Glossary of Government Terms

A bill that has passed both chambers of Congress (or of a state legislature) and become law.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Bill, Statute

The Senate's constitutional role in approving treaties, which takes two-thirds of senators present, and in confirming the president's nominees for judges, ambassadors, and top officials, which takes a simple majority.

Read more: The U.S. Senate

See also: Treaty, Recess appointment

A formal change to the Constitution. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress (or a convention called by two-thirds of the states) propose it, and three-fourths of the states must ratify it. Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified.

Read more: The constitutional amendments

See also: Ratification, Bill of Rights

Latin for "friend of the court": a person or group that is not a party to a case but files a brief to give the court more information or arguments.

Read more: How cases reach the Supreme Court

See also: Brief

A court that reviews a lower court's decision for legal mistakes. It does not hold a new trial or hear new witnesses.

Read more: How the federal courts are organized

See also: Court of appeals, District court

Dividing the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states according to population, using the count from each census.

Read more: The census and apportionment

See also: Census, Redistricting

Laws that give federal agencies the legal authority to spend money from the Treasury for specific purposes. Congress is supposed to pass the regular appropriations bills before each fiscal year begins on October 1.

Read more: How the federal budget works

See also: Authorization, Continuing resolution, Fiscal year

The first U.S. constitution, in effect from 1781 until the Constitution replaced it in 1789. It set up a weak national government with no president, no national courts, and no power to tax.

Read more: Before the Constitution

See also: Constitution, Framers

Protection for a person in the United States who fears persecution in their home country because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Read more: Immigration explained

See also: Green card, Naturalization

A law that creates or continues a federal program or agency and may set a ceiling on its funding. The money itself still has to be provided in a separate appropriations law.

Read more: How the federal budget works

See also: Appropriations

Money or other security a court sets so an arrested person can be released while awaiting trial. The 8th Amendment forbids excessive bail.

Read more: The Bill of Rights

See also: Bill of Rights

A question voters decide directly, such as a proposed law or constitutional amendment. An initiative reaches the ballot by citizen petition; a referendum is sent to voters by the legislature.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Primary election

Having two legislative chambers. Congress is bicameral (the House and the Senate), and so are 49 of the 50 state legislatures; Nebraska's has one chamber.

Read more: One chamber or two?

See also: Unicameral, Congress

A proposed law introduced in Congress or a state legislature. It becomes an act, or law, only after it passes both chambers and is signed or a veto is overridden.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Act, Committee, Veto

A law that declares a person or group guilty of a crime and punishes them without a trial. Article I of the Constitution bans both Congress and the states from passing one.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Ex post facto law

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791. They protect freedoms such as speech, religion, and the press, and the rights of people accused of crimes.

Read more: The Bill of Rights

See also: Amendment, Civil liberties

Supported by members of both major political parties.

Read more: The history of political parties

See also: Partisan, Political party

Federal money given to state or local governments for a broad purpose, such as community development, leaving them wide freedom over exactly how to spend it.

Read more: Where the federal budget goes

See also: Discretionary spending

A written argument that a party, or an amicus curiae, files with a court to explain the facts and the law on its side.

Read more: How cases reach the Supreme Court

See also: Amicus curiae

A plan that the House and Senate adopt to set total spending and revenue levels for the coming fiscal year. It does not go to the president and is not a law.

Read more: How the federal budget works

See also: Reconciliation, Appropriations

The heads of the 15 executive departments, plus other officials the president gives Cabinet rank, who run the departments and advise the president.

Read more: The president's Cabinet

See also: Executive branch, Line of succession

The rules for how candidates, parties, and outside groups raise and spend money in elections. The Federal Election Commission enforces the federal rules.

Read more: Campaign finance

See also: PAC, Lobbying

Either a meeting where party members pick candidates or convention delegates, or a group of lawmakers organized around a party or a shared interest.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Primary election

The count of every person living in the United States, taken every 10 years as Article I of the Constitution requires. It decides how many House seats each state gets.

Read more: The census and apportionment

See also: Apportionment, Redistricting

The system that lets each branch of government limit the others, such as the president's veto, the Senate's power to confirm nominees, and the courts' power of judicial review.

Read more: Separation of powers

See also: Separation of powers, Judicial review, Veto

The presiding judge of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Chief Justice also presides over a Senate impeachment trial of a president.

Read more: The Supreme Court

See also: Supreme Court, Impeachment

Legal membership in the nation. Under the 14th Amendment, people born in the United States are citizens; others can become citizens through naturalization.

