What Students Should Know




Unit 1
Vocabulary Terms
Chapter 1
Principles of Government

government

legislative power

executive power

judicial power

constitution

dictatorship

democracy

state

sovereign

autocracy

oligarchy

unitary government

federal government

division of powers

confederation

presidential government

parliamentary government

compromise

citizen
Chapter 2
Origins of American Government

limited government

representative government

Magna Carta

due process

charter

bicameral

unicameral

delegate

popular sovereignty

Articles of Confederation

ratification

Framers

Virginia Plan

New Jersey Plan

Connecticut Compromise

Three-Fifths Compromise

Federalist

Anti-Federalist
Chapter 3
The Constitution

popular sovereignty

limited government

constitutionalism

rule of law

separation of powers

checks and balances

veto

judicial review

unconstitutional

amendment

Bill of Rights

executive agreement

treaty
Chapter 4
Federalism

federalism

delegated powers

expressed powers

implied powers

reserved powers

concurrent powers

Supremacy Clause

Full Faith and Credit Clause

extradition
Unit 2

Chapter 5
Political Parties

political party

Ideology

political spectrum

platform

partisanship

bipartisan

consensus

coalition

one-party system

two-party system

multiparty system

proportional representation

incumbent

precinct

Big Tent Philosophy
Chapter 6
Voters and Voter Behavior

suffrage

electorate

disenfranchised

poll tax

grandfather clause

registration

gerrymandering

off-year election

political efficacy

gender gap

party identification

straight-line ticket voting

split-ticket voting

independent

absentee ballot
Chapter 7
The Electoral Process

nomination

general election

balancing the ticket

caucus

closed primary

open primary

Super Tuesday

national convention

ballot

absentee voting

coattail effect

precinct

political action committee (PAC)

Super PAC

subsidy

hard money

soft money

Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Chapter 8
Mass Media and Public Opinion

public opinion

mass media

propaganda

interest group

public opinion poll

sample

margin of error (MoE)
Chapter 9
Interest Groups

interest group

public policy

labor union

lobbying

lobbyists

grass-roots
Unit 3

Chapter 10
Congress

bicameral

term

session

convene

adjourn

reapportion

off-year election

incumbent

constituency

bill
Chapter 11
Powers of Congress

copyright

patent

eminent domain

naturalization

Necessary and Proper Clause

strict constructionist

loose constructionist

consensus

impeach

subpoena
Chapter 12
Congress in Action

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

President pro tempore

majority leader

minority leader

whip

committee chairman

seniority rule

standing committee

rider

quorum

filibuster

cloture

veto

pocket veto
Unit 4

Chapter 13
The Presidency

chief executive

commander in chief

Presidential Succession Act of 1947

balance the ticket

electoral vote

electoral college

presidential primary

winner-take-all

caucus

national convention

platform

keynote address

swing voter

battleground state

direct popular election
Chapter 14
The Presidency

executive order

executive privilege

treaty

executive agreement

recognition

pocket veto

line-item veto

reprieve

pardon

amnesty
Chapter 15
The Bureacracy

bureaucracy

bureaucrat

administration

Executive Office of the President

Federal budget

Fiscal year

domestic affairs

executive departments

civilian

secretary

attorney general

independent agency

independent executive agency

civil service

draft
Unit 5

Chapter 18
The Federal Court System

inferior courts

jurisdiction

plaintiff

defendant

original jurisdiction

appellate jurisdiction

judicial restraint

precedent

judicial activism

criminal case

civil case

writ of certiorari

brief

majority opinion

concurring opinion

dissenting opinion
Chapter 19
Civil Liberties - First Amendment

Bill of Rights

civil liberties

civil rights

Establishment Clause

Free Exercise Clause

libel

slander

prior restraint

injunction

shield law

symbolic speech

petition

civil disobedience
Chapter 20
Civil Liberties - Protecting Individual Rights

due process

search warrant

discrimination

probable cause

writ of habeas corpus

bill of attainder

ex post facto law

grand jury

indictment

double jeopardy

Miranda Rule

bail

capital punishment

treason
Chapter 21
Civil Rights - Equal Justice Under Law

segregation

Jim Crow

separate-but-equal doctrine

affirmative action

quota

reverse discrimination

citizen

naturalization

alien