Studied by 4 people
Natural Rights
the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property. Rights are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are universal.
Limited Government
A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.
Political democracy
is a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing legislation (laws).
Popular Sovereignty
The idea that a just government must derive its powers from the consent of the people it governs.
Republicanism
A philosophy of limited government with elected representatives serving at the will of the people. The government is based on the consent of the governed.
Social Contract Theory
The belief that people are free and equal by natural right, and that this in turn requires that all people give their consent to be governed; espoused by John Locke and influential in the writing of the declaration of independence.
Republic
A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws.
Elite Democracy (Elitism)
Political system in which power is concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of individuals or institutions.
Participatory Democracy
is a model of democracy in which citizens have the power to decide directly on policy and politicians are responsible for implementing those policy decisions.
Pluralist Democracy
is a model of democracy in which no one group dominates politics and organized groups compete with each other to influence policy.
Representative Democracy
A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.
Constitutional democracy
A government that enforces recognized limits on those who govern and allows the voice of the people to be heard through free, fair, and relatively frequent elections.
Democracy
A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state. Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections. Government by the people, both directly or indirectly, with free and frequent elections.
Direct Democracy
A form of government in which citizens rule directly and not through representatives. Founders feared this would lead to “mob rule”.
Majority rule
Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority.
Oligarchy (not on quiz)
A government ruled by a few powerful people. a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.
Theocracy (not on quiz)
A government controlled by religious leaders
Unitary System
Type of government that centralizes all the powers of government into one central authority.
Articles of Confederation
1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade)
Antifederalists
Opponents of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government, generally. They were concern that the Constitution did not specifically enumerate protected civil liberties. Led by Jefferson
Decentralized republic
favoring greater state authority rather than national authority
Factions
Groups (today known as interest groups), which according to James Madison arose from the unequal distribution wealth and had the potential to influence government action in their own self-interest and potentially cause instability in government.
Federalists
A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures. Led by Madison & Hamilton.
Liberty
freedom of choice and from government control.
Express Powers
Powers the Constitution specifically grants to one of the branches of the national government. AKA Enumerated powers
Reserved Powers
Powers not specifically granted to the federal government or denied to the states belong to the states and the people. (10th Amendment)
Implied powers
Powers inferred from the express powers that allow Congress to carry out its functions.
Concurrent Powers
powers shared by the national and state governments
Exclusive Powers
powers that can only be used by the national government
Federal Government
A form of government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments.
Shays's Rebellion
This MA conflict caused criticism of the Articles of Confederation; weak govt; increased calls for a Constitutional Convention to revise the Articles.
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