Glossary
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Anarchist |
One who opposes all forms of government. |
Anthropology |
Anthropology is the science that deals with the origins, physical characteristics,
and cultural development of mankind. |
Aqueducts |
Water pipes, channels, or troughs that carry water from one place to
another. |
Bill of Rights |
The first 10 amendments to the Constitution, promised by James Madison
and the Federalists as part of the ratification process to assure
the public that their civil liberties would be protected. |
Boom |
A boom is a period of fast economic growth, high output, and low unemployment. |
Capitalism |
An economic system in which the means of production (business) is in
private hands. |
Caste system |
A system of social stratification in which social position is determined
by the family into which a person is born, and change in that position
is usually not possible during an individual's lifetime. |
Centrally planned economy |
An economic system where the government, through a planning process,
allocates resources in society. |
Command Economic System |
In a command economic system, the main decision maker is the government. |
Communism |
Communism is the name given to a form of government that favors the
direct, communal control of society. |
Constitutional Monarchy |
A form of government that acknowledges as head of state an elected
or hereditary monarch who is guided by a constitution wherein his/her
rights and responsibilities are spelled out in written law or by
custom. |
Conservative |
One who opposes change and seeks solutions to societal problems via
traditional methods. |
Consumer sovereignty |
Exists when resources are allocated according to the wishes of the
consumers. |
Democracy |
A form of government in which political control is exercised by all
the people, either directly or through their elected representatives.
Modern democracies are characterized by free and fair elections,
universal suffrage, freedom of expression, freedom of association,
protection of civil liberties, and equality under the law. |
Democratic republic |
A form of government (e.g., the United States) in which the supreme
political power resides in the electorate, and its administration
is exercised by representatives who are responsible to the people. |
Depression |
A period of economic decline. |
Dictatorship |
A government that is completely controlled by a single person or a
single group that wields absolute power and is not bound by law.
Dictatorships can take many forms. In a communist
dictatorship, the government is ruled by one authoritarian
party that takes complete control of centralized planning of the
economy, eliminates the private ownership of property, and claims
that all goods are shared by the people. A military
dictatorship is a form of government in which all political
power resides with the military (directed by a small group or a junta),
or with one powerful member of the military. The term autocrat can
be used to describe any ruler with unlimited power (also known
as a despot). |
Entrepreneur |
One who organizes production and takes risks. |
Fascism |
Fascism refers to an authoritarian form of government which considers
the nation to be more important than the individual. |
Free goods |
Goods that are unlimited in supply. |
Free market economy |
An economy, which resolves the basic economic problems through the
market mechanism. |
Geography |
Geography is the study of people, places, and environments. |
Human/environment interaction |
When man and environment interact there is always an effect. Such consequences
can be studied and lessons drawn from these effects. |
Inherent Rights |
The idea that the people have certain "natural rights" and
create a government in order to have those rights protected. |
Law of supply |
The law of supply is when the quantity supplied is directly proportional
to the price. |
Law of demand |
The law of demand is when the quantity demanded is inversely proportional
to the price. |
Liberal |
Signifies an openness to change and respect for individual liberties
within a societal framework in which all have equal opportunity. |
Libertarians |
Those believe in minimal government and resistance to government influence
in our lives. |
Location |
Every point on earth has a specific location that is determined by
an imaginary grid of lines (latitude and longitude). Latitude measures
distances north and south of the equator, while longitude measures
distances east and west of the Prime Meridian. |
Map |
A map is a graphic representation of a portion of Earth's surface drawn
to a particular scale. Maps use colors, symbols, and labels to represent
features found on Earth's surface. |
Market |
Occurs whenever buyers and sellers are in contact with each other. |
Market Economic System |
A market economic system is one in which decisions are the result of
individual decisions by buyers and sellers in the marketplace. The
United States is one such market economy. |
Moderate |
One who is pragmatic and has an aversion to ideology or ideological
excesses. Characterized by a willingness to compromise. |
Monopoly |
A market structure where one firm supplies all output in the industry
without facing competition because of high barriers to entry into
the industry. |
Movement |
When people move they interact with each other and with their environment.
A study of such movement will aid in understanding the connectivity
and dependence of people in an environment. |
Nazi |
A form of fascism that holds that the few make decisions for the many. |
Parliamentary democracy |
A system that gives governmental authority to a legislature or parliament,
which in turn selects the executive from among its own members. |
Place |
All places have characteristics that distinguish them and give them
identity (character). Such character can be physical (topography
or even animal life) or human (language, cultures). |
Political |
That which is of or relating to your views about social relationships
involving authority or power; "political opinions." |
Popular Sovereignty |
The idea that ultimate political power resides with the people, who
consent to be governed. |
Primary Sources |
Material from, or directly related to, the past. In History, primary
sources are usually letters, records or other documents created during
the period that is being studied, such as diaries, legal notices
or accounts. |
Progressive |
One who actively campaigns for change. |
Psychology |
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior (actions) and mental
processes (perceptions, thoughts, and feelings). |
Public good |
Exists where consumption by one person does not reduce the amount available
for consumption by another person. |
Recession |
A recession is a period when economic growth slows and unemployment
increases. |
Recovery |
A recovery is a period in which the economy moves from a recession
to either stability or a boom. |
Reserved Powers |
The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that "powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or the
people." This amendment is the basis of federalism, which reserves
for the states any powers not specifically granted to the federal government
or withheld from the states. |
Regions |
A basic unit of geographic study is called a region; an area of the
earth's surface that has certain unifying physical, human, or cultural
characteristics. Such regions change over time. |
Reparations |
Payment or other compensation provided by a government to a group of
people or to another country to compensate for loss or damage that
it has caused. Internationally, reparations have been paid after
a war by the losers to the winners, most notably by Germany after
World War I |
Sanskrit |
Classical language of India in which sacred texts were written. Not
generally used as a spoken language. |
Scarcity |
Exists when only a limited amount of resources can be obtained at any
moment in time. |
Separation of Powers |
The division of powers among different branches of government (legislative,
executive, and judicial). |
Slump |
A slump is a period when output slows due to reduced demand for goods
and services. |
Socialism |
Socialism is based on the belief that a society's economic system should
be operated for the good of all rather than for the benefit of a
few. |
Sociology |
Sociology is the study of social life, and the social causes and consequences
of human behavior. |
Traditional Economic System |
A traditional economic system is one in which the people's economic
roles are the same as their parents and grandparents (example: farming). |
United States Constitution |
The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land because no laws
may contradict any of its principles and because no person or government
is exempt from following it. |
Utility |
Satisfaction gained from consuming a good |
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