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Amendment

a change in, or addition to a constitution or law

Executive agreement

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

Supremacy clause

a provision of the U.S. Constitution that states that the Constitution, federal law, and treaties of the United States are the "supreme Law of the Land"

Federalism

a system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments like States.

Cabinet

an advisory body to the President

Senatorial courtesy

an unwritten rule that is closely followed in the Senate

Separation of powers

basic principle of American system of government that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government

Constitutionalism

basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law; the rule of law

Rule of law

concept that the government and its officers are always subject to the law

Unconstitutional

contrary to constitutional provision and so illegal, null and void, of no force and effect

Electoral college

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

Block grants

one type of federal grants-in-aid for some particular but broadly define area of public policy

Categorical grants

one type of federal grants-in-aid; made for some specific, closely defined purpose

Inherent powers

powers the Constitution is presumed to have delegated to the National Government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community

Checks and balances

system of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to permit each branch to check the actions of the others

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the Constitution

extradition

the legal process by which a fugitive from justice in one State is returned to that State

Inferior courts

the lower federal courts, under the Supreme Court

Judicial review

the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action

Expressed powers

those delegated powers of the National Government that are spelled out, expressly, in the Constitution; also called the "enumerated powers"

Implied power

those delegated powers of the National Government that are suggested by the expressed powers set out in the Constitution; those "necessary and proper" to carry out the expressed powers

Concurrent powers

those powers that both the National Government and the States possess and exercise

Reserved powers

those powers that the Constitution does not grant to the National Government and does not deny to the States

Delegated powers

those powers, expressed, implied, or inherent, granted to the National Government by the Constitution