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| 14747615634 | constitution | A document which spells out the principles by which a government runs and the fundamental laws that govern a society | 0 | |
| 14747615635 | Declaration of Independence | Signed in 1776 by US revolutionaries; it declared the United States as a free state. | 1 | |
| 14747615636 | natural rights | the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property | 2 | |
| 14747615637 | consent of the governed | The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people. | 3 | |
| 14747615638 | limited government | A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution. | 4 | |
| 14747615639 | Articles of Confederation | 1st Constitution of the U.S. 1781-1788 (weaknesses-no executive, no judicial, no power to tax, no power to regulate trade) | 5 | |
| 14747615640 | Shay's Rebellion | Rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out. | 6 | |
| 14747615641 | U.S. Constitution | The document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of the U.S. government and the tasks these institutions perform. It replaced the Articles of Confederation. | 7 | |
| 14747615642 | factions | Political groups that agree on objectives and policies; the origins of political parties. | 8 | |
| 14747615643 | New Jersey Plan | A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress | 9 | |
| 14747615644 | Virginia Plan | "Large state" proposal for the new constitution, calling for proportional representation in both houses of a bicameral Congress. The plan favored larger states and thus prompted smaller states to come back with their own plan for apportioning representation. | 10 | |
| 14747615645 | Connecticut (Great) Compromise | Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators. | 11 | |
| 14747615646 | weir of habeas corpus | A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody. | 12 | |
| 14747615647 | Checks and Balances | A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power | 13 | |
| 14747615648 | reublic | a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. | 14 | |
| 14747615649 | federalists | A term used to describe supporters of the Constitution during ratification debates in state legislatures. | 15 | |
| 14747615650 | Anti-Federalists | people who opposed the Constitution | 16 | |
| 14747615651 | Federalist Papers | A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail. | 17 | |
| 14747615652 | Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments to the Constitution | 18 | |
| 14747615653 | Equal Rights Amendment | constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender | 19 | |
| 14747615654 | Judicial Review | Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws | 20 | |
| 14747615655 | advice and consent | Terms in the Constitution describing the U.S. Senate's power to review and approve treaties and presidential appointments. | 21 | |
| 14747615656 | bicameral legislature | a lawmaking body made up of two chambers or parts | 22 | |
| 14747615657 | Confederation | an organization that consists of a number of parties or groups united in an alliance or league. | 23 | |
| 14747615658 | dual sovereignty | A doctrine holding that state and federal authorities can prosecute the same person for the same conduct, each authority prosecuting under its own law. | 24 | |
| 14747615659 | Electoral College | A group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president | 25 | |
| 14747615660 | Federalist Paper #10 | Written by James Madison to convince people to support the ratification of the constitution. Argued that factions were inevitable but were best controlled by a large republic that employed a Federalist structure. Argued that competition among factions would limit their negative impacts. | 26 | |
| 14747615661 | federalist paper #51 | written by Madison, discusses importance of checks and balances and the separation of powers in the constitution | 27 | |
| 14747615662 | Supremacy Clause | Article VI of the Constitution, which makes the Constitution, national laws, and treaties supreme over state laws when the national government is acting within its constitutional limits. | 28 | |
| 14747615663 | Three-Fifths Compromise | Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for determining direct taxation and representation in the House of Representatives. | 29 | |
| 14747615664 | unicameral legislature | One-house legislature | 30 | |
| 14747615665 | Veto | Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature | 31 | |
| 14747615666 | Marbury v. Madison | This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of Judicial Review | 32 |
