Chapter 1 - 4

Front 1

Government

Back 1

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

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Regimes

Back 2

n. particular governments

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Prestige

Back 3

n. a reputation based on achievement

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Elite

Back 4

n. a select group, a privileged class

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Autocracy

Back 5

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

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Oligarchy

Back 6

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

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Direct Democracy

Back 7

Occurs when the will of the people translates directly into public policy.

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Indirect Democracy

Back 8

A group of persons chosen by the people express the will of the people.

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Canton

Back 9

n. a local government unit in Switzerland.

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Concise

Back 10

adj. brief; to the point.

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Democracy

Back 11

Supreme political authority rests with the people.

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Maxim

Back 12

n. a general truth or rule of conduct.

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Abundant

Back 13

adj. available in large quantity, plentiful.

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Public Policies

Back 14

All of those things a government decides to do.

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Legislative Power

Back 15

The power to make laws and to frame public policies.

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Executive Power

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The power to execute, enforce, and administer laws.

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Judicial Power

Back 17

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

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Constitution

Back 18

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

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Fundamental

Back 19

adj. basic, essential, primary.

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Dictatorship

Back 20

The ultimate responsibility for the exercise of these powers may be held by a single person or by a small group.

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Administration

Back 21

n. a performance of duties

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Personnel

Back 22

n. people who work for an organization.

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Sovereignty

Back 23

Supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

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Homogeneous

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adj. Describes members of a group who share customs, a common language, and ethnic background.

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Populous

Back 25

adj. relating to the number of people in a given region.

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State

Back 26

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

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Reap

Back 27

v. to gain, receive, take in.

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Democracy

Back 28

When the responsiblility for the exercise of these powers rests with a majority of the people; supreme authority rests with the people.

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Unitary Government

Back 29

A centralized government.

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Federal Government

Back 30

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

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Division of Powers

Back 31

The constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis.

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Confederate Government

Back 32

An alliance of independent states.

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Presidential Government

Back 33

Features a separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches of the government.

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Coequal

Back 34

adj. equal with one another, of the same rank.

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Parliamentary Government

Back 35

The executive branch is made up of the prime minister or premier, and that official's cabinet.

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Inevitable

Back 36

adj. unavoidable, sure to happen.

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Subordinated

Back 37

v. of lesser rank.

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Arbitrary

Back 38

adj. based on unsupported opinion, random choice.

Front 39

Majority Rule

Back 39

Democracy holds that a majority will be right more often than it will be wrong, and that the majority will also be right more often than any one person or small group will.

Front 40

Compromise

Back 40

The process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests.

Front 41

Adequate

Back 41

adj. enough to meet the needs of a situation.

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Citizen

Back 42

One who holds both rights and responsibilities in a state.

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Free Enterprise System

Back 43

The American economic system.

Front 44

Initiative

Back 44

n. enterprise, resourcefulness

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Antitrust Laws

Back 45

n. laws that regulate business practices in order to promote competition.

Front 46

Zoning Ordinances

Back 46

n. laws that regulate the uses of property in certain areas.

Front 47

Limited Government

Back 47

The idea that government is restricted in what it may do, and every individual has certain rights that government cant take away.

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Representative Government

Back 48

The idea that government should serve the will of the people.

Front 49

Landmark

Back 49

adj. historical, pivotal, highly significant.

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Magna Carta

Back 50

Established that the power of the monarchy was not absolute and guaranteed trial by jury and due process of law to the nobility.

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Arbitrary

Back 51

adj. not restrained or limited in the exercise of power.

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Due Process

Back 52

The government must act fairly and in accord with established rules in all that it does.

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Petition of Right

Back 53

Challenged the idea of the divine rights of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land.

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English Bill of Rights

Back 54

Prohibited a standing army in peacetime, except with the consent of Parliament, and required that all parliamentary elections to be free.

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Levy

Back 55

v. to impose, to collect by legal authority

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Venture

Back 56

n. an undertaking involving risk

Front 57

Charter

Back 57

A written grant of authority from the king.

