Early Forms of Government and Development of US Constitutional Democracy

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.

Government

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

Monarchy

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

Aristocracy

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

Theocracy

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

Bureaucracy

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

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.

Oligarchy

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

Democracy

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

Direct Democracy

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

Republic

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

Ostracism

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

Peloponnesian War

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

Delian League

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

Patricians

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

Plebeians

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

Senate (Roman Republic)

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

Consuls

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

Praetors

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

Tribune of the Plebs

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

Checks and Balances

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

Natural Law

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

Absolute Monarchy

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

Constitutional Monarchy

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

Magna Carta (1215)

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

Parliament

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

Petition of Right (1628)

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

Commonwealth (England)

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

English Bill of Rights (1689)

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

Leviathan

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

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.

Natural Rights

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

U.S. Constitution

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

Federalism

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

Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

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

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

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

Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Amendment extending voting rights to women in the United States.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment (1971)

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

Dictator (Roman usage)

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