U1T1 Flashcards
What is the constitution
the supreme law of the US
What is the Bill of rights
The first 10 ammendments in the constitution
1st ammendment
Freedom of religion, the press, speech, petition, and assembly
2nd ammendment
Right to bear arms
3rd ammendment
Soldiers don’t have the right to be quartered in your home without consent
4th ammendment
Protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures
5th ammendment
The right to remain silent, a jury trial, protection against double jeopardy, a fair trial, and that the government must repay you if it takes your property.
6th ammendment
Gives the rights to criminal defendants:
A speedy and public trial
A trial must occur where the crime happened
To be informed of the charges against you
To confront witnesses against them
Right to a lawyer
7th ammendment
Civil cases have the right to a trial by jury (when the value of the crime is over $20).
8th ammendment
Protection against excessive and unusual punishement
9th ammendment
The rights of the people are not limited to those listed in the constitution.
10th ammendment
Power not given to the federal government is given to either the states or the people.
public goods
Goods that are provided by the government for free (such as a military)
private goods
Goods that are purchased from another person or corporation (such as clothes)
toll goods
Goods that are availible to everyone, but must be paid for (such as a private school)
common goods
Goods that are free and availible to everyone but are of limited supply, such as drinking water
government
The proccess in which society organizes itself
politics
Gaining and exercising control within a government for a purpose and to achieve a goal
- Democracy
- Direct democracy
- Representative democracy
- a government where poewr comes from the people
- a democracy in which people directly contribute to the government
- a democracy where people don’t directly contribute to the government, but rather elect representatives to contribute to the government on their behalf
- Monarchy
- Constitutional monarchy
- Parliamentary democracy
- Autocracy
- A government in which rule is given by a single person
- A monarchy in which the monarch’s power is limited
- A democracy that comprises of a monarch and a parliament (congress), such as the UK or Australia
- A monarchy in which the monarch’s power in unlimited
oligarchy
A government where rule is given by a group of people
totalitarianism
A government in which a single person and political party have unrestricted power, and people’s power and rights are severely restricted
What are the branches of the US government
Legislative, judicial, executive
What are the functions of each branch of government
Legislative: makes laws, includes Congress (House of representatives y Senate)
Judicial: Decides if laws are constitutional
Executive: the president, which has different functions such as signing/vetoing laws, determining how the national budget is used, declaring war, etc.
Checks and balances
When the different branches of government check/balance each other to ensure that one branch of government doesn’t have too much power
Federalism
When government power is shared between different levels, such as federal, state, and local, and the different branches interact with each other
Unitary government
When government power is concentrated at the national level
Devolution
The process of decentralizing a government’s power
Confederation
When government power is concentrated at the state/local level
Characteristics of federalsim
- Interaction happens between the differnet levels of government
- Significant changes can’t happen without the approval of the majority of the state/local governments
- Each level of government must be equal.
