Term | Definition |
Rotten borough | Rural town in England that sent members to Parliament despite having few or no voters |
Electorate | Body of people allowed to vote |
Secret ballot | Casting your ballot without others knowing who you voted for in that election |
Democracy | Government in which the people hold ruling power |
Repeal | Cancel (a law) |
Absentee landlord | One who owns a large estate in Ireland, but does not live there (he generally lives in England) |
Home rule | Local self-government |
Detente | Easing of tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1970s |
Welfare state | System in which the government takes responsibility for its citizens' social and economic needs |
Recession | Period of reduced economic activity |
Service industry | Industry that provides a service rather than a product |
Euro | Common currency used by member nations of the European Union |
Chancellor | Prime minister |
Deficit | Gap between what a government spends and what it takes in through taxes and other sources |
Surplus | Extra or excess; money left over after expenditures |
Dissident | Someone who speaks out against the government |
The Great Hunger | A terrible famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845 after a blight (disease) destroyed the potato crop, the main source of food for most of the Irish. This disaster resulted in mass deaths (from starvation or disease) and many Irish emigrating to the U.S. |
Famine | Widespread extreme scarcity (or shortage) of food; hunger |
Blight | Fungus that destroyed the potato crop in Ireland |
Whigs | Political party in Great Britain, aka Liberal Party |
Tories | Political party in Great Britain, aka Conservative Party |
Queen Victoria | Was the longest reigning queen of England (from 1837-1901) and (as the British empire expanded) became a revered symbol of the British might |
Chartist Movement | Called for radical changes including universal male suffrage, a secret ballot, annual parliament elections, and salaried members of Parliament |
Benjamin Disraeli | Leader of Conservative Party, aka Tories; gave the right to vote to a large category of working class men in 1867 |
William Gladstone | Leader of the Liberal Party, aka Whigs; extended the vote to farm workers and most other men |
Reform Act 1832 | Changed Parliament in the UK by redistributing seats in the House of Commons, eliminating rotten boroughs and granting suffrage to men with a certain amount of property |
House of Commons | Had, and still has, the most political power in England since 1911 |
European Union (EU) - aka Common Market | Main goal was to expand free trade. It benefitted the economies of its member nations by gradually eliminating trade barriers and implementing common policies regarding transportation, agriculture, and economic relations with nonmember countries |
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | An agreement among the US, Canada and Mexico designed to promote free trade by removing tariff barriers between the three countries. |