Civics Flashcards
(59 cards)
Bicameral
having two branches or chambers.
Dictatorship
form of government in which absolute power is exercised
Republic
power is explicitly vested in the people, who in turn exercise their power through elected representatives
Democracy
A government by the people and for the people
Athens
Where government started
Oligarcgy
all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
Feudalism
a social system that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and the use of land in return
Rome
governed by an elected Senate but dissatisfaction with the Senate led to civil wars that culminated in a brief dictatorship by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
A Roman general and dictator in the first century b.c. In military campaigns to secure Roman rule over the province of Gaul, present-day France, he gained much prestige.
State
a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government.
Nation
a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
Sovereignty
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.
“national sovereignty”
Social Contract Theory
voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
Magna Carta
a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges.
Taxation without representation
slogan of the Revolutionary War and the years before. The colonists were not allowed to choose representatives to parliament in London, which passed the laws under which they were taxed.
Hammurabi’s Law
it contained the “eye for an eye” theory of punishment
Common Law
law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes
Declaration of Independence
formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain.
Articles of Confederation
the first constitution of the 13 American states
Constitutional Convention
The gathering that drafted the Constitution of the United States in 1787; all states were invited to send delegates.
Virginia Plan
proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.
Connecticut Plan
that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the constitution
Federalist
an advocate or supporter of federalism.
Anti- Federalist
movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government
