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Chapter 1 key terms
US Government
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| government | a characteristic of a state - a political organization or institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies |
| public policies | all of those things a government decides to do |
| legislative power | the power to make the laws |
| executive power | the power to enforce and administer laws |
| judicial power | the power to interpret laws |
| dictatorship | a government in which all power rests with an individual or small group |
| democracy | a government in which supreme authority rests with the people |
| state | a body of people, living in a defined territory with a government that can make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority |
| sovereign | to have supreme and absolute power within a territory |
| divine right | the theory that governments gain their authority from the will of God |
| population | a characteristic of a state - the number of people that live in an area that can be large or small, diverse or homogeneous |
| territory | a characteristic of a state - land with known or recognized boundaries |
| sovereignty | a characteristic of a state - the absolute power within its own territory to divide domestic and foreign policies |
| force theory | holds that an individual or group claims control over a territory and forces the population to submit and then the state then become sovereign and those in control form a government |
| evolutionary theory | says that a population formed out of primitive families the head of these families eventually become a government and when they settle in one territory they become a sovereign state |
| divine right theory | holds that God created the state, making it sovereign and the government is made up of those chosen by God to rule a certain territory and the population must obey the ruler. |
| social contract theory | holds that the people have the choice to give the state enough power to promote the well being of everyone and that all political power comes from the will of the people; it has the greatest influence on the US government |
| autocracy | government in which a single person holds all political power |
| oligarchy | government in which a small usually self appointed group has the sole power to rule |
| unitary government | a government in which all power belongs to one central agency |
| federal government | a government in which power is divided between one central and several local governments |
| division of powers | the split of power between central and local governments |
| confederation | an alliance of independent states |
| presidential government | a government with separate executive and legislative branches |
| parliamentary government | a government in which the executive branch is part of the legislative branch and subject to its control |
| pure democracy | A government where the people pass laws by discussing and voting on them in town hall meetings and it usually occurs in small towns or communities |
| representative democracy | A government where the people elect agents who make and carry out the laws and these representatives rule with the consent of the governed and can be removed bybthe people at election time. |
| constitutional monarchy | A government where power mostly lies with the parliament which is elected by the people. It has the Queen or King as the head of state and the prime minister who is the head of the leading party in the parliament |
| constitution based federal republic | A government where the President and members of Congress are chosen by the people and the president is both chief of state and head of the government. |
| majority rule | the principle that the will of the majority controls the actions of the government |
| compromise | the process of blending and adjusting competing views and interests |
| citizen | one who holds certain rights and responsibilities within a state |
| free enterprise system | an economic system characterized by the private ownership off capital goods, private investment, and a competitive marketplace that determines. success or failure. |
Created by:
holguino
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