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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| government | the institution through which a society makes and enforces public policies |
| public policies | all the things a government decides to do |
| legeslative power | the power to make 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 | he theory that governments gain their authority from the will of God |
| 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 |
| majority rule | the principle that the will of the majority controls the actions of 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 of capital goods, private investment, and a competitive marketplace that determines success or failure |
| limited government | the idea that government is restricted in what it may do and that every individual has certain rights that government cannot remove |
| representative government | the idea that government should both serve and be guided by the will of the people |
| Magna Carta | the Great Charter signed in 1215 that limited the powers of the English king and guaranteed certain fundamental rights |
| due process | protection against the unjust taking of life, liberty, or property |
| Petition of Right | a document signed in 1628 that required the English king to obey the law of the land and increased the influence of Parliament |
| English Bill of Rights | a document signed in 1689 that required free elections and guaranteed many basic rights, such as due process and trial by jury, to all English citizens |
| charter | a written grant of authority from the king |
| bicameral | having two houses, as in a two-house legislature |
| proprietary | the name given to colonies organized and governed according to the will of a proprietor, a person granted land and authority by the king |
| unicameral | having only one house, as in a one house legislature |
| Ordered government | Local governments should be divided into units and ruled by officers according to law. |
| Limited government | Individual citizens have basic rights There are limits on government power |
| Representative government | Government should serve the will of the people. In other words, people should have a say in what the government does or does not do. |