Forms of Government

Question 1

Civic

Answer 1

civics. noun. civ·​ics ˈsiv-iks. : the study of the rights and duties of citizens.

Question 2

Community

Answer 2

A community is a group of people living or working together in the same area. People in communities might go to the same schools, shop in the same stores and do the same things. They also help each other and solve problems together.

Question 3

Government

Answer 3

Any group of people living together in a country, state, city, or local community has to live by certain rules. The system of rules and the people who make and administer them is known as a government.

Question 4

Direct Democracy

Answer 4

In a direct democracy all the voters come together in one place to make laws and decisions. Often there are too many people for a direct democracy to work. In those cases the people elect representatives, or other people to speak for them.

Question 5

Representative

Answer 5

1. : a typical example of a group, class, or quality. 2. : one that represents another or others : delegate. especially : a member of the house of representatives of the U.S. Congress or a state legislature.

Question 6

Representative Democracy

Answer 6

The United States is a representative democracy. This means that our government is elected by citizens. Here, citizens vote for their government officials. These officials represent the citizens’ ideas and concerns in government. Voting is one way to participate in our democracy.

Question 7

Monarchy

Answer 7

A monarchy is a form of government that has a single person known as a monarch at its head. Monarchs use such titles as king, queen, emperor, or empress. Monarchies were once common throughout the world, but now they are rare. Monarchs generally reign for life. Also, most monarchies are hereditary.

Question 8

Oligarchy

Answer 8

An oligarchy is a type of ruling structure in which a few people wield power. Typically, the rulers come from a small privileged group and use their power to seek personal gain or benefits for their group.

Question 9

Majority

Answer 9

Majority means “most of,” or the biggest part.

Question 10

Minority

Answer 10

A minority can be defined as less than half the population in a society. Therefore African Americans, American Indians, and Hispanic Americans can all be considered minorities in the United States.

Question 11

Autocracy

Answer 11

An autocracy is a government controlled by one person with absolute power. As unlimited power doesn’t usually bring out the best in people, autocracies are often brutal regimes. The word autocracy comes from the Greek roots auto (“self”) and kratos (“power”).

Question 12

Communism

Answer 12

Communism is a type of government as well as an economic system (a way of creating and sharing wealth). In a Communist system, individual people do not own land, factories, or machinery. Instead, the government or the whole community owns these things. Everyone is supposed to share the wealth that they create.

Question 13

Socialism

Answer 13

Socialism is a way to organize a society. It deals mostly with the economy, or the part of a society that creates wealth. The goal of socialism is to spread wealth more evenly and to treat all people fairly.

Question 14

Totalitarianism

Answer 14

The term refers to the type of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens.

Question 15

Head of Government

Answer 15

A president is the head of government in countries with a presidential system of rule. This system is used in the United States and countries in Africa and Latin America, where the president assumes great powers and responsibilities.

Question 16

Citizen Participation

Answer 16

‘Citizen participation’ refers to citizen involvement in public decision making. In different interpretations, ‘citizens’ may be either individuals or organized communities, and ‘participation’ may involve either observation or power.

Question 17

Voting

Answer 17

Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, convenes together for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns.

Question 18

Legislature

Answer 18

A legislature is the group of people within a government that makes the laws. Republics and most modern constitutional monarchies—in which the monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government—have national legislatures. Two countries that have legislatures are the United States and the United Kingdom.

Question 19

Anarchy

Answer 19

The word anarchy comes from the Greeks who combined ‘an,’ meaning not or without, and ‘arkhos,’ meaning ruler or leader. For them, anarchy was when no one had any authority over anyone else. There would be no laws, no police, nothing.

Question 20

Tyranny

Answer 20

A tyranny is a cruel, harsh, and unfair government in which a person or small group of people have power over everyone else.