Unit 1 Vocabulary Study Guide Term Definition Government A government is a group of people governing an organized community. Autocracy An autocracy is a system of government by one person with absolute power. Oligarchy An Oligarchy is a small group of people having control of a country. Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Add a picture, example, or use the term in a sentence. Direct democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies. Republic (indirect democracy) Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected persons represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Unitary relates to a system of government or organization in which the powers of the separate constituent parts are vested in a central body. Federal A Federal Government is a nation's system of designating power, whether to a central government or local state government. Confederal relating to or denoting a confederation. Presidential system A presidential system, or single executive system, is a form of government in which a head of government, typically with the title of president, leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch in systems that use separation of powers Parliamentary system A parliamentary system or parliamentary democracy is a system of democratic governance of a state where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support of the legislature, typically a parliament, to which it is accountable. Limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism. Rule of law is the restriction of the arbitrary exercise of power by subordinating it to well-defined and established laws. Magna Carta was the first document to put into writing the principle that King George and his government were not above the law. Petition of Right The Petition of Rights passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. http://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/2016-08-22Pyramid-Transparent-1024x901.png The English Bill of Rights firmly established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections, and freedom of speech within Parliament Hobbes Thomas Hobbes created the leviathan book and created these three concepts of philosophy: The natural state of mankind (the “state of nature”) is a state of war of one man against another, as man is selfish and brutish. Locke John Locke Created a philosophy that inspired and reflected Enlightenment values in its recognition of the rights and equality of individuals, its criticism of arbitrary authority (e.g., the divine right of kings), its advocacy of religious toleration, and its general empirical and scientific temperament. Rousseau Rousseau’s theory of education emphasized the importance of expression to produce a wellbalanced, freethinking child. He believed that if children are allowed to develop naturally without constraints imposed on them by the society they will develop towards their fullest potential, both educationally and morally Montesquieu concluded that the best form of government was one in which the legislative, executive, and judicial powers were separate and kept each other in check to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful Declaration of The Declaration of Independence is a Independence document that officially records the proclamation that the United States is an independent country from Great Britain. Natural rights refer to the rights given to all humans, simply for the sake of being human. They are universal moral principles among all cultures and societies and can't be reversed by government laws. Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government Strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation It allowed the eventual admission to the Union of no more than five states, and no fewer than three, “on an equal footing with the original states.” Weaknesses: ● No central leadership (executive branch) ● Congress had no power to enforce its laws. ● Congress had no power to tax. ● Congress had no power to regulate trade. ● No national court system (judicial branch) ● Changes to the Articles required unanimous ● consent of 13 states. Shays’ Rebellion Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades.
