| A | B |
|---|
| civics | study of the duties and rights of citizens |
| natural born, naturalization process | 2 ways someone can become an American citizen |
| federal, local, state | three levels of government |
| dictatorship | government where the ruler exercises complete control over the country and the people |
| direct democracy | democracy in which the people have a direct say in their government; ie. town meetings |
| representative democracy | type of democracy where the people elect people to represent them |
| enumerated powers | powers specifically listed in the Constitution |
| speech, religion, petition, press, assembly | 5 freedoms in the first amendment |
| legislative | branch of government that makes the laws |
| judicial | branch of govt. that interprets the laws |
| executive | branch of govt. that enforces the laws |
| Vice President; Speaker of the House; President Pro Tempore of the Senate; Secretary of State | 1st four position in the Presidential Succession list in order |
| Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief of State, Chief of Party | 4 roles of the president in addition to Chief Executive |
| Platform | statements expressing a party's main beliefs and possitions on issues |
| Primary | type of election that Pennsylvania parties hold to choose a candidate to run in the general election |
| sheriff | county's chief officer for enforcing the law |
| taxes | main source of a state's income |
| New England town meetings | oldest form of democracy in the U.S. that allows community members to voice their feelings on local and world issues |
| contract, property, family, personal injury | 4 types of civil law |
| juvenile delinquents | young people who commit crimes |
| summons | document that tells the defendent that he/she is being sued |
| appeal | request for a case to be tried again in a higher court |
| negligence | lack of proper care and attention |
| civic duty | things you must do by law |
| civic responsibility | things you should do |
| Constitutional Monarchy | power of the hereditary ruler is limited by the country's laws and constitution |
| Articles of Confederation | our nation's first plan of govt. |
| enumerated powers | powers specifically listed in the Constitution |
| census | official count of the U.S. population |
| elastic | clause in the U.S. Constitution that allows Congress to "stretch" their power |
| 100 | number of senators in our Congress |
| $400,000 | current salary of the President |
| 10 years | how often the United States conducts a census |
| Chief Justice | name give to the U.S. Supreme Court's leader |
| 9 | number of Supreme Court justices |
| suffrage | right to vote |
| Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton | two founding fathers who were hte leaders of our nation's first political parties |
| ordinance | another name for city law |
| Bellefonte | location of our County Seat |
| village | smallest unit of local govt. in the U.S. |
| plea bargaining | when the defendant pleads guilty to a less serious crime in order to receive a lighter sentence |
| complaint | states what the plaintiff said that the defendant committed and how the plaintiff wa harmed |
| pay taxes, obey laws, defend nation, serve in court, attend school | 5 most important civic duties |
| keep order, provide securtiy, provide services, guide the community | 4 functions of government |
| providing welfare, housing | example of the government providing services |
| military | example of the government providing security |
| manage the economy, managing public policy, managing foreign relations | examples of the government guiding the community |
| passing laws, establishing courts | examples of the government keeping order |
| Virginia | Name of one of the two plans that made up the Great Compromise which called for 3 branches of govt and two houses |
| New Jersey | name of a plan that became part of the Great Compromise that had three branches but only one house. |
| reserved powers | type of powers kept for the states |
| 25, 2 yrs | age and length of term of someone serving in the House of Representatives |
| 35, 4 yrs | age and length of term of someone serving as president |
| 30, 6 yrs | age and length of term of someone serving in the Senate |
| 18, 4 yrs | age and length of term of someone serving on the school board |
| State of the Union | name of the address given every year by the President where he talks about the nation's most import issues and how he plans to deal with those issues |
| Vice President | presides over the Senate |
| the winner of the popular vote in a state wins all of that state's electors | system that is used by the Electoral College to decide who gets the votes for a particular state |
| state | level of givt. that has control over local govts. |
| delinquent offender | committed acts that would be crimes if committed by a adult |
| status offenders | offenders that have committed crimes that would not be crimes if done by an adult |
| felonies | more serious crimes that result in more than a year in jail |
| plaintiff | person in a civil case that files the lawsuit |
| 50 | number of states in the United States. |
| absolute monarchy | type of rule in which the power of the hereditary ruler is unlimited |
| constitution | written plan of government |
| executive, judicial, legislative | 3 branches of government in the Great Compromise |
| House of Representatives based on population and the Senate which is based on Equality | 2 houses in the legislative branch according to the Great Compromise |
| 435 | number of members in the U.S. House of Representatives |
| Senate | approves a Supreme Court appointment |
| metropolitan area | large city and its suburbs |
| defendant | person in a civil case who is being sued |
| misdemeanor | minor crimes that result in small fines or up to a year in jail |
| republic | form of representative democracy in which the citizens choose their lawmakers |
| 3/5 | compromise made that would count 3 out of 5 slaves for representation and taxation |
| to give the order in which officials are to succeed the President if the President cannot serve | purpose of the Presidential succession list |
| 270 | number of electoral votes a candidate needs in order to win the presidency |
| two-party system | political party makeup of the U.S. |
| criminal, civil | two types of cases that a court hears |
| Centre | county that we live in |
| Discovery | stage in a case whre lawyers check the facts, gather evidence, talk to witnesses |
| civil law | resolves disputes between people or groups |
| criminal law | cases where laws are broken |
| representative | A form of government where citizens choose a smaller group of people to govern on their behalf |
