| Flap 1 | Flap 2 |
| ABC Programs | "make work" programs implemented by FDR during the Great Depression to give relief to the unemployed masses. |
| act of admission | a congressional act admitting a US territory, into the Union as a State |
| administration | the officials and agencies of the executive branch that carries out public policies |
| administrative adjudication | a quasi-judicial process in which a bureaucratic agency settles disputes between two parties in a manner similar to the way courts resolve disputes |
| administrative discretion | the ability of bureaucrats to make choices concerning the best way to implement congressional intentions. |
| administrative law | rules and regulations that regulate administrative (executive branch) agencies. |
| admiralty and maritime law | law applicable to navigation and commerce on the high seas as well as navigable waterways |
| advisory referendum | a process in which voters cast non-binding ballots on an issue or proposal. |
| affiliates | local television stations that carry the programming of a national network |
| affirmative action | those programs which are designed to overcome past discriminatory actions such as providing educational and employment opportunities to members of a specific group that were previously denied opportunties employment because of their race |
| agenda | a set of problems to which policy makers believe they should be attentive |
| agenda setting | the process of forming the list of issues to be addressed by government. |
| Albany Plan of Union | (by Benjamin Franklin in 1754) that aimed at uniting the 13 colonies for trade, military and other purposes, never enacted. |
| alien | one who is not a citizen (or national) of the state in which he/she lives |
| ambassador | a personal representative appointed by the head of a nation to represent that nation in matters of diplomacy |
| amendment | the modification of the constitution or a law. Modification may be either form (written) or informal (unwritten) |
| amicus curiae | a third-party brief on appeal, filed with leave of the appellate court, whose purpose is to support a party or issue on review. |
| amnesty | ageneral pardon offered to a group of law violators. |
| anarchy | the total absence of government |
| Anti-Federalists | those individuals who were opposed to the creation of a strong national gov. in 1787-1788 out of fear that individual and states' rights would be destroyed. |
| appeasement | the act of making concessions to a political or military rival |
| appellate court | a higher court that has the authority to review the decisions of lower courts on questions of law. |
| appellate jurisdiction | the authority of a court to review decisions of inferior (lower) courts, (original jurisdiction) |
| apportionment | the determination and assignment of representation in a legislature body, based on population. |
| Articles of Confederation | document by which the first U.S. gov. was established after American Revolution; allowed few important powers of the central gov. |
| articles of impeachment | the specific charges brought against a president or a federal judge by the House of Representative |
| assessment | the process of determining the value of property for purposes of taxation |
| assignment (appointed) counsel system | the faceet of the criminal justice system in which criminal defendant who are unable to afford legal representation are provided counsel at state expense. |
| at-large | election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire gov. unit (ex. a State or county) rather than by the voters of a district, a subdivision of that area. |
