1.
civil disobedience: Nonviolent civil disobedience requires activists to protes peacefully agains laws they believe unjust and to be willing to accept arres as a means of demonstratring the justice of their cause
2.
civil liberties: those protections against government power in the Bill of Rights and similar legislation. Civil iberties include the right to free speech, free exercise of religion, and right to a fair trail
3.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Federal law the amde segregation illegal in most public places, increased penalties and sentences for those convicted of discrimination in employmen, wnd withheld federal aid from schools that discriminated on the basis of race or gender
4.
civil service system: Method of hiring federal emplyees based on merit rather than on political beliefs or allegiances. This system replaced the spoils system in the United States
5.
class action suit: a lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of people, and whos result affects that group of people as a whole. Intrest groups such as the NAACP often use these as ameans of asserting thier influence over policy decisions
6.
clear and present danger test: interpretaion by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes regarding limits on free speech if it presents clear and present danger ro the public or leads to illegal actions; for example, one cannot shout "Fire!" in a crowded theater
7.
closed primary: primary election in which voting is restricted to registerd members of a political party
8.
cloture: a motion in the Senate to edn debate, oftne used in the event ot a filibuster. A cloture vote requires a three-fifths majority of the Senate
9.
coalition: a combinatino of groups of poeple who work together to achiev a political goal.
10.
commander-in-chief: the president's role as leader of all United States military forces. This is one of the executive powers authorized in the Consitution.
11.
concurrent powers: Constitutional powers shared by the federal and state governments
12.
conference committee: Congressional committee that includes represenatives of both houses of Congress. Their purpose is to settle differnces between the House and Senate versions of bills that have been passed by their respective legislatures
13.
Congressional Budget Office: Congressional agency of budget experts who assess the feasibility of the president's plan and who help create Congress's version of the federal budget\
14.
congressional district: the geographically defined group of people on whose behalf a representative acts in the House of Represenatives. Each state is divided into districts of equal population, with larger states having more than the smaller states. These districts are redrawn every ten years with each census
15.
conservative: a political ideology that tends to favor defense spending and school prayer and to disapprove of social programs, abortion, affrimative action, and a large, active governement.
16.
constitutional convention: an as-of-yet tried method by which the Consitution may be amended. To call a constitutional convention, two thirds of the state legislatures must petition the federal government
17.
cooperative federalism: preeminent form of U.S. federalism since the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. It initiated the long demise of dual federalism by providing the national government the means to enforce the rights of citizens against state infringement. The result is a system called cooperative federalism in which the national and state governments share many powers
18.
criminal court: court in which criminal trials are heard
19.
dealignment: a recent tredn in whcih voters act increasingly independent of a party affiliation. This is partially the result of television becuase candidates can appeal directly to the electorate without relying on their party.
20.
delegated powers: Consitutional powers granted solely to the federal government
21.
direct democracy: Form of government in which all enfranchised citizens vote on all matters of government.
22.
divided government: a government in which the presidency is controlled by one party and Congress controlled by the other
23.
double jeopardy: the act of trying an indivdual a second time after he has been acquitted on the same charges. It is prohibited in the constitution.
24.
dual federalism: form of U.S. federalism during the nation's early history. The federal and state governments remained seperate and independent and what little contact most Americans had with government was on a state level. The national government concerned itself primarily with international trade, construction of harbors, roads, and railways, and the distribution of public land in the west
25.
due process: established legal procedures for the arrest and trail of an accursed criminal
26.
elastic cluase: the section of the constituition that allows congress to pass laws "necessary and proper" to the performance of its duties. It is called the elastic clause becuase it allows congress to stretch it powers beyond those that are specifically granted to it by the constitution
27.
electoral college: Constitutionally established body created for the sole purpose of choosing the president and vice president.
28.
eminent domain: the power of the government to take away property for public use as long as ther is just compensation for property taken
29.
entitlement programs: social insurance programs that allocate federal funds to all people who mee the conditions of the program. Social security is the largest and most expensive entitlement program. Because they are forms of mandatory spending, it is incredibaly difficult to cut funds
30.
Equal Rights Amendment: Failed Constitutional ammendment that would have guaranteed equal protection under the law for women
31.
establishment clause: seciton of the Constitution that prohibits the government from designating one faith as the official religion of the United States
32.
ex post facto laws: if allowed, these laws would punish people for acitons that occurred before such actions were made criminal
33.
exclusionary rule: rule that prohibits the use of illegaly obtained evidence at trail. The Supreme Court has created several exceptions to the rule, notalby the objective good fiath rule and the inevitable discovery rule
34.
executive agreement: Presidential agreements made with foreign nations. Executive agreements have the same legal force as treaties but do not require the approval of the Senate
35.
executive privilege: the right of the president to withhold information when doing so woudl compromise national security.
36.
extradition: process by which governments return fugitives to the jurisdiction from which they have fled
