Academy
Civics guides on how American government works — written to be accurate, readable, and non-partisan.
How Government Works
The three branches of federal government
The founders had studied history with unusual care. They knew that every republic before them had fallen — som…
How a bill becomes law
Almost any American can tell you the rough outline: a bill goes to committee, passes the House, passes the Sen…
The role of the Supreme Court
Nine men and women, appointed for life, hold the power to strike down any law passed by any legislature in the…
How the Electoral College works
No feature of American democracy is more misunderstood — or more deliberately designed — than the Electoral Co…
Federal vs. state vs. local authority
Americans live under not one government but many, simultaneously. The federal government in Washington sets so…
How the federal budget works
The federal government spends roughly seven trillion dollars a year. Most Americans could not explain how that…
How executive orders work
Presidents can reshape federal policy without a single congressional vote. Executive orders are the primary me…
How the Constitution gets amended
The founders made the Constitution hard to change on purpose. A document that could be rewritten with every el…
Federal agencies and how regulations are made
There are 438 federal agencies, commissions, and departments. They employ roughly 3 million civilians. They ma…
How state governments work
Each of the 50 states is, in a meaningful sense, a republic of its own. State governments handle most of the l…
Your Representatives
Who represents you in Congress
At this moment, three people in Washington, D.C. are constitutionally obligated to represent you: two U.S. Sen…
What senators do vs. what representatives do
The Senate and the House of Representatives share the legislative power of the federal government, but they ar…
How to contact your elected officials
Your representatives work for you. This is not a figure of speech. They are literally employed by the voters o…
What committees do
Congress cannot function as 535 individual members all trying to become experts on every topic at once. Commit…
How to read a voting record
Politicians are judged by their words. They should be judged by their votes. Every vote a member of Congress c…
Elections
How to register to vote
Voting is the foundational act of self-government. Before you can do it, you have to register. The process is …
Primary elections explained
Most Americans are familiar with the November general election. Fewer participate in the primaries that determ…
Redistricting and gerrymandering
Every ten years, following the national census, the boundaries of congressional and state legislative district…
Campaign finance basics
Money and politics have been inseparable since the first republic. Understanding how campaigns are funded — wh…
How local elections work
The elected official who most directly shapes your daily life is almost certainly not the President, or even y…
The census and why it shapes everything
Every ten years, the federal government attempts to count every person living in the United States. The census…
Rights and Civic Life
The Bill of Rights, plainly explained
The Constitution almost was not ratified. Several states refused to sign it until the founders promised to imm…
How to file a public records request (FOIA)
Government in a democracy belongs to the people. That principle is not merely rhetorical — it is enforced by l…
How to attend a city council meeting
The most accessible form of direct democracy in America happens in community centers, school cafeterias, and m…
How to run for local office
The most important thing about local elected office in America is that most of it is within the reach of ordin…
Jury duty: what to expect
The right to a trial by a jury of one's peers is one of the oldest protections in the English legal tradition,…
The Issues
Economy & Taxes
How a country taxes and spends shapes everything else it does. The American debate over economic policy is, at…
Healthcare
Healthcare in America costs more per person than in any other developed country and produces uneven results. T…
Immigration
America has always been shaped by immigration, and Americans have always argued about it. The modern debate is…
Education
American education is mostly run by states and local districts, but federal policy shapes funding, standards, …
Gun Policy
The Second Amendment is a single sentence that has produced two centuries of argument. The modern debate is ab…
Climate & Energy
Energy powers every part of modern American life, and how the country produces it has become one of the most c…
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