Unit 2 Key Terms

Question 1

the principle that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures and safeguards

Answer 1

Due Process

Question 2

a representative political system in which authority comes from the people and is exercised by elected officials

Answer 2

Republican government

Question 3

those powers of the national government that are specifically listed in the U.S. Constitution

Answer 3

Enumerated powers

Question 4

those powers of the national government, and particularly of Congress, that are not specifically listed in the Constitution, but which the government can reasonably claim as part of its governing responsibility

Answer 4

Implied powers

Question 5

a clause in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which says that Congress can “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” for carrying out its duties; also known as the Elastic Clause

Answer 5

Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause

Question 6

the right of accused persons to be brought before a judge to hear the charges against them

Answer 6

Habeas Corpus

Question 7

a clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, stating that it is the “supreme Law of the Land”; this means that federal law supersedes all state and local laws

Answer 7

Supremacy Clause

Question 8

the government’s right to take private property for public use, as long as fair compensation is paid; the right to fair compensation is guaranteed under the Fifth Amendment

Answer 8

Eminent Domain

Question 9

a system in which each branch of government can limit the power of the other branches

Answer 9

Checks and balances

Question 10

the power of the president to reject a bill and send it back to Congress

Answer 10

Veto power

Question 11

a political system in which power is divided between a central government and smaller regional governments

Answer 11

Federalism

Question 12

powers granted to the national government rather than to the states under the U.S. Constitution

Answer 12

Delegated powers

Question 13

powers kept by the states under the U.S. Constitution

Answer 13

Reserved powers

Question 14

powers shared by the federal and state governments under the U.S. Constitution

Answer 14

Concurrent powers

Question 15

a clause in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that allows Congress to regulate trade with other nations and among the states

Answer 15

Commerce clause

Question 16

a system of judges and courts that is separate from other branches of government

Answer 16

Independent judiciary

Question 17

what the framers of the U.S. Constitution meant or were trying to achieve when they wrote the original document

Answer 17

Original intent

Question 18

a decision by a court that serves as an example or guide for future decisions

Answer 18

Precedent

Question 19

a literal approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, using the exact words of the document

Answer 19

Strict construction

Question 20

an approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution that relies primarily on the original language of the document and the perceived intent of the framers; also known as strict construction

Answer 20

Originalism

Question 21

a flexible approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution, taking into account current conditions in society

Answer 21

Loose construction

Question 22

an approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution that takes modern values and social consequences into account; also known as loose construction

Answer 22

Interpretivism

Question 23

the power of the courts to declare laws and executive acts unconstitutional

Answer 23

Judicial review

Question 24

a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution

Answer 24

Marbury v. Madison

Question 25

a landmark case that affirmed the supremacy of the national government over the states and upheld the implied powers of Congress under the Constitution

Answer 25

McCulloch v. Maryland

Question 26

a case reaffirmed the rule of law as a key principle of American government

Answer 26

United States v. Nixon

Question 27

the right to keep internal discussions and documents of the White House private

Answer 27

Executive Privilege

Question 28

basic freedoms guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion

Answer 28

Civil liberties

Question 29

guarantees of equal rights and equal treatment under the law, such as trial by jury and voting rights

Answer 29

Civil rights

Question 30

a clause in the Fourteenth Amendment declaring that no state may deny “equal protection of the laws” to any person within that state

Answer 30

Equal protection clause

Question 31

the process by which the Supreme Court applies the Bill of Rights to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 31

Incorporation

Question 32

a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.

Answer 32

Brown v. Board of Education

Question 33

not religious or spiritual in nature

Answer 33

Secular

Question 34

publishing false information about someone with intent to cause harm

Answer 34

Libel

Question 35

orally spreading false information about someone with intent to cause harm

Answer 35

Slander

Question 36

conduct that conveys a message without spoken words

Answer 36

Symbolic speech

Question 37

an attempt by government to prevent the publication or broadcast of material considered harmful

Answer 37

Prior restraint

Question 38

reasonable suspicion of criminal behavior

Answer 38

Probable cause

Question 39

statements, usually made under oath, suggesting that the person speaking is guilty of a crime

Answer 39

Self-Incrimination

Question 40

the prosecution of a person a second time for a crime for which the defendant has already been tried once and found not guilty; prohibited under the Fifth Amendment

Answer 40

Double Jeopardy

Question 41

a clause in the Fifth Amendment that prohibits the government from taking private property for public use “without just compensation”

Answer 41

Takings clause

Question 42

the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves

Answer 42

Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 43

money given over to a court in exchange for a criminal suspect’s release from jail until his or her trial begins

Answer 43

Bail

Question 44

the imposition of the death penalty on a person by the state

Answer 44

Capital punishment

Question 45

rights not specifically listed in the Bill of Rights but given general protection under the Ninth Amendment

Answer 45

Unenumerated rights