Early Forms of Government and Development of US Constitutional Democracy

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Vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms and concepts from the lecture on the evolution of government—from early monarchies to the foundations of U.S. constitutional democracy.

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38 Terms

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Government

An organized system that makes and enforces rules, provides order, and regulates human activity within a society.

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Monarchy

A form of government in which a king or queen inherits absolute or limited power and usually rules for life.

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Aristocracy

A ruling upper class whose power and land pass from one generation to the next.

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Theocracy

A monarchy in which rulers claim divine authority; political power is believed to come from the gods.

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Bureaucracy

An administrative organization that relies on appointed officials and standardized procedures to run government affairs.

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Tyrant (Ancient Greece)

A member of the lower class who seized power—often with popular support—to replace kings and aristocrats in Greek city-states around 700 BC.

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Oligarchy

Government by a small group of people, usually distinguished by wealth, family ties, or military power.

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Democracy

Government in which all eligible citizens participate—directly or through elected representatives—in making laws and policies.

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Direct Democracy

A democratic system, like Periclean Athens, where citizens debate and vote on laws themselves rather than through representatives.

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Republic

A state in which power is exercised by elected representatives rather than a monarch, exemplified by Rome after 509 BC.

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Ostracism

An Athenian practice allowing a majority of citizens to banish someone considered harmful to the state.

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Peloponnesian War

A decades-long conflict (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta that led to Athens’s downfall.

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Delian League

An Athenian-led maritime alliance whose wealth helped fund projects like the Parthenon.

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Patricians

Wealthy, land-owning elites who formed Rome’s ruling class during the Republic.

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Plebeians

Poorer landowners, farmers, merchants, and craftspeople who made up the majority of Roman citizens.

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Senate (Roman Republic)

A lifelong council of patricians that eventually dominated Roman politics and policymaking.

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Consuls

Two chief executives of the Roman Republic elected annually to run the government and command armies.

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Praetors

Roman officials who administered civil law for citizens and, later, cases involving noncitizens.

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Tribune of the Plebs

An elected Roman official empowered to veto actions harmful to plebeians.

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Checks and Balances

A system in which each branch or office of government can block or limit the powers of others to prevent tyranny.

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Natural Law

Roman concept of universal legal standards guaranteeing basic rights to all people.

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Absolute Monarchy

Rule by a king or queen who holds unchecked, hereditary power.

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Constitutional Monarchy

A monarchy limited by a constitution and often balanced by a representative body, such as Parliament in England.

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Magna Carta (1215)

The ‘Great Charter’ in which King John recognized basic civil liberties and accepted limits on royal authority.

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Parliament

England’s representative legislature, eventually divided into the House of Lords and House of Commons, serving as a check on the monarch.

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Petition of Right (1628)

Parliamentary document further limiting the English king’s powers and expanding civil rights.

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Commonwealth (England)

The short-lived English republic established after the execution of Charles I in 1649 under Oliver Cromwell.

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English Bill of Rights (1689)

Law that strengthened Parliament, affirmed civil liberties, and ended the doctrine of divine right of kings in England.

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Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes’s 1651 work arguing that humans are naturally selfish and need an absolute ruler to maintain order.

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Two Treatises on Government

John Locke’s 1689 work asserting natural rights (life, liberty, property) and the right to alter or abolish governments that fail to protect them.

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Natural Rights

Inalienable rights—life, liberty, property—believed by Locke to be inherent to all humans and the purpose of government to protect.

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U.S. Constitution

The 1787 framework establishing a flexible representative democracy with separated powers and checks and balances.

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Federalism

Division of governmental power between a national (federal) authority and state governments in the United States.

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Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship and equal protection under the law to former slaves.

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Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

Amendment guaranteeing voting rights to all male citizens regardless of race, color, or previous servitude.

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Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Amendment extending voting rights to women in the United States.

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Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971)

Amendment lowering the U.S. voting age from 21 to 18.

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Dictator (Roman usage)

A magistrate given temporary absolute power in emergencies; Julius Caesar claimed the position for life in 47 BC.