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| absentee ballot | one that allows a person to vote without going to the polls on election day |
| absolute monarch | a monarch that has complete and unlimited power to rule his or her people |
| acid rain | rain containing high amounts of chemical pullatants |
| acquittal | a vote of not quilty |
| affirmative action | programs intended to make up for the past discrimination by helping the minority groups and women gain access to jobs and opportunities |
| alien | a non citizen |
| ambassador | an official representative of a countrys goverment |
| amend | to change |
| amendment | any change in the constitution |
| amnesty | a pardon to a group of people |
| anti federalists | those appose to the ratification of the constitution |
| antitrust law | legislation to prevent new monopolies from forming and police those that already exist |
| apartheid | system of laws that separated racial and ethnic groups and limited the rights of blacks in south africa |
| apathy | a lack of interest |
| appeals court | a court that reviews decisions made in lower district |
| appellate jurisdiction | the authority of a court to hear a case appealed from a lower court |
| apportion | divide among districts |
| appropriations bill | legislation earmarking funds for certain purpose |
| arbitration | situation in which union and company officials submit the issues they cannot agree on to a third party for a final decision |
| archives | files of older stories |
| arraignment | a hearing in which a suspect is charged and pleads guilty |
| articles of partnership | formal legal papers specifying the arrangement between partners |
| at large election | an election for an area as a whole; for exsample state wide |
| authoritarian | a goverment in which one leader or group of people holds absolute power |
| automatic stabilizer | program that automatically provides benefits to offset a change in peoples income |
| bail | a sum of money used as a security deposit to ensure that an accused person returns for his or her trial |
| balance of trade | the difference btwn the value of a nations exports and its exports |
| balance budget | annual budget in which expenditures equal revenues |
| ballot | the list of candidates on which you cast your vote |
| bicarmeral | legislature |
| bill of attainder | a law that punishes a person accused of a crime without a trial or a fair hearing in court |
| board of direcrors | people elected by the share holders of a corporation to act on their behalf |
| bond | contract to repay borrowed money with interest at a specific time in the future |
| boycott | the refusal to purchase certain goods |
| brief | a written document explaining the position of one side or the other in a case |
| budget | a plan for making and spending money |
| budget resolution | congressional document that shows total spending and revenues for a year and how much will be spent in various categories |
| bureaucracy | complex systems with many departments many rules and many people in the chain of command |
| business cycle | alternating periods of growth and decline that the economy goes throught |
| cabinet | a group of advisers to the president that includes the heads of 14 top level executive departments |
| capital | previously manufactured goods used to make other goods and services |
| capitalism | a system in which private citizens own most if not all of means of production and decide how to use them whithin legislated limits |
| casework | the work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem |
| caucus | a meeting of political party members to cunduct party business |
| censorship | the banning of printed materials or films due to alarming or offensive ideas |
| census | a population taken by the census bearuogh |
| central bank | an institution that lends money to other banks,. also the place where the government does its banking busness |
| certificate of deposit | timed deposit that states the amount of the deposit maturity and rate of interes being paid |
| charter | a written document granting land ant the authority to set up colonial governments or a government document granting permission to organixe a corporation |
| charter schools | schools that receive state funding but are excusedfrom meeting many public school regulations |
| checking account | an account in which deposited money can be withdraw at any time by writing a check |
| checks and balances | a system in which each branck of government is able to check, or restrain the power of the others |
| circuit | the area jurisdiction of a federal court of appeals |
| citizens | community members who owe loyalty to the goverment and are entiled to protection from it |
| city charter | a document granting power to a local government |
| civics | the study of the rights and duties of citizens |
| civil liberties | freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment |
| civil rights | the rights of full citizenship and equality under the law |
| civil service system | the practice of hiring government workers on the basis of open competitive examinations and merit |
| civil service worker | person hired into a federal position |
| civilian labor force | all civilians 16 years old or older who are either working or are looking for work |
| closed primary | an election in which only the declared menbers of a party are allowed to vote for that partys nominees |
| closed shop | company in which only union members can be hired |
| cloture | a procedure used in the senate to limit debate on a bill |
| coin | metallic form of money such as pennies, nickels and dimes |
| cold war | conflict between usa and the soviet union dating from the later when the 2 contries competed for world influence without declared military action |
| collective bargaining | process by which unions and employers neogosiate conditions of employment |
| colony | a group of people in one place who are ruled by a parent country elsewhere |
| command economy | an economic system in which the major economic decisions are made by the central government |
| commercial bank | a financial institution that offers full banking services to individuals and businesses |
| common law | a system of law based on precedent and customs |
| communism | economic system in which the central government directs all major econonic decisions |
| community | a group of peolple who share the same interest and concerns |
| commute | to reduce a criminals sentenc |
| compact | an agreement or contract among a group of people |
| comparative advantage | the ability of a country to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost thatn another country can |
| competition | the struggle btwn buyers and selllers to get the best products at the lowest prices |
| complaint | a formal notice that a lawsuit is being brought |
| complement | product often used with another product |
| concurrent jurisdiction | authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decde cases |
| concurrent powers | powers shared by the state and the federal goverments |
| concuring opinion | a statement written by a justice who votes with the majority but for a different reason whith the mayority |
| confederation | a group of individiuls or state governments |
| constituent | a person from a legislatores district |
| constitution | a detailed written plan for goverment |
| contitutional | in accordance with the constitution |
| constitutional convection | meeting of state delegates 1787 leading to adoption of new constitution |
| consttutional monarchy | a system in which the power of the hereditary ruler is limited by the countrys constitution and laws |
| consumer price index | measure of the change in price over time of a specific group of goods and servises |
| consumer sovereignty | the role of consumer as the ruler of the marcket determining qhat products will be produce |
| consumerism | a movement to educate buyers abouth the purchses they make |