Read more: The path to citizenship

See also: Naturalization, Green card

Personal freedoms the government may not take away, most of them listed in the Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech and religion.

Read more: The Bill of Rights

See also: Civil rights, Bill of Rights

The guarantee of equal treatment under the law, such as protection from discrimination because of race, sex, or religion.

Read more: The civil rights movement

See also: Civil liberties, Equal protection, Jim Crow

A primary election in which only voters registered with a party may vote to choose that party's nominees.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Open primary, Primary election

The Senate procedure for ending debate so a vote can happen. For most bills it takes three-fifths of the Senate, which is 60 votes when every seat is filled.

Read more: The filibuster

See also: Filibuster

The president's role, under Article II of the Constitution, as the top commander of the U.S. armed forces. Congress, not the president, has the power to declare war.

Read more: The president's powers

See also: Declaration of war, War Powers Resolution

A smaller group of lawmakers that studies bills, holds hearings, and oversees part of the government before legislation reaches the full chamber.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Bill, Conference committee, Oversight

Powers that both the federal government and the states hold, such as taxing, borrowing money, and setting up courts.

Read more: The Founders' choice

See also: Federalism, Reserved powers, Enumerated powers

A judge's written opinion that agrees with the court's decision but gives different or additional reasons.

Read more: The Supreme Court

See also: Dissenting opinion

A temporary joint committee of House and Senate members that works out the differences between the two chambers' versions of a bill.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Committee, Bill

The legislative branch of the federal government, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Read more: One chamber or two?

See also: House of Representatives, Senate, Legislative branch

A person who lives in the district or state an elected official represents.

Read more: One chamber or two?

See also: Incumbent

The supreme law of the United States. Written in 1787 and in effect since 1789, it sets up the three branches of government and limits their power.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Amendment, Supremacy Clause, Framers

A temporary spending law that keeps the government funded, usually at the previous year's levels, when the regular appropriations bills are not finished on time.

Read more: Continuing resolutions and shutdowns

See also: Appropriations, Government shutdown

One of the 13 federal appellate courts, also called circuit courts, that sit below the Supreme Court and review decisions of the district courts.

Read more: How the federal courts are organized

See also: Appellate court, District court

The legal limit Congress sets on how much the Treasury may borrow. Raising it does not approve new spending; it lets the government pay for spending Congress already approved.

Read more: The national debt

See also: National debt, Deficit

The statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, announcing that the 13 colonies were independent of Great Britain and explaining why.

Read more: Before the Constitution

See also: Articles of Confederation, Framers

A formal vote by Congress, which alone has this power under Article I, that the United States is at war. Congress last declared war in 1942, during World War II.

Read more: U.S. military history

See also: War Powers Resolution, Commander in Chief

The amount by which federal spending is larger than federal revenue in a single year. The government borrows to cover it.

Read more: The national debt

See also: National debt, Surplus

A non-voting member of the House who represents Washington, D.C., or a U.S. territory. Delegates, and Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner, can vote in committee but not on final passage of bills.

Read more: The House of Representatives

See also: Territory, House of Representatives

Government in which power comes from the people, who rule either directly or through representatives they elect.

Read more: Types of government

See also: Republic, Popular sovereignty

Federal spending that Congress decides each year through appropriations, such as defense, education, and transportation.

Read more: Where the federal budget goes

See also: Mandatory spending, Appropriations

A judge's written opinion that disagrees with the court's decision. A dissent has no legal force, but later courts sometimes adopt its reasoning.

Read more: How cases reach the Supreme Court

See also: Concurring opinion, Precedent

A federal trial court, where cases start, witnesses testify, and juries decide facts. There are 94 federal district courts.

Read more: How the federal courts are organized

See also: Court of appeals, Jurisdiction

Being tried twice for the same crime. The 5th Amendment forbids it once a person has been acquitted or convicted.

Read more: The Fifth Amendment

See also: Self-incrimination, Due process

The guarantee in the 5th and 14th Amendments that the government cannot take a person's life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures.

Read more: The Fourteenth Amendment

See also: Equal protection

The system that elects the president. Each state gets electors equal to its House seats plus its two senators, Washington, D.C., gets three, and a candidate needs 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win.

Read more: The Electoral College

See also: Swing state, Popular sovereignty

President Lincoln's order, effective January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in the Confederate states free. The 13th Amendment ended slavery everywhere in the country in 1865.

Read more: The Civil War

See also: Reconstruction

The government's power to take private property for public use. The 5th Amendment requires the owner to be paid just compensation.

