Chapters 1-3 Flashcards
The reason for America’s greatness
righteous character
a way of life
culture
America’s primary cultural influence
Judeo-Christian heritage
the belief that work is a gift from God and a means of glorifying Him
Puritan work ethic
the government leaves people free to own businesses and make a living based on their own initiative
free enterprise
a government that exercises its power under constraints, usually by means of a constitution
limited government
anything that helps people remember past events
memorial
types of memorials in America
documents, symbols, monuments, creeds
a system of colors and designs for flags that was devised during the Middle Ages
heraldry
a solemn promise
pledge
a people’s loyalty, support, and devotion to duty
allegiance
writer of the “Pledge of Allegiance”
Francis Bellamy
the official patriotic song or hymn of a country
national anthem
writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Francis Scott Key
a love for one’s country and a loyalty to it
Patriotism
the spirit of patriotism that Americans feel for their nation
Americanism
the characteristics and traditions that have been handed down to us by our ancestors
heritage
the promotion of one’s own nation and government regardless of moral considerations
nationalism
The first black American in the history of the US armed forces to achieve the rank of four-star general
General Daniel “Chappie” James
the authority and power to control, to direct, and to rule the actions and affairs of others.
government
God has both the supreme power and the right to govern all nations and their rulers
sovereign
the first foundational civil ordinance
capital punishment
God’s purpose for government
to protect the innocent by punishing the guilty
the rules of human action or conduct
laws
the two foundations for law
revealed law and natural law
law given by God explicitly in the Holy Scripture
revealed law
las that is discernible by all men as image-bearers of God
natural law
orders from God telling men what to do and what not to do
commandments
The Great Commandment
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
another name for the Ten Commandments
Decalogue
belief that the only reason to obey law is that it has been made
positive law
One of the first written laws in history
Code of Hammurabi
where does every form of government derive its authority
from God (Romans 13:1-7)
a government where God rules directly
theocracy
modern day theocracy
rule by clerics
Islamic law
sharia
the belief that government should remove everything religious from its domain
secularism
rule by one whose will is supreme
autocracy
the people rule
democracy
rule by a single family
dynasty
the distinguishing feature of a monarch
receives position by inheritance
a system in which the monarch has unlimited power
absolute power
system in which the monarch’s power is limited by a constitution and is equal or subservient to an elected representative assembly
constitutional monarchy
the most outstanding constitutional monarch
Queen Victoria
system of government in which the ruler acquires his power by some means other than inheritance and rules with absolute authority
dictatorship
totalitarian dictatorship in which all power is vested in one ruler
fascism
a totalitarian dictatorship by one or more persons that advocates the violent, revolutionary overthrow of the existing economic, political, and social order and sets up a tyrannical state that dominates the person, property, and thought of all citizens by means of physical and psychological force and terror
communism
formed the basic ideas of communism
Karl Marx
was the first to implement communism on a large scale
Vladimir Lenin
the number of people who have been murdered in the Soviet Union and Red China by Marxism
140 million
a system of government control over the economy of a nation
socialism
the price of socialism
freedom
the people rule directly by popular vote
direct democracy
best example of direct democracy in America
New England town meetings
the people rule indirectly through elected representatives
indirect democracy
the American government system
democratic republic
the people and their representatives are limited by a constitution
constitutional republic
the idea that the church and the government are to remain institutionally separate
separation of church and state
the cornerstone of American government
the character of the American people
the greatest influence on the development of English law and government
the Bible
a non-codified form of law based on long-accepted customs and traditions
common law
prefaced his addition of the English law code with the ten commandments
Alfred the Great
father of the common law
Henry de Bracton
wrote “Institutes of the Common Law”
Sir Edward Coke
wrote “Commentaries on the Laws of England”
Sir William Blackstone
laid the foundation to the right to trial by jury
King Henry II
Anglo-Saxon council of wise men who aided the king in making important decisions
Witan
When Parliament was named
1265
Ruled England during the first meeting of Parliament, beginning representative government in England
Simon de Montfort
convened the Model Parliament
Edward I
year of the first Model Parliament
1295
upper house of parliament
house of Lords
lower house of parliament
house of commons
the first time in English history that the king was placed under the law of the land
signing of the Magna Carta, 1215
signed the Magna Carta
King John
year of the English Bill of Rights
1689
a document issued by the crown which established the relationship between the king and his subjects
charter
law above the law, universal principles of right and justice
higher law
first representative assembly in the colonies
house of burgesses
only colony with a unicameral legislature
Pennsylvania
colonial house that “controlled the purse strings”
lower house
main unit of government in colonial New England
town
main unit of government in the colonial south
county
the spiritual revival that swept the colonies between 1730 and 1760
Great Awakening
two main evangelists during the Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield
The first significant attempt at political unity among the colonies
New England Confederation
called for an annual conference of delegates, one from each colony, to manage native affairs, pass laws, and levy taxes (was never adopted)
Albany Plan
two British allies of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams
William Pitt and Edmund Burke
colonists decided that they were only under the authority of the king, not Parliament, because they were not represented in Parliament
Stamp Act Congress
protested the stamp tax and other British regulations with the colonists felt were illegal
Declaration of Rights and Grievances
pledged the loyalty of the colonists to the Crown but protested Parliamentary interference with American rights
First Continental Congress
Effectively America’s first central government
Second Continental Congress
cut off all trade between the colonies and England and officially removed the colonies from the king’s protection
Prohibitory Act
primarily responsible for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson
