Civics Vocabulary #1

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Democracy

Back

A type of government where the power is divided.  Citizens hold power because they vote their leaders into power.

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Dictatorship

Back

1. A type of government where all of the power is given to one person or a small group of people; the ruler is usually a tyrant.

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Tyrant

Back

A leader or ruler that harms or does bad things to their citizens, a corrupt leader.

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Ideal

Back

An idea for how to make something perfect or the best.

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Democratic Ideal

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Ideas that the founding fathers based the constitution on when they wrote it; they wanted to make a perfect government for its citizens.

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Founding Fathers

Back

1. The men who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. 

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Federalism

Back

When the power of the government is divided into different levels:  national, state, and city.

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Political Party

Back

A group of people who hold similar beliefs about how the government should be run and how the issues facing a country should be solved. They also elect candidates to run for political positions of power that represent their group.

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Controversial

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An issue that leads to great public disagreement (debate).

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Polarization

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1. A major divide within a group due to different opinions that relate to a controversial issue causing each side to not be able to relate to each other.