Key Concepts in Government, Laws, and American Revolution

Absolute monarchy

A government where the king or queen has complete power with no limits from laws or a constitution.

Constitutional monarchy

A government where the king or queen shares power with elected leaders and must follow a constitution.

Divine right of kings

The belief that kings get their authority from God and are only answerable to God, not the people.

Alliance

An agreement between countries or groups to help each other, usually for protection or support.

Representative democracy

A type of government where citizens elect people to make laws and decisions for them.

Majority rule

The idea that the decision supported by more than half the people is the one that gets chosen.

Rule of law

The principle that everyone, including leaders, must follow the law.

Due process

Fair treatment under the law; the government must respect a person's legal rights.

State of nature

The idea of life without government, laws, or authority (used in Enlightenment thinking).

Social contract

An agreement between the people and the government: people give up some freedoms in exchange for protection of their rights.

Sovereignty

The power and authority of a state or government to rule itself.

Natural rights

Basic rights that all people are born with, such as life, liberty, and property (John Locke's idea).

Authoritarian government

A government where one leader or small group holds all power and citizens have little or no freedom.

Code of Hammurabi

One of the first written sets of laws, created in ancient Babylon, known for its harsh punishments.

Magna Carta

A 1215 English document that limited the king's power and gave nobles some rights; it influenced democracy later.

The Enlightenment

A period in the 1600s-1700s when thinkers used reason and science to improve society, government, and rights.

Mayflower Compact

An agreement made by the Pilgrims in 1620 to set up self-government and follow laws for the good of the colony.

Loyalist

A colonist in America who remained loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Patriot

A colonist who supported independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War.

Common Sense

A 1776 pamphlet by Thomas Paine that argued the colonies should break away from Britain.

Continental Congress

A meeting of colonial leaders who organized resistance to Britain and later declared independence.

Declaration of Independence

A 1776 document written mainly by Thomas Jefferson that announced the colonies' break from Britain and explained their natural rights.