Huston-Ap Us Govt Chap 1

Front 1

age cohort

Back 1

Group or band of people with the same age

Front 2

age composition of US population

Back 2

Changes with population trends. Graying of America- Baby boomers, fastest growing group in the US, entering retirement. Generation Xers- graduated from college in the late 1980s into hard economic time, liberal. Generation Y-ers, born 1979-1994, optimistic, grew up in good economy, internet savy. Trends predict gap between lots of young people and few old people will level out in the next 10-20 yrs

Front 3

aristocracy

Back 3

A system of government in which control is based on the rule of the wealthiest, most landed, or most prestigious class in society and that the heirs will inherit these possessions and powers in the next generation

Front 4

capitalism

Back 4

economic system that favors private control of business and minimal governmental regulation of private industry

Front 5

civil society

Back 5

Society created when citizens are allowed to organize and ex press their views publicly as they engage in an open debate about public policy. Civil society is the entire intricate web of spontaneous and planned relationships that individuals and groups form to advance their own interests and goals; it is not controlled, though it may be protected and supervised, by the government

Front 6

communism

Back 6

An economic system in which workers own the means of production and control the distribution of resources

Front 7

conservative

Back 7

One thought to believe that a government is best that governs least ans the big government can only infringe on individual, personal and economic rights

Front 8

covenant

Back 8

Separatists broke away from the Church of England in the late sixteenth century, and they believed that they could speak one-on-one to God. The separatists thought that this ability allowed them to participate directly in governing their own assemblies. They created self-governing congregations, and much of the first appearance of self-governance in the form of social compacts came from these people. The Mayflower Compact was one of the self-governing socities brought to America. The Pilgrims called it a covenant, and its form was similar to other common religious covenants.

Front 9

democracy

Back 9

A system of government that gives power to the people, whether directly or through their elected representatives.

Front 10

demographics

Back 10

Demographics is the information on characteristics of America's population. The population of America has been changing constantly because of immigrants. Immigration peaked in the first decade of the 1900s, and the country did not see a major wave of immigration again until the late 1980s. The average age of Americans is also changing; the U.S. population is getting much older. Family size and household arrangements also have changed from the past. Large families are no longer the norm, but instead there are small families, often with single parents.

Front 11

direct democracy

Back 11

A system of government in which members of the polity meet to discuss all policy decisions and then agree to abide by majority rule. The Ne England town meeting, where all citizens meet to discuss and decide issues facing the town is an example of direct democracy.

Front 12

free market economy

Back 12

The economic system in which the "invisable hand" of the market regulates prices, wages, product mix, and so on.

Front 13

House of Burgesses

Back 13

The first representative body in the US. This was the representative body for Virginia that began meeting in the 1620's.

Front 14

indirect [representative] democracy

Back 14

a system of government that gives citizens the opportunity to vote for representatives who will vote on their behalf

Front 15

individualism

Back 15

focus on strength of each person; the idea that government should serve to aid the individual to attain his utmost potential and development

Front 16

John Locke

Back 16

philosopher whose ideas are ingrained in U.S. political structure; believed in preservation of private property;believd in limited, constitutional government whose primary purpose was the protection of "life, liberty, and property"; believed that people’s consent enabled ruler to rule; believed that if governments did not sufficiently protect the rights of the people, they had the right to revolutionary overthrow of government; believed in dominance of legislative branch

Front 17

Karl Marx/Marxism

Back 17

German philosopher, wrote Communist Manifesto/stages of Marxism included feudalism, capitalism, socialism, and communism; believed that the workers were the rightful owners of the means of production; that capitalism would cause its own self-destruction

Front 18

laissez-faire

Back 18

A french term literally meaning "to allow to do, to leave alone", It is hands-off governmental policy that is based on the belief that governmental regulation of the economy is wrong

Front 19

liberal

Back 19

a person for government intervention in economy, for social services, for activism in areas of women, elderly, minorities, environment; believes that government should take an active role in its citizens’ welfare

Front 20

libertarian

Back 20

a person who believes in free-market economy and no governmental interference in personal liberties

Front 21

majority rule

Back 21

idea of democracy; the voters’ majority choices, either made directly by themselves or indirectly through their representative,s will be made into law

Front 22

mercantile system

Back 22

A system that binds trade and its administration to the national government. It is based on the theory that there is a finite amount of wealth and that all increase in national prosperity comes at the expense of some other country; that the goal of all national economic policy should be to maximize exports and to minimize imports.; and that all colonies exist to benefit the mother colony.

Front 23

minority rights

Back 23

Freedoms, although not based on majority rule, that are preserved by the American system--many of which were granted following the 1960's during the civil rights movement. The rights of minorities (originally the large property holders) were based on their natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that no one would willingly consent to be parted with these rghts, so that all majorities, no matter how large or how threatened, are morally and legally bound to respect these rights.

Front 24

monarchy

Back 24

A form of government in which power is vested in hereditary kings and queens.

Front 25

natural law

Back 25

A doctrine that society should be governed by certain ethical principles that are part of nature and, as such, can be understood by reason.

Front 26

oligarchy

Back 26

A form of governernment in which the right to participate is always conditioned on the possession of wealth, social status, military status or achievement.

Front 27

personal liberty

Back 27

A key characteristic of U.S. democracy. Initially meaning freedom from governmental interference, today it incluedes demands for freedom to engage in a variety of practices free from governmental discrimination.

Front 28

pluralism

Back 28

"A condition in which numerous distinct ethnic, religious, or cultural groups are present and tolerated within a society.

Front 29

political culture

Back 29

Attitudes toward the political system and its various parts, and attitudes toward the role of the self in the system.

Front 30

political ideology

Back 30

AN individual's coherent set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government.

Front 31

politics

Back 31

the process by which policy decisions are made.

Front 32

popular consent

Back 32

The idea that governments must draw their powers from the consent of the governed.

Front 33

popular sovereignty

Back 33

the right of the majority to govern themselves; also the term used by those who favored white settlers determining for themselves in state constitutional conventions whether or not they will legally permit slavery; commitment to this did not favor one outcome over another; it ignored any natural right by all humans to freedom and self-determination; Stephan A. Douglas of Illinois was its principal exponent during the period 1848-1861.

Front 34

republic

Back 34

A government rooted in the consent of the governed; a representative or indirect democracy

Front 35

social contract theory

Back 35

The belief that people are free and equal by God-given 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.

Front 36

socialism

Back 36

An economic system that advocates for collective ownership and control of the means of production.

Front 37

Thomas Hobbes

Back 37

developed theory that characterized humans as selfishly individualistic and constantly at war with each other and believed that people must surrender themselves to rulers in exchange for protection

Front 38

totalitarianism

Back 38

A modern form of despotic rule in which the state undertakes to remake society according to an ideological design by totaling dominating all important civil, political, and economic institutions