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Bicameral

Back 58

An adjective describing a legislative body composed of two chambers.

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Proprietary

Back 59

Organized by a proprietor (a person whom the king had made a grant of land).

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Haven

Back 60

n. a place of safety

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Unicameral

Back 61

An adjective describing a legislature body with one chamber.

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Confederation

Back 62

A joining of several groups form a common purpose.

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Albany Plan of Union

Back 63

Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes.

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Delegates

Back 64

Representatives.

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Duty

Back 65

n. a tax on imports.

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Repeal

Back 66

v. to cancel.

Front 67

Boycott

Back 67

n. a refusal to buy or sell certain goods.

Front 68

Ablest

Back 68

adj. the most talented, capable, competent, skillful.

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Popular Sovereignty

Back 69

A government that exists only with the consent of the governed.

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Unalienable

Back 70

adj. can't be surrendered or transferred, sacred.

Front 71

Articles of Confederation

Back 71

Established "a firm league of friendship" among the States, but allowed few important powers to the central government.

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Jurisdiction

Back 72

n. legal authority.

Front 73

Ratification

Back 73

Formal approval.

Front 74

Presiding Officer

Back 74

n. the chair of a meeting.

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Arsenal

Back 75

n. a store of arms or military equipment.

Front 76

Framers

Back 76

Group of delegates who drafted the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

Front 77

Envoy

Back 77

n. a representative, especially in diplomatic affairs.

Front 78

Virginia Plan

Back 78

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 for the central government.

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New Jersey Plan

Back 79

Called for a unicameral legislature in which each State would be equally represented.

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Connecticut Compromise

Back 80

Agreement during the Constitutional convention that Congress should be composed of a Senate, in which States would be represented equally, and a House, in which representation would be based on a State's population.

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Three-Fifths Compromise

Back 81

An agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State.

Front 82

Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise

Back 82

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 year, the power to act on the slave trade.

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Apt

Back 83

adj. appropriate, correct, fit.

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Amend

Back 84

v. to change or modify.

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Federalists

Back 85

Those persons who supported the ratification of the Constitution in 1787 - 1788.

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Anti-Federalists

Back 86

Those persons who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1787 - 1788.

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Inauguration

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n. a ceremonial induction into office.

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Quorum

Back 88

n. a majority.

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Unanimous

Back 89

adj. having the approval or consent of all.

Front 90

Political Arena

Back 90

n. the setting in which political activity occurs.

Front 91

Provision

Back 91

n. a clause in a document or agreement.

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Limited Government

Back 92

No government is all-powerful; the government may do only those things that the people have given it the power to do.

Front 93

Constitutionalism

Back 93

Government must obey the law; government must be conducted according to constitutional principles.

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Rule of Law

Back 94

The government and its officers, in all they do, are always subject to - never above - the law.

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Prohibitions

Back 95

n. a denial;a ban.

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Enshrined

Back 96

n. set out with respect; honored.

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Separation of Powers

Back 97

Basic Principle of American system of government that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among three independent and coequal branches of government.

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Vested

Back 98

v. given to, conferred upon.

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Checks and Balances

Back 99

Each branch is subject to a number of constitutional checks, or restraints, by the other branches.

Front 100

Veto

Back 100

Reject.

Front 101

Override

Back 101

v. to overturn, reverse, cancel.

Front 102

Partisan

Back 102

n. loyalty to a particular political party.

Front 103

Judicial Review

Back 103

The power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a governmental action.

Front 104

Unconstitutional

Back 104

To declare illegal, null and void, of no force and effect; a governmental action found to violate some provision in the Constitution.

Front 105

Auxiliary

Back 105

adj. extra; supportive; supplemental.

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Federalism

Back 106

The division of power among a central government and several regional governments.

Front 107

Amendment

Back 107

A change in, or addition to, a constitution or law.

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Ratification

Back 108

Formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty.

Front 109

Formal Amendment

Back 109

Changes or additions that become part of the written language of the Constitution itself.

Front 110

Convention

Back 110

n. a meeting to deal with matters of common concern.

