Constitution Words for test

Civics Test; Constitution info and words of the week.

City-states

A sovereign state consisting of an independent city and its surrounding territory.

Civilization

A society that has achieved a high level of culture, including the development of systems of government, religion, and learning.

Colonialism

A policy by which a nation obtains and controls foreign lands as colonies, usually for economic gain.

Colonization

The establishment of colonies.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of products, diseases, and ideas, some positive and others negative, between Europe, Africa and the Americas in the era of Christopher Columbus.

Common good

For the benefit or interest of a politically organized society as a whole.

Communism

A political and economic system based on the writings of Karl Marx in which the state controls the production and distribution of goods, and social classes and private ownership are discouraged.

Community

Any group living in the same area or having interests, work, etc. in common.

Compact

Binding agreement made by two or more persons or parties; covenant.

Compass rose

A drawing that shows the orientation of north, south, east, and west on a map.

Concurrent powers

Powers shared by both the federal and state government (for example, levying taxes, borrowing money, and spending for the general welfare).

Conservation

The careful use and protection of natural resources, such as soil, forests, and water.

Constitution

A document containing the system of fundamental laws of a nation, state, or society.

Constitutional monarchy

Monarchy in which the powers of the monarch are restricted by a constitution.

Consumer

A person who buys goods or services to satisfy wants.

Consumption

The using up of goods and services by consumer purchasing or in the production of other goods.

Copyright

The exclusive legal rights to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter and form (as of a literary, musical, or artistic work).

Cost

Something that is given up to satisfy your wants.

Credit

An arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services; money available for someone to borrow.

Cultural diffusion

The spread of cultural elements from one culture to another.

Cultural diversity

The differences in the way groups of people live, including their customs, beliefs, and arts.

Culture

Learned behavior of people which includes belief systems, languages, social relationships, institutions, organizations, and material goods.

Database

A compilation, structuring, and categorization of information for analysis and interpretation.

Debt

The accumulated negative balance.

Deficit

A negative balance after expenditures are subtracted from revenues for a specific time period.

Demand

The number of consumers willing and able to purchase a good or service at a given price.

Democracy

Form of government in which political control is exercised by all the people, either directly or through their elected representative.

Depletion

The lessening or exhaustion of a supply.

Depression

A period of drastic decline in a national or international economy, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and unemployment.

Dictatorship

A government system controlled by one ruler who has absolute power and usually controlled by force.

Distribution

The arrangement of items over a specified area.

Diversity

The inclusion of different types of people or elements.

Dynasty

A family or group that maintains power for several generations.

Eastern Mediterranean

Includes the countries of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt; refers to the Byzantine and Muslim empires.

Economic sanction

The withholding, usually by several nations, of loans or trade relations with a nation violating international law, to force it to comply.

Economic system

Establishes how a country produces and distributes goods and services.

Economy

The production and distribution of goods and services within an economic system.

Embargo

Government restriction placed on trade.

Emigrant

A person (migrating away from) leaving a country or area to settle in another.

Eminent domain

The right of a sovereign state to appropriate all or part of any property for necessary public use, making reasonable compensation.

Juxtaposition

The act of placing two things together next to each other for implicit comparison.

Maxim

A common saying expressing a principle of conduct.

Nominal

Trifling, insignificant.

Hierarchy

A system with ranked groups usually according to social, economic, or professional class.

Collateral

Security for a debt.

Capitulate

To surrender.

Qualitative

Involving qualities of something (features and content).

Subtle

Hard to detect or analyze.

Modify

To change, alter, or tweak.

Constitutional Amendments

Changes or additions made to the U.S. Constitution.

First Amendment

Protects the freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Second Amendment

Protects the right to keep and bear arms.

Third Amendment

Prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without consent.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Fifth Amendment

Guarantees the right to due process and prohibits self-incrimination and double jeopardy.

Sixth Amendment

Guarantees the right to a fair trial, including the right to a speedy trial, impartial jury, and counsel.

Seventh Amendment

Provides for the right to a jury trial in civil cases.

Eighth Amendment

Prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishment.

Ninth Amendment

Affirms that the enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean that others do not exist.

Tenth Amendment

States that powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people.

Eleventh Amendment

Limits the ability to sue states in federal court.

Twelfth Amendment

Revises the procedure for electing the President and Vice President.

Thirteenth Amendment

Abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude.

Fourteenth Amendment

Defines citizenship and contains the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibits the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sixteenth Amendment

Allows Congress to levy an income tax.

Seventeenth Amendment

Establishes the direct election of U.S. Senators.

Eighteenth Amendment

Prohibits the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages (Prohibition).

Nineteenth Amendment

Grants women the right to vote.

Twentieth Amendment

Changes the dates for the beginning and ending of congressional and presidential terms.

Twenty-first Amendment

Repeals the Eighteenth Amendment, ending Prohibition.

Twenty-second Amendment

Limits the President to two terms in office.

Twenty-third Amendment

Grants residents of Washington D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections.

Twenty-fourth Amendment

Prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections.

Twenty-fifth Amendment

Addresses presidential succession and disability.

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Lowers the voting age to 18 years.

Twenty-seventh Amendment

Prevents laws affecting congressional salary from taking effect until after the next election.