Glossary

speculation

Purchasing land for future sale in hopes it will increase in value.

States’ rights

Emphasizes the power of individual states over a stronger centralized government.

Stay of Execution

a judicial order delaying a lower court order, for example, a death sentence.

Stenographer

a person who transcribes a conversation in real time using shorthand writing or a stenograph machine

Strict constructionist

one who believes that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the literal meaning of its language at the time of passage

Strike

an organized refusal to work

Subpoenaed

required to appear or submit material before a court or other deliberative body

Substantive due process

required to appear or be submitted before a court or other deliberative body
the idea that the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which prohibits the government from depriving “any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” protects some rights not explicitly listed in the Constitution.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Supremacy

Having power and authority over someone or something.