| A | B |
|---|
| Popular Sovereignty | The idea that the government's authority comes from the people |
| Legislative Branch | the law-making part of government, called the legislature. To legislate is to make law. |
| Executive Branch | the part of government that carries out, or executes the laws |
| Judicial Branch | the part of government, consisting of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, that interprets the laws |
| Judicial Review | the power of the Supreme Court to decide whether the laws and acts made by the legislative and executive branches are unconstiutional |
| Checks and Balances | the system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other two branches |
| Interstate Commerce | trade and other business dealings between two or more states |
| Federalism | the constitutional system that shares power between the national and state governments |
| Majority Rule | a basic principle of democracy that says laws are passed by majority vote and elections are decided by a majority of the voters |
| Interest Group | an organization that actively promotes the view of some part of the public on specific issues in order to influence government and policy |
| Preamble | introduction to the Constitution that explains the reasons for a new government |
| impeach | to formally accuse the president of a crime |
| Powers of the National Government | coin money, set up the postal system, declare war are powers only the National Government has |
| Power of State Governments | conduct elections, establish schools, provide fire and police protection, powers only the State Governments have |
| Shared Powers | collect taxes, build and maintain roads, establish courts, powers shared by the National and State Governments |
| Barack Obama | president of the U.S. |
| Joe Biden | vice-president of the U.S. |
| John Roberts | chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court |
| John Boehner | speaker of the House of Representatives |
| Harry Reid | Senate majority leader |
