ss study guide flashcards

Legislative Branch:

makes the laws and has the power to declare war. The Senate, house of reps and Congress run the legislative branch.

Executive Branch:

looks after the country and enforces the laws. The president, vice president and the president’s closest advisors run the executive branch.

Judicial Branch:

applies the laws and make sure that the laws are following the constitution. The Supreme Court runs the judical branch.

Congress:

a national legeslative group in the us that is inside the legislative branch

Democrat:

a person who believes in more government regulation in everyday life, favors workers and high taxes on the wealthy

Republican:

a person who believes in less government regulation in everyday life, favors capitalism, and increase military spending

Bill:

a draft or proposed law presented to parliament for a discussion

Committee:

a group of people usually reps and senators

Filibuster:

how a senator can stop a vote going to a bill

Cloture:

a procedure that ends a debate and taking a vote away

Ex post-Facto:

having two retroactive effects

Senator:

a member of the senate (only 100 senators)

Representative:

a member in the house of representatives

Midterm election:

the general elections that are held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term of office,

Bicameral:

having two different branches (repulican and democrat)

Impeach

a power that the legislative branch has to take the president out of office

Pardon

a power that the judicial branch has to express their forgiveness

Secretary

the heads of every department except for the justice

Whip

a way to persuade members

Majority Leader

head of political parties and guides bills through congress

Minority Leader

head of political parties and guides bills through congress

President Pro Tempore

Preside over the Senate when the vice president is absent and 4th in line for president

Speaker of the House

leader of the house, order of business who may speak and appoints committees

Vice President

presides over the senate and can not vote unless there is a tie in the votes

Cabinet

the team of executive branch officials to help him achieve his goals and Heads of each department are called secretaries except for justice

Veto

the president’s right to reject a decision or proposal

Popular Vote

voting by the electorate of an area

electoral College

when electors vote for the candidate selected by the voters

Separation of Powers

how the power is divided between all three branches and one branch does not become too powerful

Federal

relating to a system of government in which several states form a unity

Appeal

ask the court to reconsider

Prosecution

the lawyer team who press charges only in a criminal case

Plaintiff

lawyer team who makes civil cases

Defendant

lawyer team who defends the person being accused of a crime

Supreme Court Justice

nominated by the judical branch

Checks & Balances

a way to check on the other branches and not make one branch be more powerful than others

Judicial Review

the supreme court reviews the new law to make sure it does not violate

Landmark Case

establish a significant new legal principle or concept

Criminal

harmful to society as a whole

Civil

private disputes between people or organizations

Political Spectrum

a system that shows you what kind of political belief you have

Conservative

inclined to preserve exsisting conditions of transition

Liberal

favorable to progress or reform

Third Party

pull votes from another candidate, and be critic for other candidates

For each branch Explain what they each do/what powers they have

executive branch: looks over the whole country, enforces the laws, run by the president, vice president and cabinet. Judicial branch: makes sure that the laws are following the constitution, applies the laws and run by the supreme court. Legeslative branch: makes the laws, power to collect taxes, declare war and impeach the president, run by the senate,house and congress.

What are the requirements to run for those branches:

executive; for president you must be born in the US, 35 years old, and lived in the US for atleast 14 years. Legislative; for senate you must be 30 or older, live in the us for atleast 9 years and be a resident of the state that you are representing, for the house you must be 25 years old or older, be a resident of the US for atleast 7 years and be representing the state you live in. Judicial; must be a judge for atleast 10 years

What are the jobs of the Vice-President?

Presides over the senate, does whatever the president wants them to do and takes over the president job if the present president can not

What is the Electoral College and how does it work?

The electoral college is a body of people representing the US who formally cast votes for the president and vice president

Explain the difference between civil law and criminal law.

A criminal law is when you steal something or hurt someone on purpose, but a civil law is when you harm someone on accident

Explain the difference between state courts and federal courts.

State courts hear most court cases in whatever state the problem occurred but a federal court deals with constitutional issues, terriosm and federal laws

What are the 3 levels of the Federal Court System?

Ditrict courts, court of appeals and the supreme court

Explain the job of the Supreme Court Justice.

A Supreme Court justice hears cases that challenge with the constitution

How does each branch of government check the other (2) branches of government?

The executive branch checks on the legislative branch when they veto a law and they check on judicial when they appoint federal judges or issue pardons. The judicial branch checks on legislative if they declare a law unconstitutional and check on executive when they declare their acts unconstitutional. The legislative branch checks the judicial branch when they approved justices or impeach justices and check on executive by impeaching the president.