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American Government
Unit One - Types and Purposes of Government
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Anarchy | A state of society without government or law. |
| Government | A formal organization that directs the political life of a society. |
| Law | A rule of conduct or standard of behavior established by proper authority, society, or custom. |
| Authoritarian | A government in which one leader or a small group of people holds absolute power. |
| Absolute Monarchy | A system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary position and the king or queen has almost complete power. |
| Autocracy | A political theory favoring unlimited authority by a single individual |
| Oligarchy | A form of government in which the power to rule is held by a small, usually self-appointed elite. |
| Totalitarian | A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens. |
| Confederate System | A system of government with a very weak central government and strong states |
| Constitutional Monarchy | A King or Queen is the official head of state but power is limited by a constitution. |
| Democracy | A government by the rule of the people |
| Direct Democracy | A system of government in which political decisions are made by the people directly, rather than by their elected representatives; probably attained most easily in small political communities. |
| Representative Democracy | A system of government in which citizens elect leaders to make decisions about the laws for all the people. |
| Nation-State | A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality |
| Parliamentary Government | A form of government in which executive and legislative functions both reside in an elected assembly. |
| Prime Minister | Head of Government in Great Britain |
| Presidential government | A form of government in which the executive and legislative branches of the government are separate, independent, and coequal. |
| Unitary System | A government that gives all key powers to the national or central government |
| Federalism | A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments |
| Unlimited Government | A government in which no limits are imposed on the ruler's authority. The leaders don't have to follow the same laws as everyone else. |
| Equal protection under the law | Idiea that individuals are protected under the law (state and national) equally regardless of race, sex, age, or disability |
| Individual Rights | Basic liberties and rights of all citizens that are guaranteed. |
| Limited government | A system in which the power of the government is limited, not absolute. |
| Majority Rule | Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority. |
| Popular Sovereignty | A belief that ultimate power and authority resides in the people. |
| Rule of Law | Principle that the law applies to everyone, even those who govern |
Created by:
mrbayne