Civics Exam Flashcards
(92 cards)
1
Q
Define: Civics
A
the study of how public decisions are made, of issues that are important to the public and of the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
2
Q
Define: Government
A
a decision making system that has the power to make laws and direct the affairs of a country, province or municipality. The word comes from the Greek and Latin words for “to steer”
3
Q
Define: Civil Society
A
voluntary organizations of citizens that work to make a difference on important public issues
4
Q
Define: Pluralist Society
A
a society in which different groups with a range of beliefs can influence political life
5
Q
Define: Ideology
A
a set of beliefs and values, especially about how a society should be organized and what goals it should pursue
6
Q
Define: Autocracy
A
a system of government in which a few rulers have the power to make decisions for the people
7
Q
Define: Democracy
A
a system of government in which decisions are controlled by the people. The term comes from the Greek word “demo” meaning people and “cracy” meaning rule.
8
Q
Define: Rights and Freedoms
A
those things we are morally or legally entitled to have or to do.
9
Q
Define: Majority Rule
A
the principle that the opinion of the greater number should prevail
10
Q
Define: Minority Rights
A
the principle that the rights of the minority must be safe guarded
11
Q
Define: Consensus
A
a collective decision to which all parties agree
12
Q
Define: Responsibility
A
a duty or obligation. As citizens, we all have responsibilities, often directly linked to our rights
13
Q
Define: Rule of Law
A
the principle that people are governed by laws and that no person is above the law
14
Q
Define: Constitution
A
the supreme law of the land. It outlines the government structure for a nation and defines and limits government power
15
Q
Define: Federal System of Government
A
a system of government in which powers and responsibilities are divided into national and regional levels to address national and regional needs
16
Q
Define: Jurisdiction
A
the authority to make and carry out laws
17
Q
Define: Municipal Government
A
governing body of a city or town
18
Q
Define: Residual Powers
A
In Canada’s constitution, any left over powers that are not specifically listed, but remain with the federal government
19
Q
Define: Constitutional Monarchy
A
a government in which the monarch has only the powers laid out in the nations constitution and laws
20
Q
Define: Direct Democracy
A
a democratic system of government in which every citizen participates directly in decision making
21
Q
Define: Representative Democracy
A
a democratic system in which citizens vote for representatives who are empowered to make decisions on their behalf
22
Q
Define: Referendum
A
the process of referring a political question to the people for a direct voice.
23
Q
Define: Franchise
A
the right to vote in a public election for members of parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils
24
Q
Define: Suffrage Movement
A
the campaign for women s rights to vote
25
Define: Social Movement
organized campaign by large groups of concerned citizens to lobby or otherwise influence the government
26
Define: Municipality
a city, town, county, district, township or other community area having local self government
27
Define: Metropolitan Government
a form of municipal government that provides common services to citizens of several neighbouring municipalities
28
Define: Amalgamation
the combination of cities, towns or other areas under one government
29
Define: Municipal Council
the group of people elected to govern on local issues. The head of the council is called the mayor or reeve. Other members are called Councillors or aldermen
30
Define: Ward
a geographic subdivision, often encompassing a neighbourhood or several neighbourhoods, which is used as the designation for an elected councillor
31
Define: School Board
a group of people elected to make decisions about schools in a particular area
32
Define: Civil Service
network of people hired to work for the government. In local government, they run the municipal departments that provide local services. Also called public service
33
Define: Bylaw
regulation passed by municipal councils. Provincial governments can review and overturn this legal decision
34
Define: Local Planning
municipal responsibility for forming policies and procedures for the future
35
Define: Grassroots organizing
organizing society at the local level, as distinguished from the centers of political leadership
36
Define: Caucus
the team of group leaders
37
Define: Minister
someone who is in the cabinet
38
Define: Bill
a new law that is in the making
39
Define: Leader of the Opposition
leader of the second place group
40
Define: House Leader and Party Whips
house leader is the team captain and the party whip is the enforcer of the party
41
Define: Representation by Population
for every 100,000 people you get one representative
42
Define: Riding or Constituency
the area that the MP is representing. The constituents are the people who are in the riding
43
Define: Party Platform
the beliefs of the party
44
