor of Massachusetts in 1812 he signed off on a Boston-area district so contorted that a newspaper cartoon gave it claws, wings and a dragon's head.

Who was the first vice president appointed under the 25th Amendment, in 1973?

Within a year he had become the only president never elected to either the presidency or the vice presidency, and named Nelson Rockefeller to fill his own old job.

Which amendment is the only one ratified by state conventions rather than legislatures?

It ended Prohibition in December 1933 and is also the only amendment that repeals an earlier one; Utah's convention cast the deciding vote.

Which amendment let voters, not state legislatures, choose US senators?

William Randolph Hearst had whipped up support with a 1906 magazine series called 'The Treason of the Senate'.

Which amendment moved presidential inaugurations from March 4 to January 20?

Congress's own start date moved to January 3, which trimmed 60 days off the terms of the members who had just been elected.

In which New York City building did the first US Congress meet in 1789?

George Washington took his first oath of office on its Wall Street balcony on April 30, 1789; a piece of that balcony is still on display.

Which law, part of a deal over state war debts, put the US capital on the Potomac River?

Hamilton delivered New York's votes for a southern capital in return for Virginia's votes to have the federal government absorb state debts.

Which state took back the land it had given to the District of Columbia, in 1846?

That is why today's District sits entirely on the Maryland side of the river; Taft later called the retrocession an 'egregious blunder'.

By Supreme Court custom, how many justices must agree to take up a case?

A minority can therefore force the full court to hear an appeal, even if the other five would rather let the lower ruling stand.

A Supreme Court term traditionally begins on the first Monday of which month?

The term runs until June or early July, which is why the biggest rulings tend to land just before summer.

Who served on the Supreme Court longer than anyone else, for more than 36 years?

Appointed in 1939 at the age of 40, he finally retired in November 1975, nearly a year after a debilitating stroke.

Who is the only person to have served as both US president and chief justice?

He wanted the court job far more than the White House, and as chief justice got to dedicate the Lincoln Memorial in 1922.

Who holds the record for the longest service in the US Senate, at over 51 years?

The West Virginian passed Thurmond's mark in June 2006 and served as president pro tempore four separate times.

Which Cabinet department, created after the September 11 attacks, began operating in 2003?

With more than 240,000 employees it is now the third-largest department, behind only Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The Secret Service was founded in 1865 to fight what?

It stayed inside the Treasury Department until 2003; protecting presidents was added to its duties only after McKinley was shot in 1901.

By what vote did the Supreme Court order Nixon to hand over the Watergate tapes in 1974?

Only eight justices took part, William Rehnquist having recused himself; Nixon resigned 16 days after the ruling.

What is the US president's annual salary, unchanged since 2001?

On top come a $50,000 expense allowance, a $100,000 tax-free travel account and $19,000 for entertaining.

Camp David is named after the father and grandson of which president?

Its earlier name was Shangri-La, after the fictional Himalayan paradise, and Winston Churchill was a guest there in May 1943.

What does the House Sergeant at Arms lift and present to bring an unruly member to order?

The 13-pound silver and ebony staff, topped by an eagle on a globe, also signals whether the House is in session or in committee by where it sits.

The word 'veto' is Latin for what?

Roman tribunes of the plebs used it to block any magistrate or Senate decree, a power meant to shield commoners from the patricians.

For how long was a citizen banished from ancient Athens by ostracism?

There was no charge and no defence; the exile kept his property and could come home afterwards without stigma.

How long did a Roman consul normally hold office?

Two served at once, each able to veto the other, and Romans dated their years by the names of the consuls who held office.

San Marino's two Captains Regent serve a term of what length?

The arrangement dates to 1243 and the pair usually come from opposing parties to keep each other honest.

Alongside the president of France, who is co-prince of Andorra?

The arrangement began with a 1278 treaty between the bishop and the count of Foix, whose claim eventually passed to the French head of state.

Which country was the first to let all women vote in national elections, in 1893?

Kate Sheppard's final petition carried nearly 32,000 signatures, about a quarter of the adult European women in the colony.

Which city is South Africa's judicial capital?

The three-capital split was a 1910 compromise: Pretoria got the executive, Cape Town the parliament and this Free State city the appeal court.

Which city is Bolivia's constitutional capital, even though the government sits in La Paz?

It was renamed in 1839 after the independence hero Antonio José de Sucre and still hosts the country's Supreme Court.

Who in 1980 became the world's first democratically elected female head of state?

The former theatre director went on to win three more terms and served as president for 16 years.

Which country elected the world's first female prime minister, in 1960?

Sirimavo Bandaranaike took over her assassinated husband's party; opponents nicknamed her 'The Weeping Widow'.

Who has the Commons door slammed in their face at the State Opening of Parliament?

The ritual asserts the Commons' independence from the Crown; the staff is then knocked on the door three times before MPs file out to the Lords.

British MPs who want to quit are 'appointed' to which nominal Crown office?

MPs cannot simply resign, so since 1751 they have taken a paid Crown post that disqualifies them from sitting; the job has no duties at all.

Which Australian prime minister was dismissed by the governor-general in 1975?

On the steps of Parliament House he declared: 'Well may we say God Save the Queen, because nothing will save the Governor-General.'

Who is Canada's longest-serving prime minister, with over 21 years in office?

He led the country through the Second World War and, it later emerged, consulted mediums and kept a diary of séances.

A Mexican president serves a single term of how many years?

The sexenio and the absolute ban on re-election date from the revolution against Porfirio Díaz, whose rule had stretched to 35 years.

Which city is the official seat of the European Parliament?

Most of the work happens in Brussels, but a treaty protocol forces 12 plenary sessions a year in France, at an estimated extra cost of over €100 million.

The office of parliamentary ombudsman was created in 1809 in which country?

The word comes from Old Norse for 'representative'; an earlier royal version was set up in 1713 by Charles XII while he was in exile in Turkey.

Which country's constitution names a leader who died in 1994 as its 'eternal president'?

The presidency was left vacant after Kim Il Sung's death and its powers were split among several officials; the country also dates its calendar from his birth in 1912.

Which was the last country in Europe to give women the vote, in 1984?

Only men could vote in the referendum that finally granted it; two earlier attempts, in 1971 and 1973, had failed.

The world's heaviest building houses the parliament of which country?

Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered the Bucharest palace after a 1977 earthquake gave him a pretext to flatten much of the old city.

Who chose Ottawa as Canada's capital in 1857?

She acted on the advice of Governor General Edmund Head, who had weighed bids from rival cities; Parliament ratified the choice in 1859 and first sat there in 1866.