The Executive and Legislative Branches
This allows the President to reject a bill passed by Congress.
The Veto
The number of justices currently serving on the Supreme Court.
9
This year the U.S. Constitution was written.
1787
This general-turned-president died just 16 months into his presidency in 1850.
Zachary Taylor
These are things that citizens should do, such as voting, but are not legally required.
Civic responsibilities
This body officially elects the President of the United States.
Electoral College
The power of the courts to declare laws or actions unconstitutional.
Judicial Review
The Supremacy Clause, establishing that the Constitution is the "supreme law of the land," is found in this article.
VI
This president ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South as part of the Compromise of 1877.
Rutherford B. Hayes
This agreement resolved disputes over representation between large and small states.
The Great Compromise
This body advises the President and is composed of the heads of executive departments.
The Cabinet
The title of the presiding officer of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice
The amendment process requires this fraction of Congress to propose an amendment.
2/3rds
This president was in office during the Panic of 1893, a major economic depression.
Grover Cleveland
This term describes the division of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Separation of powers
This rule allows 60 Senators to end debate on a bill, effectively breaking a filibuster.
Cloture
The 1954 case that struck down racial segregation in public schools.
Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education
The idea that government can only do what the people give it the power to do.
Popular Sovereignty
This president is remembered for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which deepened sectional tensions.
Franklin Pierce
These are elections where voters select nominees for political parties.
Primary elections
This rare action allows either chamber to criticize or condemn the actions of an individual member or even the President, though it carries no legal penalty.
Censure
The process by which a justice can be removed from office.
Impeachment
This amendment has been used to justify the principle of "selective incorporation," applying parts of the Bill of Rights to the states. It also grants equal protection under the law.
14th Amendment
This president was responsible for the annexation of Hawaii during his administration.
William McKinley
The first political parties in the U.S. formed largely around the leadership of these two figures.
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson