Social Studies I Flashcards
checks and balances
the Constitutional mechanisms that authorize each branch of
civil rights
the protections and privileges of personal liberty given to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution and Bill of Rights
communism
a political and economic system in which factors of production are collectively owned and directed by the state
confederate
of, or pertaining to, a group of states more or less permanently united for common purposes
human resources
labor used to produce goods and services
democracy
the practice of the principle of equality of rights, opportunity, and treatment
dictatorship
a system of government in which one person has absolute authority, including complete domination of the citizens’ lives; the most basic of citizens’ rights are taken away in order to guarantee the leader’s hold on power
due process of law
the right of every citizen to be protected against arbitrary action by government
economics
the study of the process of producing and distributing a good and how it relates to buying, selling, and making a profit in a society
entrepreneur
a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture
environment
everything near and on Earth’s surface
equal protection of the law
the idea that no individual or group may receive special privileges from, nor be unjustly discriminated by, the law
federalism
a form of political organization in which governmental power is divided between a central government and territorial subdivisions—in the United States, among the national, state, and local governments
Federalists
advocates of a strong federal government and supporters of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution
global warming
the progressive gradual rise of Earth’s surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns
amendment
changes in, or additions to, a constitution; must be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures; ratified by approval of three-fourths of the states
graph
a visual aid that makes comparisons of numbers or amounts by using lines, bars, circles, or pictures
human capital
the knowledge and skills that enable workers to be productive
immigration
the process of moving to a country (or other political unit)
income tax
a percentage of wages, profits, and other income paid to federal, state, and local governments
judicial review
the doctrine that permits the federal courts to declare unconstitutional, and thus null and void, acts of the Congress, the executive branch, and the states; the precedent was established in the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison
latitude
the distance north or south of the equator, measured in degrees along a line of longitude
Mayflower Compact
the document drawn up by the Pilgrims in 1620, while on the Mayflower, before landing at Plymouth Rock; provided a legal basis for self-government
