Basic Principles I
Basic principle of the American system of government which asserts that the people are the source of any and all government power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed ...
Answer: popular sovereignty.
A change in, or addition to, a constitution or law ...
Answer: amendment.
A pact made by the president directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement with the force of law but which (unlike a treaty) does not require Senate consent ...
Answer: executive agreement.
System of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to permit each branch to check the actions of the others ...
Answer: checks and balances.
Basic principle of American government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away ...
Answer: limited government.
Formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty ...
Answer: ratification.
A formal agreement between two or more sovereign states ...
Answer: treaty.
Chief executive’s power to reject a bill passed by a legislature; literally (Latin) “I forbid” ...
Answer: veto.
Basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law; the rule of law ...
Answer: constitutionalism.
Change or addition that becomes part of the written language of the Constitution itself through one of four methods set forth in the Constitution ...
Answer: formal amendment.
Group of persons chosen in each state and the District of Columbia every four years who make a formal selection of the president and vice president ...
Answer: Electoral College.
The power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action ...
Answer: judicial review.
Concept that government and its officers are always subject to the law ...
Answer: rule of law.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution ...
Answer: Bill of Rights.
Presidential advisory body, traditionally made up of the heads of the executive departments and other offices ...
Answer: Cabinet.
Contrary to constitutional provision and so illegal, null and void, of no force and effect ...
Answer: unconstitutional.
Basic principles of American system of government that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government ...
Answer: separation of powers.
A meeting to discuss matters of common concern ...
Answer: convention.
Custom that the Senate will not approve a presidential appointment opposed by a majority-party senator from the state in which the appointee would serve ...
Answer: senatorial courtesy.
A system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments ...
Answer: federalism.