What makes the American presidential system so unique? 

The characteristics of a presidential system are

• Separation of power. In the specific case of the U.S. this is a core because of the checks and balances its political system has since the past.
• Unification of the roles of head of state and head of government under the figure of the President. President is also commander in chief of the military forces.
• Election by suffrage. This gives the president the legitimacy of the citizens.

•            President CANNOT dissolve the congress. This again gives the check and balance to the system, although they work together, they are independent of action.

As we know, The United States political principles are based in DEMOCRACY as the ruling ideology for whatever decision they make, whether it is economical, civil, military or political, and their system as it is presidential is not an exception.

The United States presidential system is defined by this specific traits:

Popular Sovereignty Since the president is elected by popular methods, even when it is not a direct suffrage they use their right to vote to orient the election towards their favorite candidate.

Division of Power To avoid tyranny and promote cooperation the power is divided and does not only relay in the Executive power.

Federalism To keep the nation cohesion and avoid the problem of the confederation and the willingness of independence of some states in the union.

Representative democracy Comes as a tradition not only from ancient Greece but more close, from the colony when they had William Penn and the representative assemblies. Democracy is the government of the people, so the president is the director of the nation but because and for the people.

Legal equality As it is stated in the Declaration of Independence, "Equality before the law”, since then the American life has been marked by the defense of equality (Civil Rights, Black people voting, Women’s rights etc.)

Judicial Revision Courts and tribunals are in charge of the constitutional and administrative control of the law. Any law or administrative act which is clearly opposed to the Constitution can be objected and ruled out by any tribunal and ratified by the Supreme Court.

Limitation of the State´s power (public power) –Limitations are established in the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, marked by a defense of individual rights in all foundational documents and State regulations. This is the base of the Federal spirit of the U.S.

Preponderance of civilian power over political power Since the President is the representative of the people and as well is the head in chief of the military forces, The Armed forces are under direct mandate of the people of the United States, represented by the President.

Political absenteeism  40% of the American citizens who are able to vote, chose for abstention this mark either they dislike and do not trust the candidates or that they trust in other’s decision to be best than their own.

As these characteristics denote the uniqueness of the U.S. Presidential system, it is not static and with the changes the world is presenting and even the internal dynamic of the county, it may vary from what we know today to the future. 

SOURCE:

Louis F. Monroy Class notes