Chapters 1-3 Mollaun Gov.
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66 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Government | the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies |
| Legislative power | the power to make a law and to frame public policies |
| executive power | the power to execute enforce, and administer law |
| judicial power | the power to interpret laws and to determine their meaning and to settle disputes that arise within society |
| constitution | the body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government |
| dictatorship | a form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority |
| democracy | a form of government in which the supreme authority rests with the people |
| state | a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically (that is, with a government), and with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority |
| sovereign | having supreme power within its own territory; neither subordinate nor responsible to any other authority |
| 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 party |
| unitary government | often described as a centralized government; all powers held by the government belong to a single, central agency |
| federal government | one in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments |
| division of powers | basic principle of federalism; the constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis |
| confederation | an alliance of independent states; thus type of government has the power to handle only those matters that the member states have assigned to it |
| 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 interests |
| free enterprise system | an economic system characterized by the private ownership of capital goods, investments made by private decision, not by the government directive, and success or failure determined by the competition in the marketplace |
| mixed economy | an economy in which private enterprise exists in combination with a considerable amount of government regulation and promotion |
| law of supply and demand | law that states when supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop; when supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise |
| Limited government | basic principle of american government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away |
| representative government | system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections |
| Magna Carta | Great Charter forced upon king John of England by his barons in 1215; established that the power of the monarchy was not absolute and guaranteed by trial by jury and due process of law of the nobility |
| Petition of Right | Document prepared by parliament and signed by king Charles I of England in 1628; challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land |
| English Bill of Rights | Document written by parliament and agreed on by William and Mary of England 1689, designed to prevent abuse of power by English Monarchs; forms the basis for American government and politics today |
| charter | a written grant of authority from the king |
| bicameral | an adjective describing a legislative body composed of two chambers |
| proprietary | organized by a proprietor (a person to whom the king had made a grant of land) |
| unicameral | an adjective describing a legislative body with one chamber |
| confederation | a joining of several groups for a common purpose |
| Albany Plan of Union | plan proposed by Benjamin Franklinin 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the crown. |
| delegate | representatives of the colonies |
| boycott | refusal to buy or sell certain products or services |
| repeal | recall |
| popular sovereignty | basic principle of American government which asserts that the people are the source of any and all governmental power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed |
| Articles of Confederation | plan of government adopted by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution; established a "firm league of friendship" among the states, but allow a few important powers to the central government |
| ratification | formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment or treaty |
| presiding officer | chairman |
| Framers | group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 |
| Virginia Plan | plan presented by the delegates from Virginia at the Constitutional Convention; called for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature in which each state's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support to the central government |
| New Jersey Plan | plan presented as an alternative to the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention; called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would be represented equally |
| Connecticut Compromise | agreement during the Constitutional Convention that congress should be composed of a senate, in which states could be represented equally, and a House in which representation would be based on the state's population |
| Three Fifths Compromise | an agreement at the constitutional convention to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining state population |
| Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise | an agreement during the Constitutional Convention protecting slave holders; denied Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any state, and for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade |
| Federalists | those persons who supported the ratification of the constitution 1787-1788 |
| Anti-Federalists | those persons who did not support the ratification of the constitution 1787-1788 |
| quorum | least number of members who must be present for a legislative body to conduct business; majority |
| Preamble | introduction |
| articles | numbered sections of a document; the unamended constitution is divided into 7 of these |
| constitutionalism | basic principle that government and those who govern must obey they law; the rule of the law |
| rule of law | concept that holds that government and its officers are always subject to the law |
| separation of powers | basic principle of American system of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government |
| checks and balances | system of overlapping the powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches to permit each branch to check the actions of the others |
| veto | chief executives power to reject a bill passed by a legislature |
| judicial review | the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action |
| unconstitutional | contrary to constitutional provision and so illegal, null and void, or no force and effect |
| federalism | a system of government in which written constitution divides power between central, or national, government and several regional governments |
| amendment | a change in, or addition to, a constitution or law |
| formal amendment | change or addition that becomes a part of the written language of the constitution itself through one of four methods set forth in the constitution |
| Bill of Rights | the first ten amendments to the constitution |
| executive agreement | a pact made between the President directly with the head of a foreign state; a binding international agreement with the force of law but which does not require senate consent |
| treaty | a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states |
| electoral college | group of persons chosen in each state and the district of columbia every four years who make a formal selection of the president and vice president |
| Cabinet | presidential advisory body, traditionally made up of the heads of the executive departments and other officers |
| senatorial courtesy | custom that the Senate will not approve a presidential appointment opposed by a majority party senator from the State in which the appointee would serve |
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