| A | B |
|---|
| Amendment | change or alteration |
| Articles of Confederation | loose form of charter for common government adopted by the thirteen colonies prior to adoption of the Constitution |
| Bill of Rights | first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution |
| Browser | Internet scanning program |
| Civil rights | personal, human rights recognized and guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution |
| Cyberlaw | law that is intended to govern the use of computers in e-commerce and the Internet |
| Declaration of Independence | document drafted by representatives of the 13 original colonies that asserts the rights desired by the colonists |
| Democracy | governmental system in which citizens vote directly to decide issues |
| Department of Homeland Security | controls an agency formed by the merger of 22 separate agencies into one with the mission of protecting the United States from terrorist attack |
| Due process of law | constitutional requirement for fundamental fairness in our legal and court system |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | federal agency created in 1970 "to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment?air, water, and land?on which life depends"; the agency regulates the creation, marketing, and use of hazardous chemicals |
| Federal Communications Commission (FCC) | agency regulating all interstate and international channels of communication |
| Federal Reserve System's Board of Governors | agency that regulates interest rates |
| Impeachment case | trying a government official for misconduct in office |
| Interstate commerce | trade and other commercial exchanges between or among businesses in different states |
| Intrastate commerce | commerce conducted wholly within one state |
| National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) | agency regulating collective bargaining |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) | agency charged with insuring safety of nuclear power plants |
| Political party | private organization of citizens who select and promote candidates for public office |
| Republic | governmental system in which citizens elect representatives to decide issues |
| Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) | agency regulating the disclosure of information pertinent to buying and selling stocks as well as the national stock exchanges themselves |
| Sovereignty | freedom from external control |
| System of checks and balances | division and allocation of the powers of government between its various branches |
| U.S. Constitution | document that consists of seven articles that provide a workable framework for our federal government |
