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Constitutional Government- government whose authority is defined by a constitution

• The founding fathers decided to base the country of America on a constitutional government.

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Parliament- a meeting or assembly for conference on public or national affairs

• Prime ministers are the head of Parliament.

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Republic- a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

• The United States is a republic because the founding fathers wanted something different than the British king.

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Inalienable Rights- That which is inalienable cannot be bought, sold, or transferred from one individual to another. The personal rights to life and liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States are inalienable.

• Thomas Jefferson stated we all have inalienable rights given to us by our Creator that no one can take away.

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Popular Sovereignty- a doctrine in political theory that government is created by and subject to the will of the people

• The constitution was created on the idea of popular sovereignty.

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Social Contract Theory- An agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each.

• Our rights exist under the social contract theory.

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Rule of Law- the restriction of the arbitrary exercise of power by subordinating it to well-defined and established laws.

• Rule of law doesn't exist when anarchy is the type of government

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Suffrage- the right to vote in a political election

• The women's suffrage movement began in the early 1900s.

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Checks and Balances- counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

• The us government has a system of checks and balances to make sure no one branch gains too much power

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Confederation- a league or alliance

• The confederation seceded from the union which was one of the many events leading up to the civil war

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Proportional Representation- an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them

• Europe uses proportional representation unlike the us who uses the winner takes all method

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Necessary and Proper Clause- A section of the United States Constitution that enables Congress to make the laws required for the exercise of its other powers established by the Constitution.

• The necessary and proper clause is sometimes called the elastic cause because it’s been stretched to cover so many topics throughout the years

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Supremacy Clause- A clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution that declares federal laws to have jurisdictional authority over state laws in the event there is conflict between laws established by two governing bodies.

• The founding fathers established the supremacy clause.

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Separated Powers- the principle or system of vesting in separate branches the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of a government.

• The founding fathers separated powers so no one branch would get too powerful.

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Judicial Review- the power of a court to adjudicate the constitutionality of the laws of a government or the acts of a government official.

• Judicial review was put into place to make sure cases had a fair trial.

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Federalism- the federal principle of government

• Federalism plays a major role in us government

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Due Process of Law- the regular administration of the law, according to which no citizen may be denied his or her legal rights and all laws must conform to fundamental, accepted legal principles, as the right of the accused to confront his or her accusers.

• Every us citizen has a right to due process of law

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Gerrymandering- U.S. politics. the dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.

• Government officials gerrymander to get more democrats or republicans in their district to vote for them

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Implied Powers- A political power not expressly named in a constitution but that is inferred because it is necessary to the performance of an enumerated power.

• Some implied powers of the president are conducting a draft and foreign policy.

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Bureaucracy- government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.

• Bureaucracy is often used in a negative way.

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Referendum- the principle or practice of referring measures proposed or passed by a legislative body to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection

• The school board passed the referendum

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Filibuster- the use of irregular or obstructive tactics by a member of a legislative assembly to prevent the adoption of a measure generally favored or to force a decision against the will of the majority.

• Congress didn't agree on the bill to break the filibuster.

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Veto- the power or right vested in one branch of a government to cancel or postpone the decisions, enactments, etc., of another branch, especially the right of a president, governor, or other chief executive to reject bills passed by the legislature.

• The president vetoed the bill that congress approved

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Treaty- a formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations.

• Two conflicting countries eventually made a treaty to end the war

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Establishment Clause- the clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion by Congress.

• Because of the establishment clause , a specific religion can never be established in the us

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Free Exercise Clause- The 1st Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Through its free exercise clause, the 1st Amendment protects the individual's right to freedom of conscience and free expression of religious beliefs.

• With the free exercise clause, people can believe what they want but not practice what they want

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Exclusionary rule- : a legal rule that bars unlawfully obtained evidence from being used in court proceedings

• Because of the exclusionary rule, a person can't get in trouble for having marijuana when police search their house for another reason.

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Probable Cause- evidence that gives someone a reason to think that a crime has been or is being committed

• A probable cause exists when there is enough evidence to back up their suspicion

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Double Jeopardy- the prosecution of a person twice for the same offense.

, unable to speak either language adequately"

• Rules are in place to make sure no one experiences a double jeopardy

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Indictment- a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes.

• The judge charged Mary with indictment after murdering her friend.

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Eminent Domain- the right of a government or its agent to expropriate private property for public use, with payment of compensation.

• Some people strongly dislike eminent domain because it can take away people's homes for public places

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Globalization- the act of globalizing, or extending to other or all parts of the world: the globalization of manufacturing.

• Many countries are trying to globalize Africa to reduce the amount of poverty

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Democracy- government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

• The founding fathers established democracy to have a freer country.

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