Vocab 2 Flashcards
A system of government in which the states form a union and the sovereign power is divided between the central government and the member states.
Federal Form of Government
The principal under which the powers of the national government are divided among three separate branches- the executive, legislative, and judicial branches- each of which exercises a check on the actions of the others.
Checks and Balances
The provision in Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution that gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Commerce Clause
Powers possessed by the states as part of their inherent sovereignty. These powers may be exercised to protect or promote the public order, health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
Police Powers
The provision in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution that the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States are “the supreme Law of the Land.”
Supremacy Clause
The doctrine under which certain federal laws preempt, or take precedence over, conflicting state or local laws.
Preemption
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Bill of Rights
Nonverbal expressions of beliefs. Symbolic speech, which includes gestures, movements, and articles of clothing, is given substantial protection by the courts.
Symbolic Speech
A test of constitutionality that require the government to have convincing reasons for passing any law that restricts fundamental rights, such as free speech, or distinguishes between people based on a suspect trait.
Compelling Government Interest
A computer program that is designed to block access to certain web sites, based on their content. The software blocks the retrieval of a site whose URL or key words are on a list within the program.
Filtering Software
A key word in a document that can serve as an index reference to the document. On the Web, search engines return results based, in part, on the tags in Web documents.
Meta Tag
The provision in the First Amendment that prohibits the government from establishing any state-sponsored religion or enacting any law that promotes religion or favors one religion over another.
Establishment Clause
The provision in the First Amendment that prohibits the government from interfering with people’s religious practices or forms of worship.
Free Exercise Clause
The provisions in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments that guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. State constitutions often include similar clauses.
Due Process Clause
The provision in the Fourteenth Amendment that requires state governments to treat similarly situated individuals in a similar manner.
Equal Protection Clause
