Unit 1 Test: Gov Flashcards
(49 cards)
The responsibilities of this is to maintain social order, provide public services, and enforce laws.
government
This document is also known as The Great Charter and was signed in 1215 AD by King John, limiting his rule and establishing the principle Rule of Law.
Magna Carta
When the state has supreme and absolute power within the boundaries of its territory, it is said to have this
Sovereignty
The people living within a defined territory are said to be the states
Population
Theory that government began when people agreed to give up some freedoms for stability and security
Social Contract Theory
Theory that God, or gods choose rulers and create the government
Divine Right Theory
Theory that the state is formed by a hostile takeover or for protection from such takeovers
Force Theory
Theory that the state emerged from an early family and/or tribe
Evolutionary Theory
Type of government when only and elite few are in control
Oligarcy
Government run by a king, queen, or emperor with absolute power
Monarchy
Government run by a single leader
Dictatorship
The form of democracy we have in the U.S.
Democratic-Republic
According to John Locke, all men are born with certain natural rights.
Unalienable Rights- equality, life, liberty, or possessions
Where does the Virginia Declaration of Rights say that the government’s power comes from?
The People
“In the state of nature, although all people are equal and each has a right to everything, that right provides no security since all people are also in an unrestrained competition for the things they need and want…” was said by
Rousseau
“Natural rights must be protected not only against the infringements of other individuals but also against the government itself…” was said by
Locke
What are natural rights?
Rights that belong to everyone
According to John Locke, what is the core purpose of government?
To protect your property from being taken by others
How did the English Bill of Rights limit the monarch’s power?
The monarchy couldn’t rule without consent from the Parliament
Rights that are incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or trasferred.
Unalienable rights
He 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.
Montesquieu
Documents like the Magna Carta and others limited the king’s ability to abuse his power over the people by protecting their individual rights. In other words, there were things the law said a king absolutely could not do. This idea of restricting a government’s power is known as
Rule of Law
“When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty… Again, there is no liberty, if the judiciary power be not separated from the legislative and executive…”
Montesquieu
“Thus every man, by agreeing with others to make one body politic under one government, puts himself under an obligation to everyone in that society to submit to the decisions of the majority, and to be bound by it. Otherwise-that is, if he were willing to submit himself only to the majority acts that be approved of-the original compact through which he and the others incorporated into society would be meaningless…” Which of the following democratic ideals is described in the passage?
Consent of the governed
