What is the form of government of the United States?

Why this is the answer

A republic is a country where the people hold political power and exercise it through officials they elect. USCIS puts the idea simply: Americans are not governed by a king or a queen, they govern themselves by choosing representatives for local, state and national government. The Founders made this choice on purpose, because they wanted a nation ruled by laws rather than by men. The Constitution even writes the principle into its text. Article IV promises every state a republican form of government, so the same rule holds in Washington and in each state capital. The longest official answer, constitution-based federal republic, packs in two more ideas. Constitution-based means the government's authority comes from a written document that spells out what officials may do and where their power ends. Federal means power is divided between the national government and the state governments, an arrangement called federalism. Each state has its own legislative, executive and judicial branches, led on the executive side by a governor, and states handle everyday matters such as police, fire departments and public schools. Representative democracy, the third answer, describes the system from the voter's side. Citizens do not vote on every law themselves. They elect representatives to make the laws and a President to lead the executive branch, and those officials act on their behalf. At the interview any one of the three is enough, so pick the one you can say without hesitating. The single word "republic" is the easiest to hold onto when nerves kick in. Two near misses deserve attention. Plain "democracy" is not one of the answers on the USCIS list, so if that word comes to mind, add "representative" in front of it. "Monarchy" and "parliamentary system" are not on the list either. If you blank, picture the opening of the Constitution, where the people come first: they are in charge, and they rule through the officials they elect.