final study guide

• government - the term generally used to describe the formal institutions through which a land and its people are ruled
• government faces the challenge of doing so in ways that are true to the key American political values of liberty, equality and democracy
• citizenship -  informed and active membership in a political community
• citizens can influence their government in many ways, including serving on a jury, lobbying, writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper, and engaging in a public rally or protest
• an authoritarian system, meaning that the government recognizes no formal limit but nevertheless be restrained by the power of other social institutions
• a system of government in which the degree of control is even greater is a totalitarian system, where the government recognizes no formal limits on its power and seeks to absorb or eliminate other social institutions that might challenge it
• a democracy is a political system that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials
• constitutional government - the formal and effective limits are placed on the powers of the government
• politics - conflicts and struggles over the leadership, structure, and policies of governments
• power - having a share
• a system of government in which the populace selects representatives, who play a significant role in government decision making is usually calla a representative democracy or republic
• a system that permits citizens to vote directly on laws and policies is often called a direct democracy
• bill of rights - the first 10 amendments of the constitution 
• civil liberties, defined as individual rights and personal freedoms with which governments may not interfere  
• civil rights - protections of citizen equality provided by the governments- have also expanded dramatically since the middle of the twentieth century, when the African American struggle for equal rights took center stage
• habeas corpus - a court order demanding that an individual in custody be brought into court and shown the cause for detention
• due process of law- the right of every citizen to be protected against arbitrary action by national or state governments
• selective incorporation- the process by which different protection in the bill of rights were incorporated or applied to the states using the fourteenth amendment, thus guaranteeing citizens' protection from state as well as national government
• the establishment clause can be interpreted in 2 ways
• the government is prohibited from establishing an official church
• the government may not take sides among competing religions but may provide assistance to religious institutions or ideas as long as it shows no favoritism
•    due process of law - the right of every citizen to be protected against arbitrary action by national or state governments
• strict scrutiny - higher standard of judicial review
• the free exercise clause - protects the citizens right to believe and to practice any religion