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| introduction to the Constitution | ||
| numbered sections of a document; the unamended Constitution is divided into seven of these | ||
| basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law; the rule of law | ||
| concept that holds that government and its officers are always subject to the law | ||
| basic principle of American system of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government | ||
| system of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches ot permit each branch to check the actions of the others | ||
| chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature | ||
| the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action | ||
| contrary to constitutional provision and so illegal, null and void, of no force and effect | ||
| a system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments | ||
| a change in, or addition to, a constitution or law | ||
| change or addition that becomes part of the written language of the Constitution itself through one of four methods set forth in the Constitution | ||
| the first ten amendments to the Constitution | ||
| a change in meaning, but not the wording, of the Constitution. | ||
| 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 does not require Senate consent | ||
| a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states | ||
| 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 | ||
| Presidential advisory body, traditionally made up of the heads of the executive departments and other officers | ||
| 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 |