Read more: Eminent domain

See also: Due process

A government program whose benefits are owed by law to everyone who meets its requirements, such as Social Security and Medicare.

Read more: Where the federal budget goes

See also: Mandatory spending, Social Security, Medicare

The powers the Constitution specifically gives Congress, most of them listed in Article I, Section 8, such as taxing, borrowing, regulating trade, and declaring war.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Implied powers, Necessary and Proper Clause, Reserved powers

The 14th Amendment's requirement that states treat people equally under the law.

Read more: The Fourteenth Amendment

See also: Due process, Civil rights

The part of the 1st Amendment that bars the government from setting up an official religion or favoring one religion over others.

Read more: Separation of church and state

See also: Free Exercise Clause, First Amendment

A law that punishes an act that was legal when it was done, or increases the punishment after the fact. Article I of the Constitution bans them.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Bill of attainder

The branch that carries out and enforces the laws, headed by the president and including the vice president, the Cabinet, and the federal agencies.

Read more: The president's powers

See also: Cabinet, Separation of powers

A written directive from the president telling federal agencies how to carry out the law. It must rest on authority from the Constitution or a law, and a later president can revoke it.

Read more: Executive orders

See also: Regulation, Executive branch

The president's claim of a right to keep some internal communications confidential. In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Supreme Court recognized it but ruled that it is not absolute.

Read more: Executive orders vs. laws

See also: Separation of powers, Oversight

The central bank of the United States, created in 1913. It sets monetary policy, supervises banks, and works to keep prices stable and employment high.

Read more: The Federal Reserve

See also: Monetary policy

The division of power between the national government and the state governments, each with its own responsibilities.

Read more: The Founders' choice

See also: Reserved powers, Concurrent powers, Supremacy Clause

Long debate or other delaying tactics used in the Senate to block a vote. Ending one usually takes 60 votes for cloture.

Read more: The filibuster

See also: Cloture, Reconciliation

The amendment that protects freedom of religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly, and petitioning the government.

Read more: The First Amendment

See also: Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause, Civil liberties

The federal government's budget year, which runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends.

Read more: How the federal budget works

See also: Appropriations, Continuing resolution

The Freedom of Information Act of 1966, which lets anyone request records from federal agencies. Agencies must release them unless one of nine exemptions applies.

Read more: FOIA and government transparency

See also: Oversight

The delegates who wrote the Constitution at the Philadelphia convention of 1787. Fifty-five attended, and 39 signed the finished document.

Read more: The Framers

See also: Constitution, Three-Fifths Compromise

The part of the 1st Amendment that protects the right to practice one's religion.

Read more: Separation of church and state

See also: Establishment Clause, First Amendment

Article IV of the Constitution, which requires each state to respect the public laws, records, and court judgments of the other states.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Federalism

Drawing election district lines to give one party or group an unfair advantage.

Read more: Redistricting and gerrymandering

See also: Redistricting, Apportionment

A halt to non-essential federal work that happens when Congress has not passed appropriations or a continuing resolution in time. Essential services keep running.

Read more: Continuing resolutions and shutdowns

See also: Continuing resolution, Appropriations

A group of citizens that hears evidence in secret and decides whether there is enough to formally charge someone with a serious federal crime.

Read more: Jury duty and the courts

See also: Indictment, Jury

The card that proves lawful permanent residence in the United States. Most green card holders can apply for citizenship after five years, or three if married to a U.S. citizen.

Read more: The path to citizenship

See also: Naturalization, Citizenship

A court order requiring that a person being held be brought before a judge, who decides whether the detention is legal. The Constitution allows suspending it only during rebellion or invasion.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Due process

The chamber of Congress with 435 voting members. Seats are divided among the states by population, and every member is elected every two years.

Read more: The House of Representatives

See also: Senate, Speaker of the House, Apportionment

The House's formal charge against a federal official for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." The Senate then holds a trial, and removal takes a two-thirds vote of senators present.

Read more: Impeachment

See also: Chief Justice, Checks and balances

Powers the Constitution does not list but that Congress can use to carry out its listed powers, based on the Necessary and Proper Clause. The Supreme Court upheld them in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819).

Read more: Landmark Supreme Court cases

See also: Necessary and Proper Clause, Enumerated powers

The ceremony where a new president takes the oath of office written in Article II. Since the 20th Amendment, the term begins at noon on January 20.

Read more: The president's powers

See also: Lame duck

A tax on what people and businesses earn. The 16th Amendment, ratified in 1913, lets Congress collect it, and the IRS administers it.

