American Government
Terms
Absolute Monarchy
• One ruler
Amendment
• Change for improvement
Anarchy
• Absence of government
Apportionment
• Divide among
Appropriate
• Set aside for a particular purpose
Aristocracy
• Government by the elite class
Bicameral
• 2-house legislature
Bill of Rights
• 1st 10 amendments of the US Constitution
Bipartisan
• Involving both political parties
Bureaucracy
• 16,000,000+ government employees, nonelective jobs
Cabinet
• Presidential advisors; 15 posts in Federal
government; appointed by the Pres.
Capitalism
• Economic system where individuals own
means of production
Caucus
• Political party meeting
Chauvinism
• Extreme patriotism
Checks and Balances
• One branch checks the other 2
Coalition
• More than 2 political parties
Communism
• Absence of classes, common ownership of
property, equal distribution of wealth
Concur
• To agree
Conflict of Interest
• Situation where individuals could profit by
his/her political decisions
Conservative
• One who favors the status quo, favors no
change
Constitution
• System of fundamental laws; defines and
limits government
Constitutional/limited monarchy
• Powers of monarch are restricted by
constitution or laws
Defer
• To put off
Deficit
• Spending more money than has been taken in
Deflation
• Decrease in purchasing power of the dollar
Democracy
• One person= one vote
Depression
• Serve downturn of the economy
Dictatorship
• Absolute power is with one person
Diplomacy
• Art or practice of conduction international
relations
Due Process of Law
• Notifying a person of his/her rights
Economy
• System that makes the decisions regarding
who gets what and how much
Engrossed
• Final writing of a bill
Equality
• Everyone is on the same status
Federalism
• Division of power between federal and state
government
Filibuster
• Delay of voting by senators
Fiscal
• Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 > year in which the federal
government takes in money and spends
money
Freedom
• Liberty; free of restrains
Germane
• Pertaining to an issue under discussion
Gerrymandering
• Reapportionment of Congressional districts to
favor a particular political party
Hierarchy
• A group organized by rank, capacity, or
authority
Inflation
• Abnormal increase in available currency and
credit beyond the proportion of available
goods, resulting in a sharp and continuing rise
in price levels
Inherent
• Idea that is contained within words or
definition and is not immediately apparent
Isolationism
• Noninvolvement with other nations
Judiciary
• Branch of government that interprets law
Jurisdiction
• Having authority over
Laissez faire
• Government stays out of business
Law
• Rules for group to abide by
Legislative
• Branch of government that makes the laws
Liaison
• Go between
Liberal
• One who wants change
Log-rolling
• Trading of influence or votes in exchange for
political favors
Majority
• Over 50%
Monarchy
• Ruler who inherits power
National interest
• Issue affecting national security
Nationalism
• Love of country, loyalty to country; desire to
have own country/autonomy
Negotiation
• Working out differences by compromise
Oligarchy
• Rule by a few/small group
Parliamentary
• Form of government where executive leader is
a member of the legislature
Party
• Political organization; promotes and supports
principals and candidate
Patronage
• Awarding of government jobs or contracts
Politics
• Art of running the government
Pork Barrel
• Obtaining government jobs and money for his
or her district/state by an elected official
Power
• Ability to influence or change
Precedent
• Doing something the way it has been done
before; following a previous decision
Quorum
• Number of people needed to be present in
order to conduct business
Radical
• One who wants extreme change
Ratify
• To approve
Recession
• Moderate and temporary decline in economic
activity; unemployment increases, often
follows a period of economic prosperity
Republic
• Government where people elect their
representatives
Retroactive
• Going back to a previous time
Revenue
• All money taken in by a government
Seniority
• Privilege attained by length of time in office
Socialism
• Ownership of all resource and major means of
production by the state
Sovereign
• Self-government
State
• Political subdivision; territory governed by
people within
Status quo
• Keeping things the way they are at the present
time
Statute
• Law written by the legislature
Supply and demand
• Economic principle> when supply goes down,
demand increases; prices are determined by
the availability of a product and its demand
Tenure
• Length of time in office
Totalitarianism
• Form of government that totally controls all
aspects of society
Unicameral
• One-house legislature
Unwritten constitution
• Many bills, laws, customs; not a written
document but still limits the government’s
power
Veto
• Disapprove, say no
Written constitution
• Written system of fundamental laws and
principals; prescribes a nation’s functions and
limits of government