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Boys State Youth organization designed to inform and encourage young men to learn about the ways of government

cabinet members Person appointed to head an executive department of the United States Government.

conscientious Following one's principles.

campaign debt Deficit incurred due to the expenses of a political effort.

localized Confined to a smaller region; "closer to home."

1.Politics is the science of government, and every citizen can take part in it.

2.Knowlegeable party workers are needed to serve on the local, regional and national level.

3.Debbie Henniger, when a graduating college student, began working in politics for the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign in the early 1980s.

4.She was able to be an active participant in the national election campaign and transferred to the central base of operations in Washington, D.C.

5.In 1980 Ronald Reagan successfully unseated Jimmy Carter in the presidential elections.

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bond slaveA servant under complete submission to his master.

diverse Distinct; different.

heir Those eligible for an inheritance.

purge To thoroughly clean out; to purify.

reputation The estimation of a person; the public perception of a person.

1.The United States has been known as "the great melting pot," meaning that people of all races and nationalities are welcome within its borders.

2.It also means that people bring their cultures, traditions, and languages, melting them together into a new culture known as America.

3.Sometimes the inclusion of so many diverse backgrounds causes attitudes of discrimination and prejudice.

4.From ancient history, slavery has been an accepted norm for most societies.

5.It was customary for the victorious nation to take the captured people as slaves.

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civil rights Rights and privileges owed to a citizen, including the freedom of speech and of worship.

discrimination To be unfair in judgment; to be prejudiced. To show partiality.

Emancipation Proclamation Slaves within any State shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.

endowed Supplied with; given as a help.

ethnic A group of people that share a common ancestry, nationality, or culture (including language and religious beliefs and practices).

1.We should show kindness and respect for the citizens and neighbors around us, no matter how different they are from us.

2.Many people bond together on the basis of nationality, economic status, language usage, religious affiliation, or regional habitat, as well as race.3.Of all these criteria, race is one of the most widely used as a basis for group identity. 4.Race may be defined as a group of people somewhat different from other groups in a combination of inherited physical characteristics, but sadly, race is also substantially determined by popular social definition. 5.We may often hear people speak of the "Jewish race" or the "German race," but in reality this is an ethnic group rather than race.

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1.Freedom of the press helps ensure that Americans remain informed
2.By voting we are able to influence who serves in a particular public office.
3.Volunteers play a key role in effective campaigns
4.Some volunteers pass out pamphlets
5.Part of being a good citizen is staying informed.

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announcement The individual fills out documentation and pays a filing fee to announce that he seeks a political office.

caucus A gathering of party leaders to talk over possible candidates.

closed primary The voter declares his party allegiance and votes for the ballot of his own party.

county convention Delegates nominate most county officers and chose delegates to the state convention.

declaration of candidacy Person wishes to be a candidate for the party, so he makes an announcement of intention.

1.In our nation's first three presidential elections, no system of nomination was used and there was no caucus desired.

2.The members of the electoral college simply agreed twice on George Washington and once on John Adams.

3.With the coming of political parties in 1800, though, the candidates for president and vice president were chosen by the caucus.

4.A group in Congress representing one of the two main parties--Federalists or Democratic Republicans--would meet in a caucus and put up their party candidates for president and vice president.

5.The caucus method lost favor after 1828, after the followers of Andrew Jackson made a strong argument that it was being seriously abused.

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appointee One who is nominated or designated to a position.

committee The group of leaders who make the major decisions in the political party's election strategy.

The Democrat Digest A monthly digest of information for Democrats.

electoral votes The vote each state is given to cast for a national candidate for President of the United States.

mass meeting The convention that mobilizes the national agenda and announces the candidates for the national election.

1.The national convention also goes through the motions of electing the national committee, which acts on behalf of the party between conventions.

2.Each state party, in reality, chooses its representatives on the committee.

3.The national committee of both major parties consists of one committeeman and one committeewoman from each state and from the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

4.The Democratic National Committee also has two representatives from the Panama Canal Zone.

5.The Republican National Committee includes each chairman of certain state committees.

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adopt To accept and agree upon.

campaign A unified and organized effort with a goal in mind.

campaign manager The director of a political agenda whose goal is to place a chosen candidate in office.

controversial An issue that may not be agreed upon by many different sides, and causes many debates.

local level On a smaller, non-widespread scale.

1.The Constitution of the United States made absolutely no provision for the selection and nomination of candidates, the method of conducting campaigns, or the financing of campaigns for elections.

2.It left the organization of political parties up to the people.

3.As vital issues developed during Washington's administration, people began to take sides, just as people do today, over vital issues and problems that confront society.

4.As these early groups discussed the issues that confronted them, organizations were formed and our first political parties developed.

5.They are responsible for selecting the candidates they want to represent them in office.

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carried In a national election, a candidate won the vote in a particular state.
challenger A person who does not hold an office but who is trying to unseat an incumbent.

concede To yield or surrender, to admit or acknowledge.

economic unrest An uneasiness due to the lack of stability in the financial market.

incumbent A person who currently holds an office.

1.The Republican Party began as a series of anti-slavery political meetings throughout the Midwest in 1854.

