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Foundations of Foundations of GovernmentGovernment

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22

absolute monarchy

33

Autocracy in which a king, queen, or

emperor exercises supreme powers of

government

44

amendment

55

Changes in, or additions to, a

document (e.g. U.S. Constitution)

66

Anti-federalist

77

The political leaders who were against ratification of the

Constitution because they though it gave too

much power to the federal government and

did not protect the political rights of the

people.

88

Articles of Confederation

99

First constitution of the United States, 1781.

Created a weak national government, replaced in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States.

1010

authoritarian

1111

A form of government in which those in

power hold absolute and unchangeable

authority over people such as in a

dictatorship.

1212

authority

1313

The right to enforce laws, exact obedience, command,

determine, or judge.

1414

bicameral

1515

A legislative body composed of two

chambers

1616

bills of attainder

1717

A legislative act that inflicts punishment

without a court trial.

1818

Bill of Rights

1919

First ten amendments to the Constitution which restrict the federal

government’s power to take away certain basic rights

of people.

2020

checks and balances

2121

Constitutional mechanisms that authorize each

branch of government to share

powers with the other branches and

therebycheck each other's

activities.

2222

command economy

2323

An economic system in which economic

decisions to answer the basic economic

questions of "what", "how", and "for whom"

are made by an authority such as a

feudal lord or government agency.

2424

confederate/confederal

2525

Closely associated for a common cause or

by treaty usually referring to a system of government such

as Articles of Confederation

2626

consent of the governed

2727

John Locke's ideas that the government

gets its right to govern from the people. Thomas

Jefferson included this principle in theDeclaration of Independence

2828

Constitution

2929

A set of customs, traditions, rules and laws that sets forth

the way a government is organized and

operated.

3030

democracy

3131

A form of government in which

political control is exercised by all people, either

directly or through their elected

representatives.

3232

dictatorship

3333

A government in which the leader

has absolute power and authority.

3434

due process clause

3535

Part of the Fourteenth Amendment that

guarantees that no state can deny basic rights to its people.

3636

eminent domain

3737

The power of the government to

take private property for public

use.

3838

federal

3939

A form of government in which a union or

states recognizes the sovereignty of a central authority while sharing powers with political units such as states.

4040

federalism

4141

A form of political organization in which government power is

divided between a central government

and territorial subdivisions.

4242

Federalist

4343

Supporters of a stronger central government who

advocated ratification of the

Constitution.

4444

Fifth amendment

4545

This amendment covers due process

and the rights of accused persons

4646

framers of the Constitution

4747

Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at

the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

4848

limited government

4949

A higher law such as a constitution which

declares it necessary to limit the powers of

government in order to protect

Individual civil liberties, political and economic

freedoms.

5050

majority rule

5151

A principle of democracy that asserts that the

greater number of citizens in any

political unit should select officials and determine policies.

5252

mixed economy

5353

An economy which relies on a combination of traditional decision

making, market decision making, and command

decision making in order to answer the basic

questions of what, how and for whom.

5454

oligarchy

5555

A form of government in which small,

usually self-appointed elite holds the power

to rule.

5656

Parliamentary democracy

5757

A form of government that gives government the authority to a

legislature or parliament which in

turn selects the executive among its

own members.

5858

popular sovereignty

5959

The rule by the people. Basic principle of the American System of

government that asserts that the people are the source of any and all

governmental power and that government can exist

only with the consent of the governed.

6060

presidential democracy

6161

A form of government in the

executive and legislative branches

is separate, independent, and

coequal.

6262

ratification

6363

Formal approval; final consent to the effectiveness of a

constitution, constitutional

amendment, or treaty.

6464

representative democracy

6565

A type of government in which

the people choose representatives to

vote and make laws for them

6666

rule of law

6767

The principle in which the law

applies to government officials

as much as to ordinary citizens.

6868

separation of powers

6969

The division of governmental power

among several institutions that must cooperate in decision-

making.

7070

sovereignty

7171

Supreme and absolute authority within territorial

boundaries.

7272

totalitarian

7373

A government that exercises dictatorial

(authoritarian) power over nearly

every aspect of human dignity.

7474

traditional economy

7575

A system wherein economic decisions that

people and groups make to answer the basic economic questions of "what”,” for

whom" and "how" generally repeat the decisions made at an

earlier time or by an earlier generation.

7676

unitary government

7777

A centralized system in which all

powers of government

belongs to a single, central agency.