Read more: The IRS

See also: IRS, Payroll tax

The person who currently holds an office, often running for re-election.

Read more: Midterm elections

See also: Constituent

A formal charge of a serious crime, issued by a grand jury after it finds enough evidence to put someone on trial.

Read more: Jury duty and the courts

See also: Grand jury

An organization of people who share a goal and try to influence public policy, such as a trade association, labor union, or advocacy group.

Read more: Lobbying and interest groups

See also: Lobbying, PAC

The Internal Revenue Service, the bureau of the Treasury Department that collects federal taxes and enforces the tax laws.

Read more: The IRS

See also: Income tax

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation and kept Black Americans from voting, mainly in the South, from the late 1800s until the civil rights laws of the 1960s.

Read more: The civil rights movement

See also: Civil rights, Poll tax, Literacy test

The branch that interprets the law and decides cases: the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts.

Read more: The Supreme Court

See also: Supreme Court, Judicial review

The power of courts to strike down laws or government actions that violate the Constitution, established by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803).

Read more: Landmark Supreme Court cases

See also: Unconstitutional, Checks and balances

A court's legal authority to hear a particular kind of case, or cases from a particular place.

Read more: How the federal courts are organized

See also: District court, Appellate court

A group of citizens chosen to decide the facts in a trial. The 6th and 7th Amendments guarantee jury trials in criminal cases and in many civil cases.

Read more: Jury duty and the courts

See also: Grand jury

An official still serving after a successor has been elected. The 20th Amendment (1933) shortened this period by moving the start of new terms from March to January.

Read more: The current amendments

See also: Inauguration

The branch that makes the laws: Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Read more: Legislative vs. executive powers

See also: Congress, Separation of powers

The order in which officials take over if the presidency is vacant: the vice president, then the Speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and the Cabinet secretaries in a set order.

Read more: Presidential succession

See also: Twenty-fifth Amendment, Speaker of the House

A reading test once used to keep Black Americans and others from voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspended these tests where discrimination was worst, and a 1975 amendment banned them nationwide for good.

Read more: Voting rights

See also: Poll tax, Voting Rights Act

Trying to influence lawmakers or officials on behalf of a person or group. Federal lobbyists must register and report their work under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.

Read more: Lobbying and interest groups

See also: Interest group, Campaign finance

The leader of the party with the most seats in a chamber. In the Senate, the majority leader largely decides which bills and nominations reach the floor.

Read more: The Senate majority leader

See also: Minority leader, Whip

Federal spending required by laws already on the books, such as Social Security and Medicare, which does not need a new vote each year.

Read more: Where the federal budget goes

See also: Discretionary spending, Entitlement

A health coverage program for people with low incomes, paid for jointly by the federal government and the states and run by each state. It was created in 1965.

Read more: Health and Human Services

See also: Medicare, Entitlement

The federal health insurance program for people 65 and older and for some younger people with disabilities, created in 1965.

Read more: Health and Human Services

See also: Medicaid, Payroll tax

The federal election held halfway through a president's four-year term, when all 435 House seats and about one-third of Senate seats are on the ballot.

Read more: Midterm elections

See also: Incumbent, Primary election

The leader of the party with fewer seats in a chamber, who speaks for that party and organizes its members.

Read more: The Senate majority leader

See also: Majority leader, Whip

The warnings police must give a person in custody before questioning, including the right to stay silent and to have a lawyer, from the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966).

Read more: The Fifth Amendment

See also: Self-incrimination

The Federal Reserve's management of interest rates and the money supply to keep prices stable and employment high.

Read more: The Federal Reserve

See also: Federal Reserve

The total amount the federal government owes, built up from years of deficits.

Read more: The national debt

See also: Deficit, Debt ceiling

The legal process by which a person who was not born a U.S. citizen becomes one, which includes an interview, an English test, and a civics test.

Read more: The path to citizenship

See also: Citizenship, Green card

The last clause of Article I, Section 8, which lets Congress make laws needed to carry out its listed powers. It is also called the Elastic Clause.

Read more: Landmark Supreme Court cases

See also: Implied powers, Enumerated powers

A primary election in which voters can choose which party's primary to vote in without registering with that party.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Closed primary, Primary election

Congress's review of how federal agencies carry out the laws, through hearings, investigations, and reports.

Read more: Legislative vs. executive powers

See also: Committee, Checks and balances

A political action committee, a group that raises and spends money to elect or defeat candidates. A super PAC can raise unlimited sums but may not coordinate with candidates.

