Unit 1: Fundamentals of Civics and Government

the system or group of people that manages an organized community, state, or country

• Government

• Civics

• Sovereignty

• Republic

The study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

• Government

• Civics

• Sovereignty

• Republic

Supreme power or authority inside a territory. In monarchies, this would be the king. In modern democracies, this is the people.

• Government

• Civics

• Sovereignty

• Republic

A form of government in which the people elect representatives to govern them and make laws. Also known as a representative democracy.

• Totalitarianism

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Republic

A political system in which those in power have complete control and do not allow people to have freedom or to oppose them.

• Totalitarianism

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Republic

A small group of people that controls the government for corrupt or selfish purposes with unlimited power over the people.

• Totalitarianism

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Republic

A system where all citizens decide on laws and policies directly without elected government officials who act as representatives.

• Totalitarianism

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Republic

A system of government by one person with absolute power.

• Autocracy

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Constitutional Monarchy

A form of government in which an all-powerful king or queen rules a state. This was a common form of government in Europe through the 1700s.

• Absolute Monarchy

• Oligarchy

• Direct Democracy

• Constitutional Monarchy

A type of government where the king or queen must share power with elected people, such as a parliament

• Absolute Monarchy

• Oligarchy

• Republic

• Constitutional Monarchy