2.The Whig Party was collapsing, and many Whigs, as well as northern Democrats, opposed the extension of slavery.

3.The Republican Party represented this anti-slavery view and thus gained followers rapidly.

4.The party's first Presidential candidate was John C. Fremont, who ran unsuccessfully in 1856 although he carried eleven northern states.

5.From 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected president, through 1928, the Republican Party won fourteen of the eighteen presidential elections.

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Alien and Sedition Acts Legislation which gave the President power to deport any alien he deemed dangerous.

Anti-Federalist Party One of the first two American political parties; it wanted a weak central government.

central government The federal power of the country.

Constitutional Convention Gathering for the purpose of creating a Constitution which would frame the laws for running the U.S.
Era of Good Feelings A period from 1816-1824 where there was only one political party: the Democrat-Republicans.

1.As powerful as the Democratic and Republican parties seem these days, it is almost incredible to us that there was a day when American politics was not ruled by one of these two organizations.

2.Before the American Revolution, no truly organized political parties existed in America. 3.Voting was so restricted and the power of the elected officials was so limited that there were few issues which would divide the people.

4.There did not seem to be a real need to organize any special groups.

5.With the crisis of the Revolutionary War, however, things changed.

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administration Executive branch of the American government; as in "the Clinton administration."

ballot box The container into which votes are put.

candidate A person who desires a position in a political office.

constituency People of a region who elected a representative; the representative is answerable to these people. Also, the region itself.

dictatorship A country with a one-party leader who is in complete control; usually one who is unfair.

1.In 1828, the Democratic hopeful Andrew Jackson was mocked by his political rivals as being stubborn and as stupid as a donkey.

2.The political cartoonists began portraying Jackson as a donkey and thesymbol stuck on him.

3.However, after Jackson won the election, the once-mocking donkey now became a symbol of strength in the political cartoons.

4.it grew more and more popular until it eventually became the symbol of the Democratic Party

5.The Republican's symbol of the elephant first appeared in 1874, drawn into political cartoons by artist Thomas Nast of the magazine Harpers Weekly

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electoral college Group of electors chosen to make the decision of electing the President and Vice-President of the U.S.

jurisdiction The extent of authority; the range of control.

licensing Official and legal authorization for a specific ownership or practice.

public safety Creation and maintenance of state fire and police departments, hospitals and other citizen needs.

public works The creation and maintenance of state roads, dams, buildings and other similar projects.

1.The Electoral College, which decides who will be America's next president, is organized and managed by the states.

2.The two houses of Congress are populated by the elected officials of the states of the Union.

3.The House of Representatives and the Senate are both comprised of the members who have been sent to Washington by the voters of their home state.

4.You may have traveled this country and have seen Iowa's state parks or enjoyed the results of the forests preserved by a state's Department of Conservation.

5.You might have a relative who was a graduate of a state university in Texas or Louisiana.

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adoption To receive and make one's own.

compensation Earnings; wage.

constituents A citizen of a district that elects representatives to government.

delegated Authorized or assigned; allowed.

enumeration A list; a number of.

1.The United States did not want any abuse of the central government.

2.They battled for the right for independence, and were not about to let it slip away into an abuse of power that trampled on the citizens' rights.

3.Hot debates occurred during the adoption of the Constitution, with fears expressed that the Constitution did not assure enough freedom for the individual.

4.The group of men could remember the tyranny imposed upon them by the British government.

5.The assembly called for a "bill of rights" that would list immunities and freedoms of the individual American.

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abridge Reducing or cutting short

Bill of Rights The first ten amendments to the Constitution, based strongly on the personal freedoms of the citizen

currency A medium of exchange for purchases

endowed To be equipped with a talent or a quality

Persecuted To harass or annoy.

1.One of the most treasured documents in American history is the "unanimous Declaration of Independence" which Congress presented on July 4, 1776.

2.It states "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

3." With the Declaration of Independence, America announced its intention to become a free and self-supporting nation.It took until 1783 to finally win that treasured independence--now, what should a young government do?

4.When the leaders of the country met in Philadelphia in 1787, they were already dealing with the problems of collecting taxes, enforcing the laws, and establishing trade between the states.

5.They had originally met with the intention of modifying and amending the Articles of Confederation (1781).

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electorate-The voting public.
The Federalis-A defense of the brand-new Constitution of the United States in a series of articles in 1787-1788 indirect ballot-The elected representatives cast the vote in the place of the members they represent John JayOne-of three writers of the Federalist papers and the first chief justice of the United States Prime Minister-Elected leader in a parliamentary democracy. 1.The people of the United States voted for incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton over Republican challenger Bob Dole in the 1996 presidential election.

2.It was another coast-to-coast example of American democracy at work.

3.Every time a senior citizen enters the voting booth at a local high school to vote on a town mayor, it's democracy in action.

4.Every time a father makes a voting mark on the ballot for the next county sheriff, democracy is being exercised.

5.Every time a college sophomore receives her voter's registration in the mail and heads to her precinct for voting, we see democracy working.

