Social Studies - Government Flashcards
laws universally recognized by the virtue of human reason or human nature; extends beyond culture, time period, or society
natural law
Laws created and developed through judicial decision, typically by courts; case law. Common law is derived from tradition and previous responses to situations.
common law
possessed by an individual with no requirement; life, liberty, and property
natural rights
idea that individuals covenant with each other to create, and be subject to form a government
Social Contract
one individual rules the entire country; typically the ruler’s decree is law and it is unchangeable
Monarchy
rule by a small group of people
Oligarchy
Every citizen has a direct vote in the government and for each policy; in large societies is unmanageable due to the logistics of each citizen casting a vote for each policy
Direct democracy
a group of leaders dictate the allocation of resources to the entire population
communism
the state redistributes resources from the wealthy to the poor and provides many social services to the population
socialism
one of the earliest examples of laws to regulate a society; although primitive, it suggests a presumption of innocence and a rough outline that could act as a constitution
“eye for an eye”
Hammurabi’s Code
A compilation and formal organization of Roman Laws dating back to the sixth century. The Laws were issued during the rule of Emperor Justinian in early 500 A.D. They served as a foundation of jurisprudence during the Renaissance and the ideas of the laws can be seen in the judicial systems of Western Europe, developed Asia, and the US today.
Justinian’s Code of Laws
The foundation for modern limited-government; was a binding document that restricted the kind of England’s power; constructed by English aristocrats who were having their rights and privileges continually violated by the King. idea of Natural Rights can be seen, as well as the political ideas that would later be reflected in the Dec of Independence
Magna Carta
A political theorist who is regarded as one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment; writings outlined the ideas of Social Contract Theory and natural rights
John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government
- Outlines the political ideology of the American Revolution and lays the foundation for the US Constitution
- one of the most important documents in human history as it takes the power of government away from few and hands it to the people
Declaration of Independence
Lays the foundation for the American government, also provides a blueprint for a constitutional government throughout the world, allowing democracy to penetrate almost every country in the developed world from `1787 until now
US Constitution
- one of the most exhaustive works on the human condition, economic structuring, class warfare, and political science
- written by Karl Marx
- responsible for outlining the reason and beliefs behind a Communist structure of government
- general theory is that as industrialization spreads, the workers will grow to resent the factory manager and owner as exploiting the labor of the workers
Communist Manifesto
a form of government in which representatives determine the laws
Republicanism
idea that all powers of government ultimately rest in the people
popular sovereignty
in order to protect from corruption and a dangerous concentration of power, the constitution separates the various powers of government into three separate and distinct branches
separation of powers
to further protect against tyranny, each branch has the power to limit the power of the other two branches
checks and balances
power is shared not only between the branches of the national government but between the state and national governments as well
Federalism
outlines the purpose of the constitution and what the founding fathers had hoped to accomplish when they created it
preamble
establishes a bicameral (two house) congress based on arguably the most impactful compromise from the Constitutional Convention (Great Compromise)
Senate (equal rep)
House of Rep (proportional rep)
Legislative Branch
small states argues for a congress with equal representation, larger states thought this was unfair, this compromise combined these two ideas
Great Compromise
southern states wanted their slaves counted, northern states wanted slaves excluded; slaves counted as 3/5ths of a person
Three Fifths Compromise
