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first-ranking party position, held by a distinguished senior member of the majority party in the Senate. The Senate majority leader schedules floor actions on bills, and helps guide the majority party's legislative program through the Senate.
one of the two houses of the Congress, created in Article I, Section 1 of the US Constitution. The Senate has 100 members, called Senators, who serve for 6-year terms. Every state has two Senators. Senators were originally elected by state legislatures, but the Seventeenth Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1913, changed the system so that Senators would be elected by the people.
independent federal agency in the executive branch. Selective Service works to register all males in the United States, between the ages of 18 1/2 to 26,to make sure that the Armed Forces can be adequately supplied with people in case of a crisis in national security.
independent regulatory agency, part of the federal executive branch. The Commission was created under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. It administers federal laws on securities (stocks and bonds); to protect investors and ensure that securities markets function fairly and honestly and enforce securities laws through sanctions. Since some of the SEC's functions are quasi-judicial, SEC decisions can be reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals.
a court order that allows the person holding the order, generally a law enforcement officer, to search areas specified in the order for items specified in the order.
doctrine that an individual or government may stand above the law, and rule according to personal whim or choice. The doctrine reflects the belief that standards of justice, equality and impartiality are subjective, not universal. This is the opposite of the rule of law.
doctrine that no individual stands above the law, and that all rulers are answerable to the law. This is one of the major legacies of the constitutional system. The rule of law can also be understood as the belief that there is a universal standard of justice, equality and impartiality, against which all governments and governmental actions may be measured.
Swiss-born philosopher, social reformer and political theorist who supported the idea of government being controlled by the general will of the people, i.e., popular sovereignty. His views were more extreme than those of John Locke, who greatly influenced the intellectual defense of the American Revolution. Although his views had more influence in the French Revolution than the American Revolution, Rousseau's works were widely read in by Americans, including political theorist and pamphleteer Thomas Paine (1737-1809).
complete and usually violent process by which the government and its manner of rule are taken out of power, and a new government is established. Many Americans fought the Revolutionary War in order to remove the colonial British government and establish a new system.
one of the two major political parties in the United States. Different members of the Republican Party hold different political views, and the party platform may change from administration to administration. Nevertheless, the Republican Party has generally draws support from upper-middle class and wealthy Americans; and has traditionally supported cutting taxes and reducing the level of government participation in the society and economy.
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