| A | B |
|---|
| government | a system for exercising authority |
| democracy | a government controlled by its citizens, either directly or indirectly |
| aristocracy | a government in which power is in the hands of heriditary ruling class or nobility |
| citizen | a native of a state or nation with certain rights and privileges |
| direct democracy | a government in which citizens rule directly rather than through representatives |
| monarchy | a government in which power is in the hands of a single person |
| natural laws | patterns and explanations of the world discovered through reason and intelligence; use by the Greeks in place of superstition |
| republic | a form of government in which power is in the hands of representatives and leaders are elected by the people |
| Roman Senate | in ancient Rome, the supreme governing body, originally made up only of aristocrats |
| Solon | a Greek leader who reformed laws so that poor people could be paid to work in government and who outlawed slavery for debt to your landlord |
| Cleisthenes | a Greek leader who allowed all citizens (not just the rich) to submit laws to the assembly. |
| Pericles | A Greek leader who increased the number of paid officials and paid jurors. He helped bring direct democracy to Athens |
| Plato | A Greek philosopher who believed the wisest (a Philosopher-King) should rule, not the richest. |
| Aristotle | A Greek philosopher who felt man was naturally a political "animal"; and it is natural for man to live in a state. |
| Magna Carta | The English document signed in 1215 taking more power from the King and giving it to the nobles. It gave English people more rights. |
| Reformation | A time when people questioned the greed and power of the Catholic Church. They wanted to fix the Church. |
| Roman law | Ancient laws that influence us today: all citizens deserve equal treatment by the law; innocent until proven guilty; bad laws should be deleted; burden of proof rests with the accuser. |
| Written legal code | An important aspect of Roman law: it was written down and people respected it.The Twelve Tables is where they collected the laws. |
| burden of proof | The chore of making the evidence in a case. In our system it lies with the accuser. |
| Ten Commandments | In the Judeo-Christian tradition: 10 laws given to Moses from God about how to behave in a moral way. |
| Martin Luther | A German man who started the Reformation by questioning the greed and power of the Catholic Church. |
| Judaism | The monotheistic religion of the Hebrews. They believe God wants all people to live moral lives. |
| Christianity | A religion founded by Jesus that includes much from the Jewish tradition. Jesus taught that it was important to love God, your neighbors, your enemies, and yourselves. |
