1.1 Foundations of Government and Citizenship Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the foundations, origins, forms, and key concepts of government and citizenship.

Government

The institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

Public Policies

All the things a government decides to do, including taxation, defense, education, crime, healthcare, transportation, the environment, civil rights, and working conditions.

Legislative Power

The basic power of government to make laws and to frame public policies.

Executive Power

The basic power of government to execute, enforce, and administer laws.

Judicial Power

The basic power of government to interpret laws, to determine their meaning, and to settle disputes.

Constitution

A body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government.

Dictatorship

A form of government where those who rule cannot be held responsible to the will of the people.

Democracy

A form of government where supreme political authority rests with the majority of the people.

Politics

The process by which a society decides how power and resources will be distributed within that society.

State

A body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically with a government, and having the power to make and enforce laws without the consent of any higher authority.

Nation

An ethnic term referring to races or other large groups of people.

Country

A geographic term referring to a specific place, region, or area of land.

Homogeneous

Describes members of a group who share customs, a common language, and an ethnic background.

Sovereign

Having supreme and absolute power within one's own territory, with the authority to decide foreign and domestic policies.

Force Theory

The theory that the state was born when one person or a small group claimed control over an area and forced everyone within it to submit to their rule.

Evolutionary Theory

The theory that the state developed naturally out of the early family, where the head of the family served as the head of government.

Divine Right of Kings Theory

The theory prominent from the 15th to 18th centuries that God created the state and granted those of royal birth a divine right to rule.

Social Contract Theory

The theory that individuals voluntarily agreed to give up as much power to the state as needed to promote safety and well-being for all.

Articles of Confederation

The nation's first constitution, created in 1781, which established a powerless central government.

Anarchy

A condition of society living without government, law, or order.

Patriotism

The love of one's country, which inspires citizens to protect their rights and liberties.

Direct Democracy

A form of government in which the people directly vote on legislation themselves.

Indirect Democracy

A form of government in which citizens vote for representatives to make laws and conduct government on their behalf.

Republic

A government where political power is held by voting citizens and exercised by chosen representatives responsible to those citizens.

Autocracy

A form of dictatorship in which a single person holds unlimited political power.

Oligarchy

A form of dictatorship in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.

Authoritarian Dictatorship

A form of government in which those in power hold absolute and unchallengeable authority over the people.

Totalitarian

A system of government that exercises complete control over every aspect of human affairs.

Theocracy

A government whose legal system is based entirely on religious law.

Sharia

The moral code and religious law of Islam.

Unitary Government

A centralized government where all powers belong to a single, central agency.

Federal Government

A system of government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments.

Division of Powers

The constitutional division of governmental authority superior to both central and local governments.

Confederation

An alliance of independent states assigned limited governmental powers, primarily over defense and foreign affairs.

Presidential Government

A system of government featuring a separation of powers between executive and legislative branches that are independent and coequal.

Parliamentary Government

A system of government where the executive branch consists of a Prime Minister and cabinet chosen directly by the legislative branch (Parliament).

Feudalism

A loosely organized system established in response to chaos, where powerful lords divided their lands among lesser lords.

Legitimacy

The belief of the people that a government has the right to make public policy.

Colonialism

The control of one nation over lands abroad.

Mercantilism

An economic policy emphasizing the accumulation of money and precious metals to increase the absolute power of the monarchy and nation.

William Blackstone

An English legal theorist who believed in common law, the idea that legal decisions should be based on similar past rulings.

Citizen

One who holds both rights and responsibilities within a state.

Free Enterprise System

An economic system characterized by private ownership of capital goods, investments determined by private decision, and marketplace competition.