Civics and Economics – Flashcards
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Civics
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The study of citizenship
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Citizenship
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The rights and duties of citizens
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Economics
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The study of how individuals and nations make choices about how to use limited resources to meet unlimited wants and needs
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Citizens
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Members of a community who pledge loyalty to the government in exchange for protection and services
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What are the 3 purposes of a government
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Make and enforce laws Provide services Plan for the future
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What is the most important function of a government?
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Making and enforcing laws
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Government
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The ruling authority for a community or society
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What are the 3 levels of government?
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National (federal) State Local
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"Government is necessary." is a quote by who?
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Thomas Hobbes
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Which level of government decides who can be a citizen?
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National
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What is setting public policy?
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Actions taken to achieve community goals
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How does a government set public policies?
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By passing laws
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Democracy
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Government in which the citizens hold the power to rule and make laws
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Where did democracy begin?
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Ancient Greece, Athens
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How do elections work?
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Each person gets one vote, secret ballot, majority rule
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What are the two types of democracy?
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Direct and Representative
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What kind of democracy is more efficient in larger nations?
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Representative
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Direct Democracy
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Every citizen participates directly
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Where does a direct democracy exist today in the United States?
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New England
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Describe Representative Democracy
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Citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf
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Classical Republicanism
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Based on the Roman idea of a republic and civic virtue
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Civic Virtue
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Placing the good of the community before one's own self-interests
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Authoritarian Government
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Government power is held by a single person or small group that is not held accountable to the citizens of the country
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What are the two types of authoritarian governments?
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Autocracy and Oligarchy
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What are the two types of autocracies?
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Monarchy and Dictatorship
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Monarchy
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King or queen who acquires their position through inheritance
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Two different kinds of Monarchies
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Absolute and limited
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Dictatorship
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One person seizes power and has complete control over laws, government, and citizens.
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How do dictators gain their power?
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Skill and force
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Oligarchy
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Government in which a small, elite group holds the power to rule
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Anarchy
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The absence of government
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Example of Anarchy
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Somalia
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What usually happens when there is a state of anarchy?
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Violence and chaos as groups fight for control
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Examples of Oligarchy
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Ancient Sparta and South Africa
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Theocracy
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Belief that God is the source of government authority (rule by the church)
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Theocracy is strongly influenced by the principles of ____________.
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Religion
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Examples of Theocracy
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Vatican City and Muslim nations
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Autocracy
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One person has unlimited power
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An autocracy often depends on a country's ________ to maintain power.
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Military
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Limited Monarchy
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King or Queen is head of state, but power is limited by a representative governing lawmaking body.
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Magna Carta
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Document that formed limited monarchy to give common people a voice
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Example of Limited Monarchy
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Queen Elizabeth II
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Absolute Monarchy
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King of Queen has total power and lawmaking ability.
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Absolute Monarchy often results in ________ of the people.
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Abuse
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Examples of Absolute Monarchy
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Saudi Arabia and parts of Asia and Africa
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Dictatorship
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Absolute rule by a single person who is not restricted by laws or constitution
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Example of Dictatorship
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Cuba
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Totalitarianism
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Government has total absolute power over all aspects of life
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How is a totalitarian state maintained?
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Secret police, propaganda, and terrorism.
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Examples of Totalitarianism
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Hitler and the Nazi Party
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Aristocracy
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Rule by a privileged upper class
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Examples of Aristocracy
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Nobles during Medieval England
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Democracy
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People have the power to rule; based on majority rule and consent of the governed
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Examples of Democracies
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USA and India
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Republicanism
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Elected officials govern through consent of the people
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Popular Sovereignty
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Elected officials govern through consent of the people
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Federalism
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Power is shared between a central government and the states
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Which Amendment dictates wether a person is a citizen or not?
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14th
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What are the two ways to becoming a U.S. citizen?
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Natural born and naturalization
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What are the three ways of being a natural-born American citizen?
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Being born in U.S. territory Being born in the U.S. territory to parents who are citizens of other countries Being born anywhere, but parents are U.S. citizens or one is a citizen who has lived in the U.S
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Define Naturalization
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Process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen
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What is the first step of naturalization?
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Enter the United States legally
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Second step of naturalization
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Live in U.S. for five years (or three if married to a U.S. citizen)
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Third step of naturalization
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File an application for citizenship with the USCIS
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What is the USCIS?
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US Citizenship and Immigration Services
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Fourth step of naturalization
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Attend naturalization interview with a USCIS officer
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Fifth step of naturalization
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Take US History, US Government, and English exam
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What is the last step of naturalization?
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Attend a brief court hearing to be sworn in and take oath of loyalty
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How can you lose your US citizenship?
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Expatriation and Denaturalization
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Expatriation
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Losing US citizenship by becoming a naturalized citizen of another country
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Denaturalization
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Being stripped of citizenship that was obtained illegally
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Describe immigrants from European settlement
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Spain, France, England Late 1500s/1600s/1700s
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Great Immigration
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10 million immigrants mainly from Norway, Denmark, Sweden in the late 1800s
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Describe immigration from the late 1600s and 1700s
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Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden
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New Immigration
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22 million mainly from Greece, Russia, and Poland from 1890 to 1930
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What are the two largest sources of immigrants to the US?
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Latin America and Asia
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Define Quota
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A numerical limit
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Why did the United States establish a quota for immigrants?
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Many Americans were beginning to worry that so many immigrants were coming in that they would take American land and jobs
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How many immigrants are allowed in the U.S. today?
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About 700,000
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How many immigrants are allowed to come from the same country?
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27,000
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Traditionally, which immigrants were allowed into the US?
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Relatives of US citizens and people with needed job skills
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What did the Immigration Act of 1990 do for immigrants?
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Shifted priority towards welcoming "those who wanted to work and produce and contribute" (special skills, money to invest, etc.)
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Refugee
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Someone fleeing from their homeland because of political oppression, war, famine.
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Recent examples of countries that produce refugees
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Cuba and Haiti
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Alien
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Someone who lives in a country in which they are not a citizen
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Three things legal aliens can't do
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May not vote in elections or serve on juries, may not run for political office, may not work most government jobs
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What must legal aliens carry with them?
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Permanent Residence card aka Green Card
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E Pluribus Unum
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US motto found on coins Means 'from many, one'
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Deportation
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When an illegal alien is sent back to their own country
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Melting Pot Theory
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Idea that immigrants abandon their cultural differences and assimilate into the US society and culture
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Tossed Salad Theory
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US benefits when people keep their cultural identities (cultural mosaic)
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Census
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Population count by Census Bureau
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When was the first census done and what was the population?
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1790 4 million
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The population is now over...?
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308 Million
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What are the two reason why the US population has increased?
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Natural Increase and Immigration
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Which states has the largest population?
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California, Texas, New York, and Florida
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Migration
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A mass movement of people from one part of a country to another part of the same country
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First Great Shift
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Americans moved from rural areas to cities in the mid 1800s because of employment
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Second Shift
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Freed African-Americans headed for cities in the north after the Civil War
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What is the most recent shift in migration?
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Beginning in the 1970's- migration to the southern and western parts of the country to the 'Sun Belt'
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Describe urban shifts in the population
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Some older cities losing population, while younger cities are growing; people moving from centers of cities to the suburbs
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Urban Sprawl
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the slow expanding of a city's boundaries/reach
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Describe the US economy over time
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Agricultural-based (1600s to early 1800s) Industrial/Manufacturing (late 1800s to early 1900s) Service Economy (late 1900s-present)
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What kind of economy does the US have now?
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Service Economy
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What are the three types of visas you can get?
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Permanent Business Temporary
