Government Ch. 1,2,3 Vocab
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81 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 State | identifies a political community in a precise territory |
| Sovereignty | the government makes and enforces its own laws without approval from any other authority |
| Nation | often used for state, but it really means a sizable group of people who believe themselves united by common bonds of race, language, custom, or religion |
| Nation-State | a country in which the territory of both the nation and the state coincide |
| Consensus | agreement about basic beliefs and values, usually have stable governments |
| Government | the institution through which a state maintains social order, provides public services, and enforces decisions that are binding on all its residents |
| Evolutionary Theory | the state evolved from the family |
| Force Theory | the state would not exist except for the need to resist an enemy |
| Divine Right Theory | certain people are chosen by a god or gods to rule |
| Social Contract Theory | people surrendered their freedom to the state, but in return they received order and security |
| Unitary System | gives all key powers to the central government |
| Federal System | divides the powers of the government between the national and state or provincial government |
| Confederacy | a loose union of independent states |
| Constitution | a plan that provides the rules for government; sets out ideals that the people bound by the constitution believe in and share; establishes the basic structure of government and defines the powers and duties; provides the supreme law for the country |
| Constitutional Government | a government in which a constitution has authority to place clearly recognized limits on the powers of those who govern |
| Preamble | statement that sets forth the goals and purposes that the government will serve |
| Constitutional Law | the field of law that studies questions on how to interpret the Constitution |
| Politics | the effort to control or influence the conduct and policies of government |
| Industrialized Nations | generally large industries and advanced technology that provide a more comfortable way of life than developing nations have |
| Developing Nations | only beginning to develop industrially |
| Autocracy | the system of government in which one person has all the authority and power to rule |
| Monarchy | another form of government in which one person has great power and inherits the power |
| Totalitarianism | special type of single-ruler government where the ruler attempts to control the total society |
| Oligarchy | any system of government in which a small group holds power |
| Democracy | a system of government in which rule is by the people |
| Demos | the people |
| Kratia | rule |
| Republic | the head of state is not a king or queen and voters elect representatives to run the nation's government |
| Political Party | a group of individuals with broad common interests who organize to nominate candidates for office, win elections, conduct government, and determine public policy |
| Free Enterprise | the freedom of private business to operate with minimal government regulation |
| Economics | the study of how limited resources are used to satisfy people's seemingly unlimited wants |
| Capitalism | an economic system in which the freedom of choice and individual incentive are emphasized |
| Free Market | the government placed no limits on the freedom of buyers and sellers to make economic decisions |
| Laissez-Faire | the government should leave the economy alone as much as possible |
| Socialism | an economic system in which the government owns the basic means of production, determines the use of resources, distributes the products and wages, and provides social services such as education, health care, and welfare |
| Proletariat | industrial working class; workers who produce the goods |
| Bourgeoisie | capitalists who own the means of production |
| Communism | there would be only one class, the working class; all property would be held in common and there would be no need or a government |
| Command Economy | an economic system in which the government controls the factors of production |
| Limited Government | the concept that the monarch's power, or government, was limited, not absolute |
| Representative Government | government in which the people elect delegates to make laws and conduct government |
| Separation of Powers | the division of power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government |
| Revenue | the money a government collects from taxes or other sources |
| Embargo | an agreement prohibiting trade |
| Ratified | approving |
| Unicameral | single chamber legislature |
| Ceded | yielded |
| Ordinances | laws that set out how the lands would be organized |
| Interstate Commerce | trade among the states |
| Extralegal | not sanctioned by law |
| Anarchy | political disorder |
| Articles | divisions of the constitution |
| Jurisdiction | authority of the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts to rule on cases |
| Supremacy Clause | establishing that the Constitution, laws passed by Congress, and treaties of the US shall be the supreme Law of the Land |
| Amendments | changes |
| Popular Sovereignty | rule by the people |
| Federalism | power is divided between national and state governments |
| Checks and Balances | each branch of government exercises some control over the others |
| Vetoing | the President's check on Congress, "rejecting" |
| Judicial Review | the power of the courts to say that laws and actions of local, state, or national governments are invalid because they are unconstitutional |
| Expressed Powers | powers directly stated in the Constitution |
| Enumerated Powers | powers specified by number |
| Elastic Clause | final enumerated power; lets Congress stretch its powers to meet situations the Founders couldn't anticipate |
| Federal Bureaucracy | departments and agencies of the federal government, mostly in the executive branch |
| Ratified | approved |
| Petition | appeal |
| Balanced Budget | federal spending cannot exceed its income |
| Impeach | accuse federal officials |
| Treaty | an agreement between nations, requires Senate approval |
| Executive Agreements | made between heads of states and doesn't require any approval |
| Judicial Restraint | belief that the court should avoid taking the initiative on social and political issues |
| Judicial Activism | the Court should actively help settle the difficult social and political questions of the day |
| Incorporation Doctrine | a process that extended the protections of the Bill of Rights against the actions of state and local governments |
| Prior Restraint | government cannot censor information before it is published or broadcast |
| Probable Cause | reasonable basis to believe a person or premises are linked to a crime |
| Search Warrant | orders signed by a judge describing the place to be searched for specific items |
| Arrest Warrant | orders signed by a judge naming the person to be arrested for a specific crime |
| Due Process | no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law |
| Eminent Domain | the power of the government to take private property for public use |
| Lame Ducks | outgoing officials who had little influence and accomplished little |
| Poll Taxes | taxes that are paid in order to vote |
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