Front 111

Bill of Rights

Back 111

The first ten amendments; set out the great constitutional guarantees of freedom of belief and expression, of freedom and security of the person, and to fair and equal treatment before the law.

Front 112

Ordain

Back 112

v. to order, direct, decree.

Front 113

Succession

Back 113

n. the process by which one follows in order (succeeds) to an office.

Front 114

Executive Agreement

Back 114

A pact made by the President directly with the head of a foreign state.

Front 115

Treaty

Back 115

A formal agreement between two or more sovereign states.

Front 116

Tellingly

Back 116

adv. striking, with marked effect.

Front 117

Electoral College

Back 117

The body that makes the formal selection of the nation's President.

Front 118

Cabinet

Back 118

An advisory body to the President.

Front 119

Senatorial Courtesy

Back 119

Senate will approve only those presidential appointees, such as a federal judge or a U.S. marshal, who are acceptable to the senator or senators of the President's party from the State involved.

Front 120

Federalism

Back 120

A system of government in which a written constitution divides the powers of government on a territorial basis, between a central government and several regional governments, usually called states or provinces.

Front 121

Division of Powers

Back 121

The constitutional provisions by which governmental powers are divided on a geographic basis.

Front 122

Delegated Powers

Back 122

The government has only those powers delegated (granted) to it in the Constitution.

Front 123

Expressed Powers

Back 123

Those powers delegated to the National Government spelled out, expressly, in the Constitution.

Front 124

Enumerated

Back 124

adj. specified, listed, identified.

Front 125

Reprieve

Back 125

n. postponement or delay in the execution of a sentence.

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Implied Powers

Back 126

Reasonably suggested (implied) by the expressed powers.

Front 127

Inherent Powers

Back 127

Powers that belong to the National Government because it is the national government of a sovereign state in the world community.

Front 128

Deport

Back 128

v. to order that one be sent to another country.

Front 129

Reserved Powers

Back 129

Powers that the Constitution does not grant to the National Government and does not, at the same time, deny to the States.

Front 130

Confiscate

Back 130

v. to take or seize legally.

Front 131

Illicit

Back 131

adj. illegal, unlawful, outlawed.

Front 132

Exclusive Powers

Back 132

Power that can only be exercised by the National Government, they cant be exercised by the States under any circumstances.

Front 133

Concurrent Powers

Back 133

Powers that both the National Government and the States posses and exercise.

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Supremacy Clause

Back 134

A provision of the U.S., Constitution that states that the Constitution, federal law, and treaties of the U.S. are the "supreme Law of the Land."

Front 135

Pursuance

Back 135

n. a carrying out of an execution of something.

Front 136

Imperil

Back 136

v. to endanger, put at risk, threaten.

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Insurrection

Back 137

n. a revolt against a government.

Front 138

Integrity

Back 138

n. a single, undivided whole.

Front 139

Enabling Act

Back 139

An act directing the people of the territory to frame a proposed State constitution.

Front 140

Act of Admission

Back 140

An act creating the new State.

Front 141

Grants-in-aid Programs

Back 141

Grants of federal money or other resources to the States and their cities, countries, and other local units.

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Forerunner

Back 142

n. one that comes before, precedes.

Front 143

Unwarranted

Back 143

adj. without legal authority.

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Categorical Grants

Back 144

Made for some specific, closely defined, purpose.

Front 145

Block Grants

Back 145

For some particular but broadly defined area of public policy.

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Project Grants

Back 146

Made for specific projects to States, localities, and private agencies who apply for them.

Front 147

Interstate Compacts

Back 147

Agreements among themselves and with foreign states.

Front 148

Probate

Back 148

v. to establish the validity of a will.

Front 149

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Back 149

Constitutions requirement that each State accept the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State.

Front 150

Jurisdiction

Back 150

n. the authority to interpret and apply the law.

Front 151

Extradition

Back 151

The legal process by which a fugitive from justice in one State can be returned to that State.

Front 152

Fugitive

Back 152

n. one who flees.

Front 153

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Back 153

No State can draw unreasonable distinctions between its own residents and those persons who happen to live in other States.