Unit 1: Introduction to Government

Question 1

state

Answer 1

a body of people living in a defined territory with a government

Question 2

nation

Answer 2

ethnic term: large group of people

Question 3

country

Answer 3

geographic term: particular place, region, or area of land

Question 4

people

Answer 4

the people who make up the state may or may not be the same

Question 5

territory

Answer 5

must have land with known and recognized boundaries

Question 6

sovereignty

Answer 6

• supreme power within its own territory
• decides its own foreign and domestic policies

Question 7

government

Answer 7

the agency the state uses to accomplish its goals

Question 8

purposes of government

Answer 8

preamble to the constitution

Question 9

powers of government

Answer 9

legislative, executive, judicial

Question 10

legislative branch

Answer 10

law making (US Congress, State Legislatures)

Question 11

executive branch

Answer 11

law enforcing (US President, Governor)

Question 12

judicial branch

Answer 12

law interpreting (Courts)

Question 13

force theory

Answer 13

government (the state) was created by force, one person or group claimed control over the land

Question 14

evolutionary theory

Answer 14

a primitive family where one person was the leader, the root of early government, tribes settled and began government because of farming

Question 15

Divine right theory

Answer 15

God created the state and gave those of royal birth “divine right” to rule

Question 16

social contract theory

Answer 16

before government, the strong took what they wanted and nobody stopped them, agreement to give up some power to government for safety

Question 17

participation

Answer 17

who can participate in government and hold power?

Question 18

geographic

Answer 18

the geographic distribution of the governing process

Question 19

legislative vs. executive

Answer 19

the relationship between the legislative and the executive branches of government

Question 20

democracy

Answer 20

political authority rests with the people

Question 21

direct democracy

Answer 21

“pure democracy”
will of the people made public law by the people themselves
small communities

Question 22

indirect democracy

Answer 22

“representative democracy”
small group chosen by the people that act as representatives to express the popular will

Question 23

dictatorship

Answer 23

absolute and unchangeable authority over people
rulers hold no responsibility to the will of the people

Question 24

autocracy

Answer 24

government in which a single person holds unlimited political power

Question 25

oligarchy

Answer 25

government in which the power to rule is held by a small, elite group

Question 26

unitary

Answer 26

"centralized government" central government creates local units

Question 27

federal

Answer 27

central and local governments have to agree to make changes

Question 28

confederation

Answer 28

- alliance of independent states - central organization only handles matters that the states assign to it

Question 29

presidential

Answer 29

executive and legislative are separate president is head of legislature

Question 30

parliamentary

Answer 30

- executive consists of prime minister and official cabinet - subject to direct control

Question 31

democracy

Answer 31

representatives are responsible for answering to the popular will of the people

Question 32

Mayflower Compact

Answer 32

Made to maintain order and establish a civil society

Question 33

Thomas Paine's Common Sense

Answer 33

- independence from Great Britian - Created a democratic republic

Question 34

George Mason

Answer 34

Wrote the "Declaration of Rights" for Virginians

Question 35

The Virginia Declaration of Rights

Answer 35

Became the basis for the US Bill of Rights

Question 36

Freedom of Religion

Answer 36

Can be directed only by reason, not force

Question 37

Freedom of the Press

Answer 37

Newspapers should be able to print the truth and should not be controlled by the government

Question 38

Trial By Jury

Answer 38

People who broke the law should have rights, including trail by jury

Question 39

No Cruel & Unusual Punishments

Answer 39

Deserve bail and should not suffer cruel and unusual punishments

Question 40

A Well Regulated Militia

Answer 40

No standing armies, military should be under the people's control

Question 41

The Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom

Answer 41

- written by Thomas Jefferson - disestablished Church of England in Virginia - guaranteed freedom of all religion - became basis for Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause

Question 42

Significance of Documents (Virginia Decleration of Rights)

Answer 42

Served as models for the Bill of Rights of the US Constitution