Define: First Past the Post
the idea that whom ever gets the most votes wins
45
Define: Equality Rights
rights, guaranteed in the Candian Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbidding discrimination based on the following grounds.: age, colour, family status, mental or physical ability, national or ethnic origin, pardoned convictions, religons or gender
46
Define: Mass Media
formats, such as televison, radio, newspaper and magazines used to transmit information, entertainment and communication to large numbers of people
47
Define: Pressure Group
an organized group of individuals with common interests and concerns who attempt to influence decision makers
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Define: Lobbying
attempts to influence decision makers through direct persuasion, discussion or persistent attention
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Define: Lobbyist
a person who is hired to represent the interests of a group by influencing decision makers in the groups favour
50
Define: Protest Group
a group of individuals who demonstrate together to influence decision makers through direct, sometimes extraordinary, action
51
Define: Civil Disobedience
to refuse to obey or follow laws one believes are unjust or unfair; to intentionally break laws to get the attention of the government
52
Define: Interconnected
being connected, through various ways to people around the world. People around the world are connected through culture, politics, economics, technology and the environment
53
Define: Global Citizen
a person who is active in the world and know their place in it
54
Define: Human Rights
universal rights, based on what we generally believe to be right or wrong, which apply to all people, in all countries, at all times
55
Define: The Holocaust
a great devastation or destruction, usually referring to the attempted genocide of the Jews by the Nazis and the murder of 6 million Jews
56
Define: Genocode
the deliberate and systematic murder of a racial or cultural group
57
Define: Active Resistance
to resist actively, often through militant means
58
Define: Apartheid
the former national policy of South Africa which called for separation between whites and blacks
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Define: Passive Resistance
non-violent political action
60
Define: NGO
a non-government non-profit organization that does international public works and lobbies for peoples rights around the world
61
What are the 4 spheres o citizenship?
local
provincial
national
international
62
What are values?
those things in life that are most important and cherished. They are often reinforced by the influence of family, friends, community and culture
63
what are beliefs?
they are thoughts one has about how values need to be expressed or lived out. No two people have the exact same beliefs and this can sometimes lead to conflict over contentious issues.
64
What are social challenges?
Social challenges are issues or conflicts between people who hold varying opinions or beliefs that often feel they have unmet physical, emotional or spiritual wants and needs
65
Why are governments needed?
Governments are needed to solve complex social challenges that individuals cannot help us meet or solve.
66
What is an Autocratic Government? What are individuals expected to do in an Autocratic Government?
Autocratic government is a government where one individual or few people make decisions for the rest of the members of society. In an autocratic government, individuals are expected to accept the decisions made by their leaders and their personal freedoms are limited (they cant speak openly about criticizing their leaders)
67
What is a democratic government? What are individuals expected to do in a democratic government?
In a democratic government, individuals have a say in questions that affect them. Citizens are expected to participate in democracy in various ways and are free to have differing views and goals. This means that citizens are expected to make choices, but must also accept the consequences of the choices
68
Outline the differences between autocratic and Democratic governments.
Autocratic:
- small leadership
- fast change
- planned/central economies
- ownership by government
- high taxation
- not many social programs
- contained social traditions
- big military
- big government
- Ex. North Korea
Democratic:
- big leadership
- slow change
- less control over economies
- privately owned by people
- low taxation
- many social programs
- free to hold our own traditions
- small military
- smaller government
- Ex. Canada, USA `
69
What are the 5 steps to becoming a Canadian Citizen?
1. Be 18 years or older
2. be a permanent resident who was lawfully admitted to Canada
3. have lived in Canada for 3 of the previous 4 years
4. speak either English or French (or both)
5. Know the information about Canada outlined in the Citizenship and Immigration handbook (you must pass a test)
70
What are the 3 ways of being a Canadian Citizen?
1. You are born in Canada
2. You have a parent that was born in Canada
3. You immigrate to Canada
71
What is the Amending Formula?
