Government Chp.1 & Chp.2

terms to know

Democracy

citizens hold political power

Autocracy

one person holds power

Oligarchy

a small elite group holds power

Theocracy

Religious leaders rule in the name of God and religious law guides the state

Republic

power rests with the citizens and their elected representatives, operates under a fixed set of law

Monarchy

King or queen is head of government and holds all power, power passes through the family.

Elitism

Pluralism

a social and political system where people with different beliefs, backgrounds, and cultures live together peacefully and share power.

Capitalism

Citizens own private property and businesses, directing the economy

Socialism

Government controls major industries and provides broad social welfare programs

Socialism

Government controls major industries and provides board social welfare programs

Communism

The State owns all property, farms, and businesses to distribute goods equally

Unitary

places all power in a strong central government

Federal

Shares power between a central government and local states

Confederate

keeps most power with individual states and gives very little power to a weak central government

Articles of Confederation

Written in 1777 during the Revolutionary War, First government of the United States

U.S Constitution

supreme law of the US that sets up the national government and protects the fundamental of it citizens

Bill of Rights

first ten amendments to the US

Virginia Plan

a 1787 proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for a strong central government with three distinct branches and representation based on population

New Jersey Plan

1787 proposal at the Constitutional Convention that gave every state an equal vote in a one-house legislature

Great Compromise

1787 agreement during the U.S. Constitutional Convention that created a two-house (bicameral) legislature balancing power between large and small states

Three-Fifths Compromise

Every 5 enslaved persons would count as 3 people

Slave Trade Compromise

Congress could not ban the international slave trade before 1808, congress could tax imported enslaved people

Fugitive Slave Clause

Enslaved people who escaped to another state could be returned to enslavement

Bicameral

two house legislature

Separation of Powers

a constitutional design that divides state government responsibilities into distinct branches to prevent any single group from holding total control

Checks and Balances

a system of rules in government that let each branch limit the power of the other branches

Ratification

official act of approving or confirming a legal document, treaty, or agreement to make it valid and legally binding

Amendment

formal change, addition, or correction made to a legal document, law, contract, or constituion

Thomas Jefferson

drafted Thomas Jefferson

Alexander Hamilton

Federalists