6th grade Prior Vocabulary

This is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens.

• Electoral College

• Supreme Court

• Senate

• House of Representatives

A form of government with roles and powers given, and limited by law, usually in a written constitution & has only the powers that the people give it.

• Monarchy

• Dictatorship

• limited government

• Oligarchy

A system that allows each branch of a government to amend, override, or veto acts of another branch to prevent any one branch from becoming too much powerful or gaining power beyond its authority.

• Checks and Balances

• Separation of Powers

• Federalism

• Judicial Review

The legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government are divided among 3 separate and independent branches. Under this system no one branch of government is in a position to become too powerful.

• separation of powers

• limited government

• checks and balances

• loose construction

This branch includes the President, VP, and the president’s cabinet. The job of this branch is to: enforce the laws of the United States, spend money as allowed by Congress, declare states of emergency, appoint Judges to the Supreme Court, and grant pardons for crimes. Which branch is this?

• Legislative

• Executive

• Judicial

Nicknamed: Congress; This branch makes the laws of the United States, controls all of the money, and has the power to declare war.

• Executive

• Legislative

• Judicial

• Federal

This branch reviews laws to ensure that the laws or actions follow the Constitution. This branch is made up of: 9 Justices and federal judges. The highest court is the Supreme Court.

• Judicial Branch
• Executive Branch

• Legislative Branch

Explains the basic freedoms and natural rights of citizens of the United States; In the United States, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are included.

• Amendments

• Preamble

• Bill of Rights

• Constitution

Rights that you are born with that no person or government can take away; “Life. Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are examples of these rights.

• Bill of Rights

• Limited Rights

• Separation of Powers

• Natural Rights

Favored a strong central government and weak state governments; did not feel like a Bill of Rights was necessary to ratify the Constitution.

• Anti-Federalists

• Federalists

• Strict-Constructionists

• Loose-Constructionists