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Independence Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bicameral | (of a legislative body) having two branches or chambers. |
| Republic | a government in which the power belongs to a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by the leaders and representatives elected by those citizens to govern according to law |
| Ordinance | an authoritative decree or direction |
| Depreciate | to lower in honor or esteem |
| Depression | a reduction in activity, amount, quality, or force |
| Manumission | the act or process of manumitting |
| Proportional | an electoral system where a party's share of legislative seats is proportional to its share of the vote. |
| Compromise | settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions |
| Federalism | the distribution of power in an organization (such as a government) between a central authority and the constituent |
| Legislative Branch | belonging to the branch of government that is charged with such powers as making laws, levying and collecting taxes, and making financial appropriations |
| Executive Branch | of or relating to the execution of the laws and the conduct of public and national affairs |
| Electoral College | a body of electors |
| Judicial Branch | of or relating to a judgment, the function of judging, the administration of justice, or the judiciary |
| Checks & Balances | a system that allows each branch of a government to amend, override, or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from exerting too much power or power beyond its authority |
| Amendment | the process of altering or amending a law or document (such as a constitution) by parliamentary or constitutional procedure |