popular sovereignty
Government by consent of the governed; power of the government comes from the people
Preamble
The beginning fo the US Constitution which describes the 6 main purposes of our government
majority rule
A system in which the decision of more than half the people is accepted by all
delegated power
A power given to the federal government by the Constitution
reserved power
A power set aside by the Constitution for the states or for the people
concurrent power
A power shared by the federal government and the states
limited government
A system in which government powers are carefully spelled out to prevent government from becoming too powerful
separation of powers
The three-way division of power among the branches of the federal government
legislative branch
The lawmaking branch of government
executive branch
The branch of government that carries out the laws
judicial branch
The branch of government that interprets the laws and punishes lawbreakers
checks and balances
A system in which the powers of government are balanced among different branches so that each branch can check, or limit, the power of the other branches
veto
A refusal of the president or of a governor to sign a bill
amendment
A written change to the Constitution. Thousands have been proposed but only 27 are part of the Constitution today
repeal
To cancel or revoke
Cabinet
The leaders of the executive departments who also act as advisers to the president
6 Goals of the American government
ensure domestic tranquility
create a more perfect union
establish justice
provide for the common defense
ensure the general welfare
secure the blessing of liberty for ourselve and our posterity
Direct Democracy
every citizen takes part in making government decisions
Representative Democracy
citizens elect represenatives to do the work of government for them.
Three ways the constitution can be changed?
Amendment, custom/tradition, and interpretation
Supremacy Clause
In article VI. States that the Consitution is the highest law of the land