WORD+WALL+-+Foundations+of+American+Government

 KEY CONCEPTS
1. aristocrats in a society divided into social classes, it is considered to be the wealthy upper class

2. balanced power idea of Montesquieu; along with separating the power within the government, it should be balanced equally among the different persons or groups of people 3. civic virtue the ability of people to put the good of the entire community/nation above their own personal benefit or gain

4. common welfare the good of the entire community; what is best for the community/nation as a whole group of people

5. confederation a loose league or alliance among a group of states or nations; the states have their own governments, make their own laws and policies, and often times have their own money; this system was used initially by the states following the Declaration of Independence

6. constitution a plan or framework for a government; it describes the different parts of a government, as well as providing a plan for how the government will work; it can be written or unwritten

7. democracy government in which the power of the government is derived from the people; from the Greek words //demos// (people) and //kratia// (power); adapted to include both a direct and an indirect exercise of power by the people 8. dictator a single person who has absolute power to make all decisions for a nation; they have unlimited power 9. English Bill of Rights provided a positive influence on the Founders; it effectively accomplished two goals: 1) limiting the power of the Monarch, and 2) listing the rights of the people (in doing so, people's rights had to be protected by the government)

10. English Parliament a representative body of the British government; originally, it was created to act as an advisory group for the Monarch, but over time, it took more and more law-making power away from the King; it provides a positive example of a representative body making political decisions for a nation

11. feudalism a social/political system found in Europe long ago; the people were divided into four class (Royalty, Nobility, Commoners and Serfs); in this system, the Monarch had absolute power over the nation, but most Serfs and Commoners looked at the nobility as the government; the Founders did not want to model this system 12. government an organization through which political power is exercised in a society; the person or group of people who have the power to make the rules, guidelines and laws for a larger group of people; the purpose of any government is to control or manage the people it governs 13. higher law belief of a nation that goes beyond the laws and policies of that nation; it is often a guiding principle for the laws and policies of that nation; typically connected to religion

14. Magna Carta government document created in England in 1215; there were two major concepts in this document: 1) rule of law (everybody has to follow the law), and 2) government by contract (social contract); this was one of the first steps towards the PEOPLE of Europe taking back the political power from the Kings and Queens; it drastically limited the power of the Kings and Queens

15. monarchy government system in which a person gains political power through hereditary lines (king/queen); monarchies can be absolute (king or queen has all of the political power of the nation) and constitutional (king or queen have lost the power to make laws and a representative parliament has taken the power to make laws)

16. Natural Rights rights that __**all**__ people have at birth that should not be denied by government; examples of these rights are life, liberty and property

17. republican government form of democracy in which the citizens chose other citizens to represent their interests in government; this is an indirect democracy 18. rule of law the idea that all people, including the members of the government, are responsible for following the law; nobody is above the law; this idea drastically limited the power of the Monarchs in Europe as the power was shifting to the people

19. separated powers idea of Montesquieu; idea that within a government, the power of the government should be divided among different groups or individuals; this would limit the power of any one person or group of people 20. state of nature Situation in which there is no government structure and no laws; in this situation, there is no guarantee of rights, justice or safety 21. social contract an agreement between the people and the government that governs them; the people give up some freedoms in return for the government's protection of other rights and freedoms

30. tariffs tax on imported goods

 KEY CHARACTERS
1. Founders A group of men who created a new government under the Constitution; also known as the Founding Fathers

2. Cincinnatus Roman general who was called out of retirement to defend Rome against attack; after swiftly defeating his enemy, he gained great popularity and could have taken over the Roman government; he knew that was not the best idea for his country (common welfare), so he simply returned to his retired life; he is an example of civic virtue

3. Montesquieu French writer; he developed a philosophy about how to organize the power structure within a government in order to limit any one person's power

4. John Locke British philosopher; he wrote about government as an agreement between the people and their government; his influences on the Founders were the ideas of social contract and natural rights

5. Roman Republic Government structure existing in Ancient Rome; the government consisted on representatives elected by their peers to represent their interests in the government; this is an indirect democracy

6. Greek Democracy Government structure existing in Ancient Greece; government structure in which all decisions are made by all eligible voters; this is direct democracy

7. Thomas Jefferson given the title "Father of the Declaration"; along with a small committee, he created the Declaration of Independence; he responsible for writing the Declaration, using the committee to edit his work; he is given credit for writing the Declaration of Independence