| Term | Definition |
|---|
| presidential succession | the order in which the office of the president is to be filled if the president leaves office |
| foreign policy | the government's plan for interacting with the other countries of the world |
| diplomacy | the art of interacting with foreign governments |
| diplomatic notes | written communications among diplomats |
| treaties | written agreements with other countries |
| reprieve | postpones the carrying out of a person's sentence, allowing him or her the opportunity to gather evidence for a trial or an appeal |
| pardon | forgives a person convicted of a crime and frees him or her from serving out the sentence |
| commutation | power to make a person's sentence less severe |
| State of the Union Address | annual message in which the president sets forth programs and policies |
| budget | plan for income and spending |
| executive departments | departments in the federal government, each with a specific area of responsibility |
| secretary | title for the head of most executive departments |
| attorney general | title for the head of the Justice Department |
| ambassadors | highest-ranking U.S. representative in a foreign country |
| embassy | residence and office of an ambassador |
| ministers | U.S. representative to a smaller nation who is ranked below ambassador |
| consul | represents U.S. commercial interests in foreign countries |
| consulate | consul's office |
| passports | formal documents that allow U.S. citizens to travel abroad |
| visas | documents that allow foreigners to come to the United States |
| counterfeiting | the making or distributing of fake money |
| civilian | nonmilitary person |
| Joint Chiefs of Staff | group of the country's highest-ranking military officers who advise the president |
| independent agencies | the more than 65 agencies in the executive branch that are separate from the executive departments |
| regulatory commissions | independent agencies that have the power to make and enforce rules |
| bureaucracy | the millions of workers who keep the executive branch functioning |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace