American Government Basics

A government in which supreme authority is invested in one who rules for life

• Monarchy

• Dictatorship

• Republic

• Democracy

A form of monarchy in which the government usually is run by a democratically elected parliament and the monarch is merely a ceremonial head of state.

• Absolute

• Federal

• Parliamentary

• Constitutional

An authoritative form of government in which the government acts without the people’s consent or input.

• Presidential

• National

• Dictatorship

• Monarchy

A system of government in which an elite ruling class (such as the military, the wealthy, or a powerful family) often seeking to control every aspect of the people’s lives

• Constitutionalism

• Totalitarianism

• Absolutism

A form of dictatorial government in which one person rules with supreme authority.

• autocracy

• oligarchy

A form of dictatorial government in which an elite group rules; the group is sometimes self-appointed and divides the governmental departments among its members.

• autocracy

• oligarchy

A condition in which a state has no functioning government.

• Anarchy

• Democracy

• Oligarchy

• Parliamentary

Popular government is a system of government in which citizens participate and political power resides with the people, rather than with a monarchy or an elite group.

• True

• False

A form of government in which the people directly affect a government’s policies and actions through gatherings and voting.

• Direct Democracy

• Indirect Democracy

A form of government in which the people elect their peers to operate the government on their behalf.

• Direct Democracy

• Indirect Democracy