Topic Based Glossary |
| FORMS OF GOVERNMENT |
| Absolute Monarchy | Autocracy in which a king, queen, or emperor exercises supreme powers of government. |
| Aristocracy | Members of noble families and class. |
| Authoritarian | A form of government in which those in power hold absolute and unchangeable authority over the people; all dictatorships are authoritarian. |
| Autocracy | A form of government in which a single person holds unlimited political power. |
| Anarchy | The absence of government; lawlessness; in some cases political disorder. |
| Confederation | A form of political organization in which the sovereign states combine for specified purposes such as defense.
The U.S. was a confederation from 1776 to 1788. |
| Constitutional Government | A government in which the powers of government are limited in practice by a written or unwritten constitution, which they must obey.
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| Constitutional Monarchy | A monarch that has shared governmental powers with elected legislatures or serves mainly as ceremonial leader of a country. |
| Democracy | A form of government in which the supreme authority rests with the people, either directly or indirectly. |
| Despotism | A government or political system in which the ruler exercises absolute power or authority. |
| Dictatorship | A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority. |
| Fascism | A political system that calls for extreme nationalism and no tolerance of opposition. |
| Federal | A form of government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments. |
| Liberal Democracy | A democracy, in general, that favors regulating business, supporting social welfare, and protecting minority rights but who prefers less regulation of private social conduct. |
| Monarchy | A form of government in which a sovereign ruler such as a king or a queen heads the country. |
| Oligarchy | A form of government in which small, usually self-appointed elite, holds the power to rule. |
| Parliamentary | A form of government in which that gives governmental authority to a legislature or parliament, which in turn selects the executive from among its own members. |
| Presidential | A form of government in which the executive and legislative branches are separate and independent, and equal. |
| Representative Democracy | System of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections. |
| Secular Government | A system of political power not exercised by ecclesiastical bodies or the clergy. Contrasted with theocracy. |
| Theocracy | A system of government in which a single religion is recognized by the government and controls the government. |
| Unitary | A centralized system in which all powers of government belong to a single, central agency. |
| CIVIL LIBERTIES |
| Freedom and Security of the Person: Several of the Constitution's guarantees are intended to protect the right of every American to live in freedom, to be free of physical restraints, to be secure in his or her person, and to be secure in his or her home. |
| Freedom of Assembly and Petition: The Constitution protects the right of the people to assemble to express their views on public matters. It also protects the people's right to bring their views to the attention of public officials by such varied means as written petitions, letters, or advertisements; lobbying; or parades, marches, or other demonstrations. |
| Freedom of Religion: The Bill of Rights provides first for the protection of religious liberty. The First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit the establishment of a state religion and prohibit any arbitrary interference by government in the "free exercise" of religion. |
| Freedom of Speech and the Press: The guarantees of free speech and press in the First and Fourteenth Amendments serve two fundamentally important purposes: 1) to guarantee each person a right of free expression and 2) to guarantee to all persons a full, wide-ranging discussion of public affairs. |
| Rights of the Accused: The law intends that any person who is suspected or accused of a crime must be presumed innocent until proven guilty by fair and lawful means. Laws prohibit unjust arrests and imprisonment, punishment without a court trial, and being tried twice for the same crime and provide the right to speedy and public trial, a trial by jury if accused of a federal crime, and the right to an adequate defense. Suspects must be informed of their rights before questioning. |
| CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS AND POLICIES |
| Affirmative Action: A plan or program to remedy the effects of past discrimination in employment, education, or other activity and to prevent its reoccurrence. |
| Civil Rights Act (1964): Safeguarded the right to vote and outlawed discrimination in the areas of public accommodation, programs that receive federal funding, and employment. |
| Civil Rights Act of 1968: With minor exceptions, forbids anyone to refuse to sell or rent a dwelling to any person on grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, or disability. |
| Equal Rights Amendment: Efforts made on behalf of fair treatment and employment rights for women, which gained significant support, however, not enough for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965: The law passed in 1965 to effectuate the right of each citizen to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constriction. The law provides that no voting qualification prerequisite to voting shall be imposed by any state. |
| BROAD SOCIOECONOMIC GOALS OF THE UNITED STATES |
| Economic Freedom: Marketplace freedom for producers, consumers, savers, borrowers, investors, workers and entrepreneurs to make choices. |
| Economic Efficiency: Undertaking only those economic actions that result in additional benefits that exceed additional costs in order to obtain maximum benefits from using limited resources. |
| Economic Equity: The application of concepts of fairness and right vs. wrong to economic policy, generally viewed in terms of how a policy affects the distribution of income and wealth and in terms of equality of opportunity (not equality of results). |
| Economic Security: Protection against economic risks over which individuals may have little or no control. |
| Full Employment: A situation in which all able-bodied adults who choose to work are working. It assumes that
3-5% constitutes full employment. |
| Price Stability: Absence of inflation or deflation; generally allows 2-4% inflation. |
| Economic Growth: Producing increasing amounts of goods and services over the long term; generally measured by GDP and GDP per capita, the latter being the most meaningful because it measures growth in output relative to growth in population. |
| Other Goals: high-quality education, national defense, quality health care, adequate housing, and adequate housing. |
| LEGISLATIVE ACTS |
| Title IX | Prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance. |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities Act was established to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in all areas of an individual's life including Government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. |
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