Download Unit 1 Keywords 1. Limited government – basic principle of the

Unit 1 Keywords
1. Limited government – basic principle of the American system of government; that government is limited
in what it may do, and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away
2. Representative government – system of government in which public policies are made by officials who
are selected by the voters and held accountable to them in periodic elections
3. Bicameral – an adjective, describing a legislative body composed of two houses
4. Constitution – body of fundamental law, setting out the basic principles, structures, processes, and
functions of a government and placing limits upon its actions; may be written or unwritten
5. Popular sovereignty – basic principle of the American system of government; that the people are the
only source of any and all governmental power, that government must be conducted with the consent
of the governed (PEOPLE RULE)
6. Constitutionalism – basic principle that government and those who govern are bound by the
fundamental law; the rule of law
7. Separation of powers – basic principle of the American system of government, that the executive,
legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of
government
8. Checks and balances – system of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches, to permit each branch to check the actions of the others
9. Judicial review – power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the
legislative and executive branches of government
10. Unconstitutional – contrary to constitutional provisions and so invalid (null or void)
11. Federalism – a system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of
government on a territorial basis. The division is made between a central, or national, government
and several regional or local governments.
12. Amendment – a change in, or addition to, a constitution or a law
13. Formal amendment – a modification in the Constitution brought about through one of four methods
set forth in the Constitution (changes written document)
14. Informal amendment – a change made in the Constitution not actual written amendment, but by the
experience of government under the Constitution; the methods include: 1) legislation passed by
Congress; 2) actions taken by the President; 3) decisions of the Supreme Court; 4) the activities of
political parties; and 5) custom
15. Division of powers – basic principle of federalism; the constitutional provisions by which
governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis (in the United States, between the National
Government and the States)
16. Expressed powers – those delegated powers of the National Government that are given to it in so
many words by the Constitution; also sometimes called the “enumerated powers”
17. Implied powers – those delegated powers of the National Government implied by (inferred from)
the expressed powers; those “necessary and proper” to carry out the expressed powers
(ASSUMED)
18. Inherent powers – those delegate powers of the National Government that belong to it because it is
the national government of a sovereign state (countries are considered female)
19. Reserved powers – those powers held by the States in the American federal system
20. Exclusive powers – most of the delegated powers; those held by the National Government alone
(exclusively) in the federal system
21. Concurrent powers – powers held by the National Government and the States in the federal
system
22. Full faith and credit – Constitution’s requirement that each State accept (honor the validity of, give
full faith and credit to) the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State