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The U.S. Constitution spells out the framework for the U.S. government and outlines the rights of the American people. It was signed in 1787, 11 years after the American Colonies declared their independence from Britain.

Learn more about the Constitution here.

False: The two parts of the U.S. Congress are the Senate and the House of Representatives. Together they make up the legislative, or lawmaking, branch of the U.S. government. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, is part of the judicial branch.

The president of the United States is in charge of the executive branch. He or she oversees the major departments of the U.S. government and is responsible for carrying out the laws passed by the U.S. Congress. To learn more about the president’s many roles and responsibilities, click here.

Voters in the U.S. head to the polls to elect a president every four years. The same president can be elected only twice, staying in power for a maximum of eight years.

Fun fact: Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only U.S. president who served for more than eight years. He was in office from 1933 to 1945, before the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, or approved, in 1951. That amendment established that a person can’t be elected president more than twice.

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. They spell out people’s civil rights and liberties, including the freedoms of speech, the press, and religion. The Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.

Explore fun facts about the Bill of Rights here.

National holidays (also known as federal holidays) are holidays that have been established by U.S. law. On these days, federal government buildings are closed and federal employees get a day off of work.

Independence Day, which falls on July 4, celebrates the country’s declaration of independence from Britain in 1776. Congress first marked Independence Day as a national holiday in 1870.

Labor Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday in September, honors all workers. It became a national holiday in 1894.

Arizona is one of four U.S. states that border Mexico. The others are California, New Mexico, and Texas. Arizona’s border with Mexico is about 370 miles long.

The Second World War took place from 1939 to 1945. The United States joined the war in 1941 as part of the Allied Powers, which also included Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and—to a lesser extent—China. They fought Japan, Germany, and Italy, which had formed an alliance called the Axis.

The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 established that if both the president and the vice president can’t serve, the speaker of the House takes power. This has never happened in U.S. history.

The system of checks and balances was established by the U.S. Constitution. It allows each branch of the government—legislative, executive, and judicial—to approve and reject actions by another branch. That keeps any one branch from becoming too powerful.