Office In A General Election example essay topic

Vocabulary: 1. Amendment: Written change in the Constitution. 2. Balanced Budget: Budget in which income equals expenses. 3. Birthrate: Number of births per 1,000 persons during one year.

4. Block Grant: Federal funds given to state and local governments for broad purposes. 5. Brown vs. Board of Education: Concerned eight-year-old Linda Brown, a black girl living in Topeka, Kansas. The school only five blocks from Linda's home was for whites only.

6. City: Largest type of municipality. 7. Commander-In-Chief: Role of the President as head of the armed forces. 8. Concurring Opinion: Statement written by a Supreme Court Justice who agrees with the majority but for different reasons.

9. Counties: Subdivision of state government formed to carry out state laws, collect taxes, and supervise elections. 10. Debt Limit: Limit on the amount of money a government may borrow. 11. Delegated Powers: Power given to the federal government by the Constitution.

12. Dissenting Opinion: Statement written by a Supreme Court Justice who disagrees with the majority decision. 13. Double Jeopardy: Being tried a second time for the same crime. 14.

Draft: Policy requiring men to serve in the military. 15. Due Process: Right of all people to a fair trial. 16. Electoral College: Group of people who cast the official votes that elect the President and Vice President. 17.

Filibuster: Method of delaying action in the Senate by making long speeches. 18. General Election: Election in which the voters elect our leaders. 19. Glittering Generalities: Method uses words that sound good but have little real meaning. 20.

Home Rule: Power of a city to write its own municipal charter and to manage its own affairs. 21. Immigrant: Person who comes to a nation to settle as a permanent resident. 22. Implied Power: Authority not specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution but which is suggested to be necessary to carry out the specific powers.

23. Interest: Payment made for the use of loaned money. 24. Interest Group: Organization of people with common interests who try to influence government policies and decisions. 25. Lobbyist: Person paid to represent an interest group's viewpoint at congressional committee hearings and who tries to influence the votes of Congress members.

26. Marbury vs. Madison: The case involved William Marbury, who had been promised appointment as a justice of the peace, and Secretary of State James Madison. 27. Major-Council Plan: System of local government in which voters elect a city council to make laws and a major to carry out laws.

28. Misdemeanor: Less serious crime, such as a traffic violation. 29. Personal Income Tax: Tax on the income a person earns. 30. Plank: Each part of a political party's platform.

31. Political Action Committee: Political arm of a interest group that collects voluntary contributions from members and contributes it to political candidates and parties it favors. 32. Popular Vote: Total votes cast by individual voters in a Presidential election.

33. Presidential Succession: Order in which the office of President is to be filled if it becomes vacant. 34. Press Secretary: Presidential assistant who represents the President to the news media and the public.

35. Primary Election: Election in which the voters of various parties choose candidates to run for office in a general election. 36. Profit: Income a business has left after expenses. 37. Public Opinion: Sum total of the opinions held concerning particular issue.

38. Revealed Propaganda: Propaganda that openly attempts to influence people. 39. Rural Areas: Region of farms and small towns. 40. Self-Incrimination: Testifying against oneself.

41. Session: Regular meeting of Congress. 42. Sheriff: Chief law-enforcement official in some county governments.

43. Small Claims Court: State court that hears civil cases involving small amounts of money. 44. Special District: Unit of local government set up to provide a specific service. 45. State of the Union Message: Yearly report of the President to Congress, as required by the Constitution, in which the nation's condition is described and programs and policies are recommended.

46. Sunbelt: Region made up of states in the South and West. 47. Surplus: Amount by which income exceeds expenditures.

48. Testimonial: Political candidates and advertisers often seek endorsements from famous people. 49. Third Parties: Political organization in the United States other than the major parties. 50. Unconstitutional: Going against the Constitution, or beyond the powers granted by it.

51. Veto: Refusal of the President or a governor to sign a bill.