Read more: Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance, Interest group

The president's power under Article II to forgive a federal crime and end its punishment. It does not apply to state crimes or to impeachment.

Read more: The president's powers

See also: Executive branch

Strongly favoring one political party, or done along party lines.

Read more: The history of political parties

See also: Bipartisan, Political party

A tax taken out of wages, shared by workers and employers, that pays for Social Security and Medicare.

Read more: Social Security

See also: Social Security, Medicare

When the president does not sign a bill within 10 days (not counting Sundays) and Congress has adjourned, so the bill cannot be returned, it dies without a formal veto.

Read more: The veto

See also: Veto

An organized group of people with similar views that nominates candidates and tries to win elections to control government.

Read more: The history of political parties

See also: Partisan, Primary election

A fee charged to vote, once used to keep poor and Black citizens from voting. The 24th Amendment (1964) banned it in federal elections, and the Supreme Court struck it down for state elections in 1966.

Read more: Voting rights

See also: Literacy test, Suffrage

The principle that government gets its power from the people, expressed in the Constitution's opening words, "We the People."

Read more: The Founders' choice

See also: Democracy, Republic

An earlier court decision that guides how later cases with similar issues are decided. Following precedent is called stare decisis.

Read more: Landmark Supreme Court cases

See also: Judicial review, Dissenting opinion

The senator, by custom the longest-serving member of the majority party, who presides over the Senate when the vice president is absent. Third in the line of succession.

Read more: The U.S. Senate

See also: Line of succession, Vice President

An election in which voters choose each party's nominee for the general election.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Open primary, Closed primary, Caucus

A reasonable basis, backed by facts, to believe a crime was committed or that evidence will be found. The 4th Amendment requires it for a search warrant.

Read more: The Fourth Amendment

See also: Search warrant

The minimum number of members who must be present for a chamber to do business. Under Article I, a majority of each house of Congress is a quorum.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Congress

Formal approval, such as three-fourths of the states approving a constitutional amendment, or two-thirds of the Senate approving a treaty.

Read more: The constitutional amendments

See also: Amendment, Treaty

An appointment the president makes while the Senate is in recess, lasting until the end of the Senate's next session. The Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that a recess shorter than 10 days is presumed too short.

Read more: Legislative vs. executive powers

See also: Advice and consent

A budget process that lets certain bills on taxes, spending, and the debt limit pass the Senate with a simple majority, so they cannot be filibustered.

Read more: How the federal budget works

See also: Budget resolution, Filibuster

The period from 1865 to 1877 when the federal government rebuilt the South after the Civil War and tried to secure the rights of freed Black Americans.

Read more: The Civil War

See also: Emancipation Proclamation, Jim Crow

Redrawing the boundaries of election districts, usually after each census, so each district has about the same number of people.

Read more: Redistricting and gerrymandering

See also: Gerrymandering, Census

A rule issued by a federal agency under authority given by a law. It has the force of law, and most go through a public comment period before taking effect.

Read more: Executive orders vs. laws

See also: Executive order

A form of government in which the people elect representatives to make decisions for them, rather than deciding every issue directly.

Read more: The Founders' choice

See also: Democracy, Popular sovereignty

Powers the Constitution does not give to the federal government, which the 10th Amendment keeps for the states or the people.

Read more: The Bill of Rights

See also: Federalism, Concurrent powers

A measure Congress votes on. A simple resolution deals with one chamber's own business, and a concurrent resolution with both chambers'; neither is law. A joint resolution goes to the president and becomes law like a bill.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Bill

The 2nd Amendment's protection of the right to keep and bear arms, which the Supreme Court held in 2008 applies to individuals.

Read more: The Second Amendment

See also: Bill of Rights

The principle that everyone, including government officials, must follow the law and is accountable under it.

Read more: Safeguards against abuse of power

See also: Checks and balances

A court order allowing police to search a specific place for specific things. Under the 4th Amendment a judge can issue one only on probable cause.

Read more: The Fourth Amendment

See also: Probable cause

Being forced to give testimony that could prove your own guilt. The 5th Amendment protects the right not to, often called "taking the Fifth."

Read more: The Fifth Amendment

See also: Miranda rights, Double jeopardy

The chamber of Congress with 100 members, two from each state, who serve six-year terms. Since the 17th Amendment (1913), voters elect senators directly.

Read more: The U.S. Senate

See also: House of Representatives, Advice and consent, Filibuster

Dividing the government into three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, each with its own powers, so no one branch holds all the power.

