Vocabulary Term 1

Question 1

Congress

Answer 1

the national legislative body of a country

Question 2

Executive Branch

Answer 2

The executive branch of the government is responsible for carrying out, or executing, the laws. The key member of the executive branch of the United States government is the President.

Question 3

Legislative Branch

Answer 3

The legislative branch is the part of the United States government that creates laws. Whenever you read about congresspeople in the Senate or House debating a law, you’re reading about the legislative branch: the branch of the government that writes, debates, and passes laws.

Question 4

Judicial Branch

Answer 4

The judicial branch is one of three branches of the federal government. The judicial branch includes criminal and civil courts and helps interpret the United States Constitution.

Question 5

President

Answer 5

the elected head of a republican state.

Question 6

Vice-President

Answer 6

an official or executive ranking below and deputizing for a president.

Question 7

census

Answer 7

an official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Question 8

Supreme Court

Answer 8

the highest judicial court in a country or state.

Question 9

House of Representatives

Answer 9

The lower house of the United States Congress. With 435 popularly elected officials, the House (as it is often called) is the most representative body in the federal government.

Question 10

Senate

Answer 10

any of various legislative or governing bodies, in particular.

Question 11

liberalism

Answer 11

a political philosophy or worldview founded on ideas of liberty and equality.

Question 12

conservatism

Answer 12

A general preference for the existing order of society, and an opposition to efforts to bring about sharp change.

Question 13

checks and balances

Answer 13

counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

Question 14

democracy

Answer 14

• control of an organization or group by the majority of its members.
• a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Question 15

politics

Answer 15

the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power.

Question 16

Republican

Answer 16

• a person advocating or supporting republican government.

- a member or supporter of the Republican Party.

Question 17

Democrat

Answer 17

• an advocate or supporter of democracy.

- a member of the Democratic Party.

Question 18

election

Answer 18

a formal and organized process of electing or being elected, especially of members of a political body.

Question 19

voting rights

Answer 19

A law passed at the time of the civil rights movement. It eliminated various devices, such as literacy tests, that had traditionally been used to restrict voting by black people

Question 20

Electoral College

Answer 20

a body of electors chosen or appointed by a larger group.

Question 21

Constitution

Answer 21

a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

Question 22

constitutional

Answer 22

of or relating to an established set of principles governing a state.

Question 23

veto

Answer 23

a constitutional right to reject a decision or proposal made by a law-making body