Terms : Hide Images
| 46534745 | amendment | a written change to the Constitution | |
| 46534746 | Annapolis Convention | A convention held in September 1786 to consider problems of trade and navigation, attended by five states and important because it issued the call to Congress and the states for what became the Constitutional Convention | |
| 47052029 | antifederalists | people who opposed the constitution | |
| 47052030 | Articles of Confederation | a written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states, weak central gov. strong state gov. | |
| 47052031 | charter colony | colony established by a group of settlers who had been given a formal document allowing them to settle | |
| 47052032 | 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 | |
| 47052033 | commerce and slave trade compromise | protected slave holders, congress forbidden to tax export goods from any state, and forbidden to act on slave trade for 20 years | |
| 47052034 | Connecticut Compromise | Constitutional Convention proposal that created a House proportionate to population and a Senate in which all states were represented equally | |
| 47052035 | Constitution | the body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structures, and processes of a government | |
| 47052037 | Constitutional Convention of 1787 | Delegates met to revise the Articles of Confederation, but ultimately decided to write the Constitution as a replacement | |
| 47052038 | Continental Congress | the legislative assembly composed of delegates from the rebel colonies who met during and after the American Revolution | |
| 47052039 | Decleration of Independence | a 1776 document stating that the 13 English colonies were a free and independent nation | |
| 47052040 | distribution of powers | an underlying principle of the American constitution system designed to prevent tyranny by assigning powers to different governments and agencies and by checking the exercise of power | |
| 47053238 | economic interpretation of the constitution | theory that the framers of the Constitution represented the well-to-do classes and was designed to protect their interests | |
| 47053239 | Federalist Papers | a series of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay published in NY newspapers and used to convice readers to adopt the new constitution | |
| 47053241 | Mayflower Compact | 1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony | |
| 47053242 | New Jersey Plan | New Jersey delegate William Paterson's plan of government, in which states got an equal number of representatives in Congress | |
| 47053243 | Preamble | a preliminary introduction to a statute or constitution | |
| 47053244 | proprietary colony | a colony given to a proprietor to govern | |
| 47053846 | royal colony | A colony under the direct control of a monarch | |
| 47053847 | separation of powers | a principle of govt. whereby constitutional authority is shared by 3 separate branches of govt. | |
| 47053848 | Shay's Rebellion | Early 1787, rebellion by farmers in debt, which was quickly stopped stopped by President George Washington | |
| 47053849 | state sovereignty | The state has the political power to govern itself rather than the federal government | |
| 47053850 | Three-fifths Compromise | An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to count 3/5 of slave population in state representatives | |
| 47053852 | Virginia Plan | Initial proposal at the Constitutional Convention made by the Virginia delegation for a strong central government with a bicameral legislature dominated by the big states | |
| 47053854 | Northwest Ordinance | The 1787 Northwest Ordinance defined the process by which new states could be admitted into the Union from the Northwest Territory | |
| 47728569 | consent of the governed | the idea that government derives its authority by the sanction of the people | |
| 47728570 | factions | Interest groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist Paper No. 10. | |
| 47730236 | US Constitution | The government of the United States. A set of principles (guidelines) that describe the duties and powers of the government | |
| 47730237 | natural rights | the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property | |
| 48128692 | Federalists | supporters of the stronger central govt. who advocated the ratification of the new constitution | |
| 48128693 | Marbury v Madison | established concept of judicial review, first time supreme court declared something 'unconstitutional' | |
| 48128694 | Social Contract | an implicit agreement among people that results in the organization of society | |
| 48128695 | enumerated powers | the expressed powers of Congress that are itemized and numbered 1-18 in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution | |
| 48128696 | Elastic Clause | Clause in the Constitution that allows Congress to pass laws necessary to carry out its enumerated powers | |
| 48128697 | limited government | basic principle of American government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away | |
| 48128698 | Writ of Habeas Corpus | a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge | |
| 48128699 | Bill of Rights | The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution | |
| 48128700 | judicial review | the power of the Supreme Court to declare laws and actions of local, state, or national governments unconstitutional | |
| 48128701 | Confederation government | Loose unit of independent states. In this type of government each state has it's own government. Each state retains its independency. | |
| 48128702 | Supremacy Clause | constitutional declaration (Article VI) that the Constitution and laws made under its provisions are the greatest law of the land | |
| 48128703 | amendment process | the way in which changes are added to the Constitution, 2/3 vote in congress, 3/4 of states | |
| 282090142 | bicameral legislature | A law making body made of two houses (bi means 2). Example: Congress (our legislature) is made of two house - The House of Representatives and The Senate. | |
| 282090143 | electoral college | a group of people named by each state legislature to select the president and vice president | |
| 282090144 | executive agreement | an agreement between the President and the leader of another country | |
| 282090145 | Great Compromise | Compromise made by Constitutional Convention in which states would have equal representation in one house of the legislature and representation based on population in the other house | |
| 282090146 | Madisonian Model | A structure of government proposed by James Madison in which the powers of the government are separated into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. | |
| 282090147 | ratification | formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty |
