Civics Foundations Voacb 2006-07
Terms
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- Government
- the authority, or power, that rules on behalf of a group of people
- Dictator (Dictatorship)
- a form of government in which all power is in the hands of one person or group of persons
- Monarchy
- a form of government in which a king, queen, prince (a monarch) rules and sometimes is in charge of the government
- Laws
- All the rules of conduct of a nation that are enforced by government
- Constitution
- a written plan of government for a nation
- Ideals
- basic beliefs or standards of conduct that people attempt to live up to
- Declaration of Independence
- a key document of American freedom, adopted in July 4, 1776, declaring the 13 American colonies to be free and independent of Great Britain
- Articles of Confederation
- our nation's first written plan of government, in effect from 1781 to 1789
- Delegates
- representatives who were chosen to attend the COnstitution Convention
- Constitutional Convention
- the meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 at which the Constitution of the United States was written
- Founding Fathers
- the men who founded the U.S. by writing/ adopting the constitution
- Parliament
- the lawmaking body of Great Britian
- Bicameral
- a lawmaking body consisting of two houses
- Unicameral
- a lawmaking body consisting of one house
- Great Compromise
- the agreement reached by the constituational convention that all states should have equal representation in the senate and be represented according to the size of their population in the house
- Amend (amendment)
- to change: a written change or addition in the constitution
- Ratification (ratify)
- to approve; approval of the constitution in 1787 or of a constitutional amendment
- Represenative
- members of the house of representatives or a person who represents a group of people in the government
- constitution of the united states
- the plan of government approved in 1789 to be the "supreme law of the land"
- federal government
- the national government of our nation
- legislative Branch
- the branch of our federal, state, or local government that makes the laws
- Executive Branch
- the branch of our federal, state, or local government that carries out the laws
- Judical Branch
- the branch of the federal, state, or local government the decides if laws have been broken and the punishes lawbreakers
- Bill
- a proposed law being considered by a lawmaking body
- Checks and Balances
- the way in which the powers of government are balanced, or divided, among three branches, so that each branch may check, or limit, the other branches
- Cabinet
- the heads of the executive departments in the federal government, who also act as advisors to the president
- Bill of Rights
- the first 10 amendments to the constitution, which set forth the basic rights, or freedoms, guaranteed to all americans
- Unwritten Constitution
- the traditional ways of doing things in our federal government that are seldom written down or made into laws
- Theocracy
- Based on a theology or religious faith. it is a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler and the God's or deity's laws are beong interpreted by government officals
- Anarchy
- complete disorder that can result from having no government or laws
- Divine Right
- the doctrine the monarchs derive their right to rule directly from God and are accountable only to God
- Socialism
- under a socalist system the government has ownership over the countries basic goods and services, however some services are owned by private businessess
- common sense
- a set of pamphlets authored by thomas paine that encouraged separation from the crown
- Mercantilism
- the theory and system of politics of developing colonies to maintain a balance of trade
- olive branch petition
- a letter written to king george III from the members of the 2nd continental congress that appealed to the king to address colonial grievances to avoid war
- communism
- political system in which ownership of all product and land are in the hands of the people, and all goods are eqally shared
- Age of Enlightenment
- occurred in the 18th century, philosophers wrote new ideas on politics such as the role of the divine right of kings and the separation of church and state
- English Bill of Rights
- predecessor to the U.S Bill of Rights, outlined new rights for the English people such as "no taxation without representation"