- it was created by Queen Elizabeth because of her questioning of Pierre Trudeau's intent on changing the constitution
- it stated that 7 of 10 premiers had to agree to any changes in the constitution and 51% of the population also had to agree
- the Amending formula was a push towards democracy
72
What is the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
- it was created by Pierre Trudeau to get around the Amending Formula to change the constitution to give power to the government
- it highlighted all the rights and freedoms that every citizen had for equality
- he used in in a way so that citizens wouldnt see that he was trying to change the constitution to give power to the government
- it was a push towards autocracy and a push away from democracy
73
What "style" is Canada's government?
it is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy
74
Why do governments act?
- of changing circumstances
- of public opinion
- of court decisions
- of election promises
75
What are the 3 branches of government and wat do they each do?
1. Executive Branch- has the power to administer and carryout the laws (ex. running a budget-federal, diploma requirements-provincial)
2. Legislative Branch- has the power to make and amend laws(ex. set unemployment payments-federal, waste disposal bylaws-municipal)
3. Judicial Branch- has the power to decide who as broken laws and to set penalties(this is not a direct power, judges and courts at provincial and federal levels hold the power)
76
What is the layout of the Executive branch?
see review notes
77
What is the layout of the Legislative Branch?
see review notes
78
What is the layout of the Judicial Branch?
see review notes
79
What is the cabinet?
it is selected by the head of governments to be responsible for departments
80
What is public service?
people who conduct daily business of government
81
How does the Queen help manage Canada?
Since the Queen doesn't live in Canada, we have a Governor General and Lieutenant-Governor who represent and report to her.
82
What is "Window Dressing" politics?
it is when politicians bring up a solution to a problem that doesn't solve the problem, but instead makes it worse.
83
What are the 3 roles of the Media?
1. Act as an active critic of the government in order to keep its politicians and parties accountable
2. Acts as a public outlet for opinions
3. Acts as a primary source of information
84
What are the 3 parts to safeguard democracy?
First, the government itself has rules in order and courts are in place to keep democracy true. Second, the media also keeps the government and society accountable. Third, pressure groups and lobbyists speak out against precieved injustice.
85
What are the 3 principles of disobedience?
1. Civil disobedience should not involve violence.
2. Civil disobedience is directed against laws that are seriously harmful
3. Civil disobedience requires the participant to take responsibility for ones actions and have the willingness to face punishment which shows the strengths of ones beliefs
86
What are some traits of a global citizen?
- is aware of the whole world and their place in the world.
- respects and values diversity
- has an understanding of howthe world works economically, socially, politically, etc.
- is outraged by social injustice
- participates and contributes to the community a range of levels (local to global)
- is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place
- takes responsibility for their actions
87
What are some basic rights?
- right to life, liberty, and security
- right to participate fully in cultural life
- right to an education
- freedom from torture
- freedom of thought, conscience and religon
- right to a standard of living adequate for health and well being
88
What are some basic rights of a child?
- right to love and understanding
- right to an education
- right to nutrition and medical care
- right to a name and nationality
- right to play and recreation
- right to special care if handicapped
89
What were Hitler's 3 steps to the Holocaust?
1. Process of dehumanizing the Jews- blaming internal enemies for accepting it and either expelling or exterminating these internal threats (aka the Jews, communists, etc)
2. Re-education of the Youth and intimidating and silencing the citizenry- rebuilding the Fatherland by ending reparation fees, getting people back to work, rebuilding the military, and reclaiming German Land
3. Manipulation and control of the military and the push for world war- punishing the international community though world war
90
What are some examples of active resistance?
- Wallenburg and Bonhoeffer and others saved hundreds of thousands of Jews and were willing to use civil disobedience
- the Jews called these people "The Righteous Gentiles"
- Hitler personally killed many of the active resistors
91
What happened to the Nazis?
- since Germany was ahead in science, many German scientists were taken to the US
- in the Nuremberg Trials, many Nazi leaders were charged with crimes against humanity
92
Who said this quote?
| "The only things necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmund Burke
