Political Beginnings Flashcards
Government
Organization that controls and directs the making and administration of a society’s policies.
Democracy
Government in which power is held by the people and exercised either directly or through representation, usually determined by elections.
Monarchy
Government in which the ruler is a hereditary head of state who rules for life.
Republic
Forms of government run by elected representatives; it does not have a king or queen.
Natural Rights
The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Common Law
Law based on custom and usage. British common law is the basis of much American law.
Direct Democracy
System of government in which citizens vote directly for the laws by which they will be ruled, as opposed to a representative democracy in which laws are made by elected representatives.
Enlightenment
Philisophical movement in 18th-century Europe that stressed individualism, questioned traditional values, and argued that humans could use reason to solve problems.
Parliament
Bicameral (two-chamber) national legislature of Great Britain, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Sovereignty
Power of a government to make decisions for itself within its own territory or jurisdiction; freedom from foreign control.
Social Contract Theory
Unspoken agreement by which people are joined to their government. People agree to give up rights and powers to the government in exchange for security, law, and order.
Popular Sovereignty
Consent of the govere ned; power to govern comes from the people.
Stamp Act
1765 British tax on publications and legal documents in the American colonies.
Separation of Powers
To prevent any group in government from gaining too much authority, the Constitution divides the federal government into three branches.
John Locke
An Enlightenment thinker that stressed the rights of the individual and natural rights.
Constitution
Plan of government. In the United States, the Constitution is the supreme law and plan of the national government, adopted in 1789.
Bill of Rights
First 10 amendments to the Constitution.
Jury
Group of ordinary citizens chosen to decide the guilt or innocence of the person accused in a trial.
Thomas Jefferson
The writer of the Declaration of Independence.
Articles of Confederation
Plan for government approved by the states in 1781. It proved to be too weak and was replaced by the U.S. Constitution.
Boston Massacre
Was the killing of five colonists by British soldiers on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts.
Quartering Act
Forced the colonists to house British soldiers in their barns and houses
Limited Government
In the Constitution, the people grant the government limited powers to act on their behalf.
Declaration of Independence
Written to announce that the United States was a free and separate country, no longer subject to the restraints of the British government.
Shays’s Rebellion
In 1786, Shays and his neighbors were about to lose their farms because they couldn’t afford to pay their taxes. In protest, Shays and a group of farmers took over the Massachusetts courthouse at gunpoint. The states and the Congress saw that their government was too weak. Turning point to Constitutional Convention.
3/5th’s Compromise
The number of representatives elected to the House from each state be based pn the total free population plus three-fifths of the number of slaves in the state.
Taxes
In this country, you must pay your taxes-or risk fines and possibly imprisonment. The government uses taxes to raise money to provide services for the good of the people.
Magna Carta
First document to limit the kings power. Gave the wealthy right to a jury trial and a say in taxation.
State
A defined territory, people, government and sovereignty (final say) create a state.
