Civics Vocab 2

Description:	9th Grade Buras
Category:	U.S. History
Created by:	smartee on 2006-09-26

definition	word
the authority, or power, that rules on behalf of a group of people	government
a form of government in which all power is in the hands of one person or a group of persons	dictatorship/ dictator
a form of government in which a king, queen, prince (a monarch) rules and sometimes is in charge of the government	monarchy
All the rules of conduct of a nation that are enforced by government	laws
a written plan of government for a nation	constitution
basic beliefs or standards of conduct that people attempt to live up to	ideals
a key document of American freedom, adopted on July 4, 1776, declaring the 13 American colonies to be free and independent of Great Britain	Declaration of Independence
our nation's first written plan of government, in effect from 1781 to 1789	Articles of Confederation
representatives who were chosen to attend the Constitutional Convention	delegates
the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 at which the Constitution of the United States was written	Constitutional Convention
The men who founded the US by writing/ adopting the Constitution	Founding Fathers
the lawmaking body of Great Britain	Parliament
a lawmaking body consisting of two houses	bicameral
a lawmaking body consisting of one house	unicameral
the agreement reached by the Constitutional Convention that all states should have equal representation in the Senate and be represented according to the size of their population in the house	great compromise
to change; a written change or addition in the Constitution	amend
to approve; approval of the constitution in 1787 or of a constitutional amendment	ratification (ratify)
members of the House of Representatives or a person who represents a group of people in the government	representative
the plan of government approved in 1789 to be the "supreme law of the land"	Constitution of the United States of America
the national government of our nation	federal government
the branch of our federal, states, or local government that makes the laws	Legislative Branch
the branch of our federal, state, or local government that carries out the laws	Executive Branch (president)
the branch of the federal, state, or local government that decides if laws have been broken and that punishes lawbreakers	Judicial Branch (judges)
a proposed law being considered by a lawmaking body	bill
the way in which the powers of government are balanced, or divided, among three branches, so that each branch may check, or limit, the other branches	checks and balances
the heads of the executive departments in the federal government, who also acts as advisors to the president	cabinet
the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, which set forth the basic rights, or freedoms, guaranteed to all Americans	bill of rights
the traditional ways of doing things in our federal government that are seldom written down or made into laws	unwritten constitution
Based on a theology or religious faith. It is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler and the God’s or deity’s laws are being interpreted by government officials	theocracy
complete disorder that can result from having no government or laws	anarchy
the doctrine that monarchs derive their right to rule directly from God and are accountable only to God	divine right
Under a socialist system the government has ownership over the countries basic goods and services (communication, transportation, health care, power, etc.); however, some services, are owned by private businesses	socialism