Read more: Separation of powers

See also: Checks and balances

The federal program, created in 1935, that pays retirement, disability, and survivor benefits, funded mainly by payroll taxes.

Read more: Social Security

See also: Payroll tax, Entitlement

The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, elected by its members. The Speaker is second in the presidential line of succession, after the vice president.

Read more: The Speaker of the House

See also: House of Representatives, Line of succession

An election held outside the regular schedule to fill a vacant seat. House vacancies must be filled this way; for the Senate, many states let the governor appoint someone until the election.

Read more: Senate vacancies

See also: Senate

The report the president gives Congress on the condition of the country, which Article II requires "from time to time." It is now usually a yearly speech.

Read more: The president's powers

See also: Executive branch

A law passed by a legislature, as opposed to a rule made by an agency or a decision made by a court.

Read more: How a bill becomes law

See also: Act, Regulation

The right to vote. Amendments extended it over time: the 15th (race, 1870), the 19th (women, 1920), and the 26th (age 18, 1971).

Read more: Voting rights

See also: Voting Rights Act, Poll tax

Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties the supreme law of the land, overriding state laws that conflict with them.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Federalism, Constitution

The highest court in the United States. Under current law it has nine justices, who are nominated by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life.

Read more: The Supreme Court

See also: Chief Justice, Judicial review, Writ of certiorari

The amount by which federal revenue is larger than spending in a single year, the opposite of a deficit.

Read more: The national debt

See also: Deficit

A state where either major party's presidential candidate has a real chance to win, so campaigns spend much of their time and money there.

Read more: The Electoral College

See also: Electoral College

A tax on imported goods, paid by the importer. The Constitution gives Congress the power to set tariffs, and some laws let the president adjust them.

Read more: Department of Commerce

See also: Enumerated powers

Limits on how many terms an official may serve. The 22nd Amendment (1951) bars anyone from being elected president more than twice; members of Congress have no term limits.

Read more: The current amendments

See also: Incumbent

An area under U.S. control that is not a state, such as Puerto Rico or Guam. People born in the five inhabited territories, except American Samoa, are U.S. citizens at birth.

Read more: Puerto Rico

See also: Delegate

The 1787 agreement that counted three of every five enslaved people when dividing House seats and direct taxes among the states. The 14th Amendment ended it in 1868.

Read more: The Framers

See also: Framers, Apportionment

The only crime the Constitution defines: making war against the United States or giving aid and comfort to its enemies. A conviction needs two witnesses to the same act or a confession in open court.

Read more: The full Constitution

See also: Constitution

A formal agreement with another country. The president negotiates it, and two-thirds of the senators present must approve it.

Read more: The U.S. Senate

See also: Advice and consent, Ratification

The inherent right of federally recognized Native American nations to govern themselves, with their own governments, laws, and courts.

Read more: Native American history

See also: Federalism

The 1967 amendment that sets out how the vice president takes over if the president dies, resigns, or cannot do the job, and how a vice president vacancy is filled.

Read more: Presidential succession

See also: Line of succession, Vice President

In conflict with the Constitution, and therefore invalid. Courts can declare a law or government action unconstitutional through judicial review.

Read more: Landmark Supreme Court cases

See also: Judicial review

Having a single legislative chamber. Nebraska has had the only unicameral state legislature since 1937.

Read more: One chamber or two?

See also: Bicameral

The president's rejection of a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

Read more: The veto

See also: Pocket veto, Checks and balances

The second-highest official in the executive branch, first in the line of succession. The vice president presides over the Senate and casts a vote only to break a tie.

Read more: The vice president

See also: Line of succession, President pro tempore

Signing up with election officials so you are allowed to vote. Rules and deadlines are set by each state, and North Dakota is the only state with no voter registration.

Read more: How elections work

See also: Suffrage, Primary election

The 1965 law that bans racial discrimination in voting and ended many of the tactics, such as literacy tests, that had kept Black Americans from the polls.

Read more: Voting rights

See also: Literacy test, Poll tax, Suffrage

A 1973 law requiring the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into hostilities, and to bring them home within 60 days (plus 30 to withdraw) unless Congress approves.

Read more: Legislative vs. executive powers

See also: Declaration of war, Commander in Chief

A party leader who counts votes before key decisions and works to keep the party's members voting together.

Read more: The House of Representatives

See also: Majority leader, Minority leader

An order by which the Supreme Court agrees to review a lower court's decision. It takes the votes of four justices to grant one, a practice called the rule of four.

Read more: How cases reach the Supreme Court

See also: Supreme Court, Appellate court