We The People
Unit One Vocabulary
Mrs. Mata
NYOS Charter School
8 th grade Social Studies

aristocrats

When a single ruler or group has unlimited power

the dedication of
citizens to the common welfare of their community or country, even at the cost of their individual interests

the good of the
community as a whole

to agree and
accept something,
approve of something, or
allow something to take place

a set of customs, traditions, rules, and laws that set forth the way a government is organized and operated

Constitutional government in which the powers of the rule or rulers are limited by a constitution

1) a person chosen to act for or represent others
2) to entrust someone to represent your interests

a political system in which the ruler or rulers has unlimited power and which denies peoples’ fundamental rights

a type of government in which the people meet and make the
laws that they decide are needed

1. a small group within a larger group
2. according to James Madison, a group that seeks to promote its own special interests at the expense of the common good

republican government a system for ruling in which power is held by the people who are eligible to elect
representatives to run the government for the common good

self-sufficient able to provide for most of one’s own needs

social contract an agreement among the people to set up a government and obey its laws, developed by John Locke

state of nature the basis of natural rights philosophy; a state of nature is the condition of people living in a situation without man-made government, rules, or laws

someone who owes allegiance to a government or ruler

Founders the political leaders of the thirteen original colonies, they were key figures in the establishment of the United States of
America

the people and institutions with authority to make and enforce laws and manage dispute about laws

Indentured servants a person who voluntarily sold his or her labor for a set period of time in return for the cost of coming to America. The most important source of labor in the colonies.

limited government in natural rights philosophy, a system restricted to protecting natural rights that does not interfere with other aspects of life

monarchy a form of government in which political power is held by a
single ruler such as a king or queen

natural rights a doctrine that human beings have basic rights, such as: life, liberty, and property in a state of nature and that people create governments to protect those rights

Representative democracy a system for ruling in which elected representatives are chosen by the people to act on their behalf