| A | B |
|---|
| Articles of Confederation | First Constitution and government of the United States; failed because federal government was too weak |
| Checks and Balances | the distribution and balancing of power among different branches of government so that no one branch is able to get too powerful |
| Civic Duty | Thing that citizens of a country are legally obligated to do such as obey laws and register for selective service. |
| Civic Responsibility | thing that citizens ought to do to promote the common good, but may do voluntarily such as community service or donation to charity. |
| Common Good | a program or action that benefits society as a whole |
| Declaration of Independence | the statement made by the American Colonies in 1776 that informed King George III that they were breaking free from England |
| Democracy | a system of government in which rule is by the people, either as a direct democracy where the people make their own laws or as a representative democracy, a republic, in which laws are made by the people’s representatives |
| Due Process of Law | constitutional protection that prevents the government from taking rights and freedoms from citizens unless it follows established legal procedures |
| Equal Protection | requirement of Fourteenth Amendment that forces states to treat all people fairly and equally under the law |
| Establishment Clause | part of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from passing any law that creates a national religion or that favors one religion over others |
| Federal system (federalism) | a political system in which a national government shares power with regional or state governments; U.S. is an example of this |
| Judicial Review | the power of the courts to determine whether government actions or laws are constitutional or unlawful |
| Limited Government | a government whose powers are limited through restrictions imposed by a constitution |
| Monarchy | a government in which the leader, usually a king or queen, takes power by inheriting it |
| Natural Rights Philosophy | philosophy that all people are born with rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness or property that cannot be given or taken away by governments without due process of law |
| Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic Clause) | Clause in Article 1 of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” to carry out powers given to it under the Constitution. |
| Parliamentary System | system of government in which power is concentrated in a legislature; the legislature selects the chief executive from among its members |
| Popular Sovereignty | the natural rights concept that ultimate political authority rests with the people, usually through voting |
| Probable Cause | reasonable grounds for believing someone guilty of a crime; required by Fourth Amendment to arrest a person or search private property |
| Representative Democracy | System of government in which the people choose political leaders to make policy decisions on their behalf |
| Republic | system of government in which governmental power comes from the people, who elect individuals to represent them in decision making |
| Separation of Powers | distribution of political power among the branches of government, giving each branch a specific set of responsibilities |