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colony A group of people settled in a particular area who carry the same interests decimated To reduce the amount in blocks or sizable amounts

democratic |

natural resources |

production |

1.A group of settlers arrive in a new land teeming with fish, game, and forestry. 2.There are natural resources in abundance, and there is no doubt that this is the place to start a new colony. 3.By looking at the many governments that were set up by tribes and nations, we can get an idea of some of the building blocks which help make them successful. 4.There are simple foundational truths that are consistent with almost any government--good or bad--that help organize and strengthen the structure. 5.Whether they want to be governed by a group of leaders or a solitary decision-maker, any group of people who would establish themselves in an orderly manner must have leadership

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communism Political system of collective ownership of property, population is of one class.
Communist Manifesto Book by Marx urging workers to overthrow upper classes; textbook for communism and socialism
dissenter One who disagrees or has a difference of opinion.
free enterprise system Political system in which the government allows citizens to own private business for profit
Of Reformation in England John Milton's writing on the preference of a commonwealth over a monarchy.

1.Niccolo Machiavelli, who lived during the Italian Renaissance, is considered the father of modern political science.
2.While the medieval approach to politics was to view it in the light of religion, Machiavelli based his theories on logic.
3.He presented the state as a living organism with the ruler as the head and the subjects as the rest of the body.
4.Machiavelli argued that anything must be done to keep the body healthy so that the government would run smoothly and the people would remain peaceful and secure. 5.As a result of the content of his writings, Machiavelli gained a reputation as being cruel and heartless.

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collaboration Working in a unified intellectual effort on a joint project.

culture Human thought and lifestyle within a certain time period or place.

Das Kapital Book written by Karl Marx promoting the working class uprising. A text for Marxism and Communism.

divine laws Instructions and guidelines for life believed to have been delivered by God.

ethics A system of moral values and good conduct.

1.Aristotle is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential thinkers of all Greek philosophers.

2.His teachings had a powerful effect on the Western culture for ages to come.

3.Born in Greece in 384 B.C., Aristotle was considered brilliant from childhood.

4.He attended the philosophical school of Plato and at one point in his life he supervised the early education of Alexander the Great. 5.His political works include Nichomachean Ethics and Politics, in which he proposed that citizens should be given the right to happiness and to pursue their dreams and goals.

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activism Action taken to strengthen or weaken a political ideal.

atrocity An appallingly wicked act.

dictator A supreme ruler with absolute power; usually a demanding and harsh ruler.

Institutional Revolutionary Party Ruling political party in Mexico from 1929 to 2000.

Khmer Rouge Communist party of Vietnam conflict.

1.In a communist country, the Communist Party forms the government, such as the Khmer Rouge government of Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict.

2.No other party is allowed to exist under any circumstances.

3.Membership in the Communist Party is considered a privilege and is granted only after a person meets certain standards.

4.Even from youth, organizations are formed so that the children of the communist country may learn the doctrines of the party.

5.In the days when the Soviet Union was considered a world power there was a one-party system in those countries.

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autocracy One person has complete control over all branches of government.

bureaucracy A system of leaders who carry out the work of the government through the use of departments.

dictator A leader who has total control over a country, and is unrestrained by law.

foreign exchange student Pupils who go to another country to study its culture for a set amount of time, usually a year.

habeas corpus An order to bring an arrested person to court and decide whether the imprisonment is legal.

1.General Idi Amin was another dictator like Saddam Hussein; he ruled the African country of Uganda with an unrelenting and iron-like fist.

2.He came to power in 1971 and quickly declared Uganda to be a Muslim country.

3.Many non-Muslim foreigners were given 24 hours to leave the country.

4.Even native non-Muslim Ugandans were not allowed to meet together for religious purposes.

5.Many who were in disagreement with him were quickly killed.

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aristocracy Government by privileged citizens or the upper class.

democracy Rule by the people. Originally an Aristotlelian term that meant bad "people-run" government.

jurisdiction The right to exercise authority.

monarchy Hereditary rule by one person alone; usually a king, queen, or emperor.

morality The character of being in agreement with the standards of right conduct.

1.Morally, Aristotle suggested that each of the above groups would be named according to how the government was run.

2.He based his morality upon whether the ruling party ruled for the benefit of the people (good) or for the benefit of only the ruling party (bad).

3.If one ruling person served the people, the good governing was called a monarchy.

4.If the governing was bad then it was a tyranny.

5.In the case of a few people governing, working for the people was known as an aristocracy.

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authority The power and/or right to enforce obedience and make decisions over a group.

commerce The business and exchange of goods by purchase, trade, or sale.

federal Government formed by a union of smaller groups (states) in agreement.

government A system of authority over a group of people.

import Goods brought into a country or state for the purpose of trade.

1.Governments are formed because groups need an organized effort to create and enforce rules that control conduct within the population.

2.You see governments within many different groups.

3.Besides your town government, governing occurs within groups ranging from Garden Clubs to Scout Troops.

4.The ruling members are put in their places of authority to create and enforce rules that govern the conduct within the group of people with whom they meet. 5.Governments also exist in order to assist society to improve in tangible and intangible ways.