People are sometimes confused regarding what words should be capitalized and what words should be all lowercase, especially when it comes to government bodies. Here's a partial list for you to refer to when writing your next proposal or press release:- administration; the Obama administration
- brain trust
- cabinet (but the Cabinet in the Obama administration)
- city hall (the municipal government)
- civil service
- court (a royal court)
- executive, legislative, or judicial branch
- federal; the federal government; federal agencies
- government
- monarchy
- parlement (French; but the Parlement of Paris)
- state; church and state; state powers
- the Department of State; the State Department; the department
- the Bureau of the Census; the census of 1960
- the County Board of Brevard County; the Brevard County Board; the county board
- the Peace Corps
- the United States Congress; the U.S. Congress; the Ninety-seventh Congress; Congress; 97th Cong.; congressional
- the Crown (the British monarchy); Crown lands
- the Privy Council (but a Privy Counsellor)
- the Parliament of Canada; the Senate (upper house); the House of Commons (lower house)
- the Chicago City Council; the city council
- the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; the court of appeals
- the Supreme Court of Canada
- the League of Nations; the League
- the Capitol (as distinct from the capital city)
- the Boston Tea Party
- the Cultural Revolution
- the War on Poverty
- the Great Depression; the Depression
- the Great Recession
- the Industrial Revolution
- the civil rights movement
- the cold war
- the crash of 1929
- the gold rush
- the baby boom
- September 11; 9/11
- (President Johnson's) Great Society
- the annual State of the Union address
- the Checkers speech
- Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech
- ancient Greece
- the baroque period
- the colonial period
- the Victorian era
- the antebellum period
- the Age of Reason
- the Common Era
- the Gay Nineties
- the Enlightenment
- the Middle Ages (but the medieval era)
- the Bronze Age
- the Ice Age
- the nuclear age
- the information age
- the Great Plague; the plague
- the Chicago Fire; the fire
- the Kentucky Derby; the derby
- Girl Scouts of America; a Girl Scout; a Scout
- the League of Women Voters; the league
When in doubt, refer to the Chicago Manual of Style, your stylebook of choice, or a good dictionary for direction.
