American Government chapter 1
About this set
Created by:
erinchick on February 11, 2011
Subjects:
american history and government
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26 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Civics | The study of the rights and duties of citizens |
| Democracy | The people rule, and the government policies reflect peoples desires |
| Dictatorship | One person or small group controls government and citizens. No free elections of leader, no real choice, usually only one real political party, and many restrictions on individual rights |
| Representative (indirect) democracy | The people elect representatives to make policies for them |
| Participatory (direct) democracy | The citizens themselves make the policies (discuss issues and vote) Difficult in large countries like the U.S. Exists in some small communities |
| The purposes of government | To keep order, provide security (military, police, courts, also some government agencies) enforce regulations that keep us safe from harm. Example: FDA (food and drug administration) and EPA (environmental protection agency). Government also provides services such as: public schools, roads, healthcare, parks, well fare, rest stops, libraries, mail, shelters, and public transportation |
| Federalism | When the constitution divides power between federal and state governments |
| Anarchy | The absence of law and government |
| What are the three levels of government? | National government, Federal government, Central government |
| Public Policy | Government plan for future course of action |
| Budget | Statement of expected income and expenses |
| What is the naturalization process? | The process by which some immigrants become citizens. The steps are: 1.) file a declaration of intention with the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) 2.) Live in the U.S. for a minimum of 5 years (three years if married to U.S. citizen), 3.) file an application for citizenship (must be at least 18), 4.) CIS interview for qualifications and moral character, 5.) citizenship exam (history of civics, english) (decision time), 6.) citizenship ceremony - Oath of Allegiance |
| Legal Immigrants | Have benefits of citizenship except the rights to: vote, run for office, and serve on jury |
| Illegal Immigrants | (Undocumented) immigrants like in U.S. without governments approval |
| Illegal or not, what are all immigrants entitled to? | Work, own property, free education, and other government |
| What is a green card | A card that legal immigrants must carry at all times. Shows that they are in the country legally. Citizens don't have to have one |
| Citizen | According to the 14th amendment, anyone born in the U.S. or its possession, is naturalized, or born to american parents is a citizen. A citizen may express strong disapproval of government policy, but still owes loyalty and allegiance to the government |
| What is deportation? | When a immigrant is sent back to its original country |
| Refugee | A person who flees a country to escape persecution or danger |
| Persecution | Mistreatment due to religious or political beliefs |
| Immigration | When a person moves to a new country, from his or her native country |
| Wave of immigration | When a large amount of people immigrate to another country |
| Ellis Island | An immigration center in New York |
| What was the Chinese Exclusion Act | Made in 1882, a racist law, the first immigration law directed against a specific group. This law made Chinese immigration illegal. Soon, Chinese residents were not allowed to become citizens until 1943 |
| What was the Immigration Act of 1965? | This act abolished quotas (numerical limits) of each country |
| Quotas | The numerical limit of people who can enter form each country |
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