Difference between revisions of "American Government Key Terms"
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(The top officials of the various major departments in the Executive Branch who also serve as top advisers to the president.) |
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|trial balloon | |trial balloon | ||
| − | | | + | |Leaking a proposed decision (such as a nomination by the president of someone to the U.S. Supreme Court) to the media so it can be publicized in order to see how the public reacts before the decision is finally made and officially announced. This enables changing the decision without embarrassment if the public reaction to the trial balloon is negative. |
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|lame duck | |lame duck | ||
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|Second Amendment | |Second Amendment | ||
| − | | | + | |Gives individuals the right to own guns. |
|- | |- | ||
|Tenth Amendment | |Tenth Amendment | ||
| − | | | + | |Reserves power to the people (and to States) powers not given to the federal government by the [[U.S. Constitution]]. |
|- | |- | ||
|judicial activism | |judicial activism | ||
Revision as of 02:46, December 12, 2010
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| trial balloon | Leaking a proposed decision (such as a nomination by the president of someone to the U.S. Supreme Court) to the media so it can be publicized in order to see how the public reacts before the decision is finally made and officially announced. This enables changing the decision without embarrassment if the public reaction to the trial balloon is negative. |
| lame duck | An elected official (or officials) who has not been reelected but still holds the official position until replaced by someone who was newly elected. Example: Congress in December 2010 is a "lame duck Congress" because the new representatives who were elected on Nov. 2 are not sworn into office until early January 2011. |
| interest group | |
| Citizens United v. FEC (Jan. 2010) | The U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations (like Wal-Mart) to spend directly for or against political candidates. |
| divided government | When the House of Representatives, Senate and President are not controlled by the same political party; one or more is controlled by one party, while at least one is controlled by the other major party. (This is unique to the United States). |
| midterm elections | |
| early voting | |
| judicial elections | |
| initiative | |
| granting cert. | |
| federal | |
| Bill of Rights | |
| The Equal Access Act (1984) | |
| impeachment | |
| think tank | |
| political party | |
| Middle East | |
| Second Amendment | Gives individuals the right to own guns. |
| Tenth Amendment | Reserves power to the people (and to States) powers not given to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution. |
| judicial activism | |
| U.S. Circuit Courts | |
| incumbent | |
| anti-Federalist | |
| federalism | |
| polling | |
| the Cabinet | The top officials of the various major departments in the Executive Branch who also serve as top advisers to the president. |