| A | B |
|---|
| absolute monarch | a king or queen with total power |
| totalitarian government | a government that has total control over the lives of people |
| dictatorship | all power in the hands of one person or small group |
| direct democracy | all people meet and make laws |
| indirect democracy | people elect representatives to meet & make laws |
| republic | people elect representatives to carry out work of government |
| Constitution | a written plan of government |
| confederation | a loose association of states |
| parliament | lawmaking body of the British government |
| bicameral legislation | consisting of 2 houses in a lawmaking body |
| federalism | powers of government divided between national & state governments |
| Federalists | supporter of the Constitution |
| Anti-Federalists | opponent of the Constitution |
| Magna Carta | English document that listed rights of people |
| popular sovereignty | government by consent of governed |
| Delegated Powers | federal government power |
| Reserved Powers | state's or people's powers |
| Concurrent Powers | powers shared by federal government & states |
| limited government | government's power carefully spelled out so it can't become too powerful |
| checks and balances | system of powers of gov. are balanced between the branches of gov. |
| veto | refusal of president or governor to sign a bill |
| amendment | a written change in the Constitution |
| repeal | to cancel or revoke |
| "living document" | constitution can change and adapt to new circumstances through amendments, interpretation & custom |
| Watergate | Why Nixon resigned |
