Unit 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

Autocracy

Answer 1

a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Question 2

Bicameral

Answer 2

having two branches, chambers, or houses, as a legislative body.

Question 3

Checks and Balances

Answer 3

limits imposed on all branches of a government by vesting in each branch the right to amend or void those acts of another that fall within its purview.

Question 4

Citizen

Answer 4

a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien).

Question 5

Compromise

Answer 5

a settlement of differences by mutual concessions; an agreement reached by adjustment of conflicting or opposing claims, principles, etc., by reciprocal modification of demands.

Question 6

Confederation

Answer 6

a group of nations or states, or a government encompassing several states or political divisions, in which the component states retain considerable independence. The members of a confederation often delegate only a few powers to the central authority.

Question 7

Constitution

Answer 7

a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

Question 8

Democracy

Answer 8

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Question 9

Dictatorship

Answer 9

a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

Question 10

Executive Power

Answer 10

authority to enforce orders and to ensure they are carried out as intended.

Question 11

Federal

Answer 11

of or relating to a form of government in which power is shared between a central government and individual states, provinces, etc.

Question 12

Federalism

Answer 12

federalism is a system of government in which entities such as states or provinces share power with a national government.

Question 13

Government

Answer 13

the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states; direction of the affairs of a state, community, etc.

Question 14

John Locke

Answer 14

a seventeenth-century English philosopher. Locke argued against the belief that human beings are born with certain ideas already in their minds. He claimed that, on the contrary, the mind is a tabula rasa (blank slate) until experience begins to “write” on it.

Question 15

Judicial Power

Answer 15

authority, both constitutional and legal, given to the courts and its judges (1) to preside over and render judgment on court-worthy cases; (2) to enforce or void statutes and laws when scope or constitutionality are questioned (3) to interpret statutes and laws when disputes arise.

Question 16

Legislative Power

Answer 16

is the ability to make laws. In the United States, the constitution grants the power to make laws to make federal laws to Congress.

Question 17

Legitimacy

Answer 17

Conformity to the law or to rules

Question 18

Limited Government

Answer 18

A limited government is a political system where the legalized force is restricted through delegated and enumerated powers. The United States Constitution, for example, was designed to limit government’s role to its core functions: to preserve individual liberty and protect private property.

Question 19

Oligarchy

Answer 19

A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution. (Rule by few)

Question 20

Parliamentary

Answer 20

A system of government having the real executive power vested in a cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually and collectively responsible to the legislature.