10 Surprising Facts About U.S. Politics You Probably Didn’t Know

 

1. The U.S. Constitution Doesn’t Mention Political Parties

The founding document of American democracy never mentions political parties. In fact, many Founding Fathers, including George Washington, warned against them in his farewell address.

2. The U.S. Has Had a President Who Was Never Elected

Gerald Ford became Vice President in 1973 after Spiro Agnew resigned, and then President in 1974 after Nixon resigned. He was never elected to either position by the public.

3. Congress Can Override a Presidential Veto — But Rarely Does

While the Constitution allows Congress to override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers, this is very rare. Fewer than 10% of all vetoes in U.S. history have been overridden.

4. The Electoral College Has Overruled the Popular Vote 5 Times

The most recent example was in 2016, when Donald Trump became president despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.

5. Only Two Independent Senators Currently Serve

As of recent years, Bernie Sanders (Vermont) and Angus King (Maine) are Independents, but both caucus with the Democrats — meaning they vote with them on most issues.

6. There’s No Law Limiting the Number of Supreme Court Justices

The number of justices is set by Congress, not the Constitution. While it’s been nine since 1869, there's nothing legally stopping Congress from changing that number.

7. The Senate Gives Small States Outsized Power

Wyoming, with fewer than 600,000 people, has the same number of senators (2) as California, which has nearly 40 million people. This gives rural states disproportionate influence.

8. The House of Representatives Has Grown — and Stopped Growing

While the U.S. population has skyrocketed, the House has been capped at 435 members since 1929, leading to larger and more diverse districts.

9. The First Televised Presidential Debate Changed Everything

The 1960 debate between Kennedy and Nixon marked the rise of media-driven campaigns. Radio listeners thought Nixon won — TV viewers overwhelmingly thought JFK did.

10. Not All U.S. Territories Have Voting Representation

People in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other territories are U.S. citizens but can’t vote for president and have non-voting delegates in Congress.