Civics Vocab

Front 1

term

Back 1

for Congress, lasts 2 years

Front 2

sessions

Back 2

tow for each term of Congress, one each year

Front 3

special session

Back 3

a meeting called by the President to deal with pressing issues

Front 4

apportion

Back 4

distribute

Front 5

reapportion

Back 5

redistribute

Front 6

single-member district

Back 6

voters in each district elect one of the state's representatives from among a field of candidates running for a seat in the House from the district

Front 7

at-large

Back 7

from the State as a whole

Front 8

gerrymander

Back 8

drawn to the advantage of the political party or faction that controls the State legislature

Front 9

continuous body

Back 9

all seats are never up for election at the same time

Front 10

constituents

Back 10

the people of their states or districts

Front 11

oversight function

Back 11

check to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and are acting in line with the policies that Congress has set by law

Front 12

chief of state

Back 12

the ceremonial head of the government of the U.S., the symbol of all the people of the nation, the President

Front 13

chief executive

Back 13

the President, vested by the Constitution with "the executive power of the United States."

Front 14

chief administrator

Back 14

the President, heads the Federal Government

Front 15

chief diplomat

Back 15

the main architect of American foreign policy and the nation's chief spokesperson to the world

Front 16

commander in chief

Back 16

in charge of the nation's armed forces

Front 17

chief legislator

Back 17

the main architect of the nation's public policies

Front 18

chief of party

Back 18

the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch

Front 19

chief citizen

Back 19

the representative of all the people of the U.S.

Front 20

presidential succession

Back 20

the plan by which a vacancy in the presidency would be filled

Front 21

presidential electors

Back 21

the people elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the President and Vice President

Front 22

electoral college

Back 22

groups of people chosen in each state and D.C. every 4 years who make a formal selection of the President and V.P.

Front 23

presidential primary

Back 23

election at which a party's voters (1) choose some or all of a State party organization's delegates to that party's national convention and/or (2) express a preference among various contenders for the party's presidential nomination

Front 24

winner-take-all

Back 24

the candidate who wins the preference vote automatically wins the support of all delegates chosen at the primary

Front 25

keynote address

Back 25

speech given at a party convention to set the tone for the convention and the campaign to come

Front 26

platform

Back 26

a basic statement of the party"s principles and its stands on major policy matters

Front 27

electorate

Back 27

the mass of people who actually cast votes in an election

Front 28

jurisdiction

Back 28

the authority of a court to hear and decide a case

Front 29

exclusive jurisdiction

Back 29

these cases can be heard only in the federal course

Front 30

concurrent jurisdiction

Back 30

these cases can be tried in either a federal court or a State court

Front 31

plaintiff

Back 31

the person who initiates the suit

Front 32

defendant

Back 32

the party who must defend against the complaint

Front 33

original jurisdiction

Back 33

a court in which a case is heard for the first time

Front 34

appellate jurisdiction

Back 34

a court that hears a case on appeal from a lower court. (not the first time usually)

Front 35

writ of certiorari

Back 35

an order by the Supreme Court direction a lower court to send up the record in a given case for its review

Front 36

certificate

Back 36

when a lower court is not clear about the procedure or the rule of law that should apply the case and asks the Supreme Court to certify the answer to a specific question in the matter.

Front 37

majority opinion

Back 37

the opinion of the Court. whatever the majority of the Supreme Court justices vote on. 5+

Front 38

concurring opinion

Back 38

a justice writes this to make or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion

Front 39

dissenting opinion

Back 39

written by justices who don't agree with the Court's majority decision

Front 40

redress

Back 40

satisfaction, payments, of a claim brought in court

Front 41

popular sovereignty

Back 41

people are the only source of governmental power

Front 42

limited government

Back 42

government is not all-powerful, that it may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do

Front 43

constitutionalism

Back 43

government must be conducted according to constitutional principles

Front 44

rule of law

Back 44

government and its officers are always subject to--never above--the law

Front 45

separation of powers

Back 45

the government power is separated into 3 branches (legislative, executive, and judicial)

Front 46

checks and balances

Back 46

each branch is subject to a number of constitutional checks (restraints) by the other branches

Front 47

judicial review

Back 47

the power to decide whether what government does is in accord with what the Constitution provides

Front 48

unconstitutional

Back 48

to declare illegal, null and void of no force and effect. an action found to violate the Constitution

Front 49

federalism

Back 49

the division of power among a central government and several regional governments

Front 50

amendment

Back 50

a change in, or addition to, a constitution or a law

Front 51

formal amendment

Back 51

changes or additions that become part of the written language of the Constitution

Front 52

Bill of Rights

Back 52

the first 10 amendments of the Constitution

Front 53

informal amendments

Back 53

the process by which many changes have been made in the Constitution that have not led to changes in the document's written words

Front 54

executive agreement

Back 54

a pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state