Learn: Magruder's American Government -chapter 1 study guide | Quizlet

Government

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

Public Policies

all of those things a government decides to do. Coven's matter ranging from taxation, defense, education, crime, healthcare, transportation, and environment, civil rights and working conditions. (law)

Legislative Power

the power to make law and to frame public policies

Executive Power

the power to execute, enforce, and administer law

Judicial Power

the power to interpret laws, determine their meaning and to settle disputes that arise within the society.

Constitution

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

Dictatorship

exercise power by a single person or a small group.

Democracy

the power rest with a majority of the people. Supreme authority rest with the people.

State

a body of people living in a defined territory, organized politically, power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.

Sovreign

(every state) has supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

The Force Theory

state was born of force

The Evolution Theory

state developed naturally out of the early family

The Divine Right Theory

God created the state and that God had given those of royal birth a "divine right" to rule.

The Social Contract Theory

the state arose out of a voluntary act of free people. The state exists only to serve the will of the people. They are the sole source of political power.

Mikado

Japanese emperor

Philosophers

--England

a. Thomas Hobbes (1611-1677)

b. James Harrington (1611-1677)

c. John Locke (1632-1704)

Autocracy

a government in which a single person holds unlimited political power.

Oligarchy

a government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite.

Unitary Government

a centralized government in which all government powers belong to a single, central agency.

Federal Government

the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments.

Division of Powers

basic principle of federalism. Governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis.

Presidential Government

a form of government in which the executive and legislative branches of the government are separate independent, and coequal.

Parliamentary Government

a form of government in which the executive branch is made up of the prime minister, or premier, and that official's cabinet.

Compromise

the process of blending and adjusting competing views and interest.

Free Enterprise System

America's economic system. Based on four fundamental factors (also called capitalism)

a. private ownership

b. individual initiative

c. profit

d. competition

Law of Supply and Demand

when supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop. When supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise.

Mixed Economy

an economy in which private enterprise exist in combination with considerable amount of government regulation and promotion.

Limited Government

government is restricted in what it may do and each individual has certain rights that government cannot take away.

Representative Government

system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by voters and held accountable in periodic elections.