| A | B |
|---|
| right in the political spectrum | conservative, wanting to keep things as they are; government should stay out of affairs of citizens and business |
| left in the political spectrum | liberal; willing to make changes; wants governemtn to promote social reform actively within the political system |
| moderate in the political spectrum | willing to make some changes but generally happy with the way things are |
| direct primary | selection of candidates by popular vote of party members |
| federal jurisdiction | legal right to try cases about the Constitution, U.S. laws and treaties |
| federal system | sharing of government powers between states and federal government according to Constitution |
| majority rule | principle where people agree to abide by the decisions of more than half the people |
| coalitition | temporary agreement among different interest groups |
| democratic republic | a government in which citizens elect representatives who make decisions about governing for them |
| precedent | a decision that is used as a model for similar cases |
| civil liberty | a personal right such as freedom of speech, thought and action which are guaranteed by the First Amendment |
| due process of law | the constitutional right of every citizen to fair treatment under the law |
| gerrymander | to redraw boundaries of a district to favor a candidate or an interest group |
| redistrict | to redraw the boundaries of a legislative district |
| census | an official survey of the population |
| social contract | agreement among people to create a state and obey its government |
| naturalization | legal process of getting citizenship in another nation |
| Magna Charta | English document that limited the power of the king in 12 15 |
| autocracy | rule by one person |
| oligarchy | rule by a small group |
| democracy | rule by the people |
| republic | government by elected representatives; no offices are inherited |
| Federalist Papers | arguments for adopting the federal system as outlined in the U.S. Constitution |
| Articles of Confederation | weak government of the U.S. between the Revolution and the present Constitution |
| Antifederalists | people who opposed a strong national government proposed by the Constitution |
| Bill of Rights | amendments 1 to 10 that guaranteed individual rights |
| checks and balances | each branch of government limits the power of the other branches |
| judicial review | power of the courts to declare national state or local acts of government invalid |
| inherent powers | what the national government has because it is a sovereign state |
| delegated powers | Constitution grants these specifically to the national government |
| implied powers | not specifically listed in the Constitution, these come from the elastic clause |
| prohibited powers | actions denied to the national or state government |
| sedition | conduct or language that stirs up rebellion or advocates overthrow of a government |
| defamation | false attacks on another person's character or reputation |
| slander | defamation by speech |
| libel | defamation in writing |
| ideology | a systematic set of ideas used to justify a particular point of view |
| rule by law | law applies to everyone and decisions must be based on law rather than person views |
| sovereignty | a state's right to rule itself |
