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U.S. Civics How the US Government Works

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Learn all about the powers of the Presidency, Congress the Supreme Court . Learn what rights the Bill of Rights Conveys to Americans. You can also learn about balance between the state governments and the Federal governments

The Presidency

The Congress

The Courts

Federalism

The Bill of Rights

Civic Terms

The following glossory of terms in civics is taken from "We The People... Civics/Government 101" a multimedia CD Rom produced by MultiEducator.

You can learn more about the CD as well as other CD Roms by MultiEducator.

Act of Settlement (1701)	Affirmative action
African Development Foundation	Agricultural Cooperative Service
Agricultural Marketing Service	Agricultural Research Service
Alien	Amendment
Amicus curiae	Anarchy
Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service	Antitrust Division
Appeal	Appellate court
Appointed	Armed Forces of the U.S
Articles of Confederation	Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
Assistant Secretary for Housing	Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing
Authority	Balance of trade
Bicameral	Bill of Rights
Bill	Bill of attainder
Boston Tea Party	Briefs
British Bill of Rights (1689)	British constitution
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)	Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of Engraving and Printing	Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Land Management	Bureau of Prisons
Bureau of Reclamation	Bureau of the Census
Bureau of the Public Debt	Bureaucracy
Cabinet	Cabinet departments
Campaign	Candidate
Capitol	Capitol Hill
Caste system	Caucus
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Charter	Civil rights laws
Civil service	Class system
Clear and present danger	Colonial charters
Common good	Common law
Chauvinism	Checks and balances
Chief of Staff of the White House	Circuit court
Citizen	Citizenship
Civics	Civil Division
Civil War Amendments	Civil case
Civil disobedience	Civil law
Civil liberties	Civil rights
Concurrent powers	Concurring opinion
Confederate system	Confirmation
Congress	Consent of the governed
Consent of the governed	Constituency
Constitutional courts	Constitutionalism
Council of Economic Advisors	Covenant
Crime	Criminal Division
Criminal case	Criminal law
Declaration of Independence	Delegated powers
Democracy	Democratic Party
Department of Agriculture	Department of Commerce
Department of Defense	Department of Education
Department of Energy	Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Housing and Urban Development	Department of Justice
Department of Labor	Department of State
Department of the Interior	Department of the Treasury
Department of Veterans' Affairs	Disfranchised
Dissenting opinion	Divine right
Domestic policy	Domestic tranquillity
Drug Enforcement Administration	Dual federalism
Due process of law	E pluribus unum
Election	Electoral college
Eminent domain	Entitlements
Enumerated powers	Environment and Natural Resources Division
Environmental Protection Agency	Equal protection clause
Equal protection of the law	Equality of opportunity
Established religion	Establishment clause
Ethnic group	Ethnicity
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	Equal Rights Amendment
Ex post facto	Excise taxes
Exclusionary rule	Executive Office of the President
Executive branch	Executive power
Federal Aviation Administration	Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Communications Commission	Federal Deposit Insurance Commission
Federal Reserve System	Federal Trade Commission
Federal judiciary	Federal Deposit Insurance Commission
Federal Reserve System	Federalist Papers
Feudalism	Filibuster
Financial Management Service	Feudalism

Financial Management Service	Feudalism
Filibuster	First Lady
Fiscal policy	Food and Drug Administration
Foreign Service	Foreign policy
Forest Service	Founders of the nation -
Framers	Franchise
Franking privilege	Free exercise clause
Free trade	Freedom of assembly
Freedom of expression	Freedom of petition
Freedom of religion -	Freedom of speech -
Freedom of the press	Full faith and credit
Fundamental rights	Gerrymandering
GOP -	Government Printing Office
Government	Governor
Grand jury	Grandfather clause
Grant-in-aid programs	Great Compromise
Grounds	Gubernatorial
Hatch Act	Hatch Act Rules
"Hate" speech	Health Resources and Services Administration
High Court	Hobbes, Thomas
House majority leader	House minority leader
House of Representatives	Ideology
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)	Impeachment
Implied powers	Incumbent
Independent parties	Individual rights
Interest groups	Internal Revenue Service
International law	Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate commerce	Jim Crow laws
Joint Chiefs of Staff	Judicial activism
Judicial branch	Judicial restraint
Judicial review	Junta
Jurisdiction	Jury
Lame duck	Legislation
Legislative branch	Legislative power
Legislature	Legitimacy
Libel	Liberty
Library of Congress	Line-item veto
Locke, John	Logrolling
Magna Carta	Majority leader
Majority rule	Marshall Plan
Matching grants	Mayflower Compact
Mayor	Merit system
Minority leader	Monarchy
Monetary policy	Montesquieu, Charles de
National Aeronautics and Space Administration	National Economic Council
National Endowment for the Arts	National Endowment for the Humanities
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities	National Institute of Health
National Labor Relations Board	National Park Service
National Railroad Passenger Corp	National Science Foundation
National Security Council	National security
Natural Resources Conservation Service	Natural law
Natural rights	Naturalization
Necessary and proper clause	Nepotism
New Jersey Plan	Nobility
North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency	Ombudsman
Original jurisdiction	Paine, Thomas
Pardon	Partisan
Party identification	Patent and Trademark Office
Peace Corps	Pentagon
Petit jury	Petition of Right
Platform	Political action committee
Political culture	Political participation
Political party	Politics
Poll tax	Popular sovereignty
Popular vote	Pork-barrel legislation
Precinct	President
Primary	Prior restraint
Privileges and immunities	Progressive Party
Proportional representation	Public Health Service
Public policy	Public service
Quorum
Ratification	Referendum
Representative democracy	Republic
Republican Party	Reserved powers
Revolution	Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
Rule of law	Search warrant
Security and Exchange Commission	Selective Service System
Senate	Senate majority leader
Senate minority leader	Separation of church and state
Separation of powers	Shared powers
Shays' Rebellion	Slander
Small Business Administration	Smithsonian Institution
Social Security Administration	Social contract
Solicitor General	Sovereignty
Speaker of the House	Special courts
Stamp Act	Suffrage-right to vote
Supremacy clause	Supreme Court
Symbolic speech	Tariffs
Tax Division	Taxes
Treaty	Treaty ratification
U.S. Coast Guard	U.S. Customs Service
U.S. Secret Service	Unalienable
Unenumerated rights	Unfunded mandates
Unicameral	Unitary government

Unitary system	United Nations
United States Bureau of Mines	United States Coast Guard
United States Fish & Wildlife Service	United States Information Agency
United States Marshals Office	United States Mint
United States National Central Bureau	United States Travel & Tourism Admin.
Veterans Health Administration	Veto
Vice President	Virginia Plan
Vote	Wall of separation
Wards	Warrant
White House	Writ of certiorari
Writ of habeas corpus