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| 5075325431 | Constitution | A nation's basic law. It creates political institutions, assigns or divides powers in government, and often provides certain guarantees to citizens. | 0 | |
| 5075325432 | Declaration of Independence | The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence. | 1 | |
| 5075325433 | Natural Rights | Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent in governments, which include life, liberty, and property. Central to John Locke. | 2 | |
| 5075325434 | Consent of the Governed | The idea that government derives its authority by sanction of the people. | 3 | |
| 5075325435 | Limited Government | The idea that certain restrictions should be placed on government to protect the natural rights of citizens. | 4 | |
| 5075325436 | Articles of Confederation | The first constitution of the U.S., adopted by congress in 1777 and enacted in 1781. Established a firm league of friendship among the states, a unicameral national legislature, and did not have an executive or judiciary | 5 | |
| 5075325437 | Shays Rebellion | A series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by revolutionary war captain Daniel Shays to block foreclosure proceedings. | 6 | |
| 5075325438 | Factions | Parties or interest groups that James Madison saw as arising from unequal distribution of property or wealth and attacked as having the potential to cause instability in government. | 7 | |
| 5075325439 | New Jersey Plan | The proposal at the constitution convention that called for a unicameral congress with equal representation of each state regardless of the state's population. | 8 | |
| 5075325440 | Virginia Plan | The proposal at the constitutional convention that called for a bicameral congress with representation in proportion to that state's share of the U.S. population. | 9 | |
| 5075325441 | Connecticut Compromise | The compromise reached at the constitutional convention that established two houses of congress: House of Representatives (in which representation is based on a state's population), and Senate (in which each state has two representatives) | 10 | |
| 5075325442 | Writ of Habeas Corpus | A court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody. | 11 | |
| 5075325443 | Separation of Powers | A feature of the constitution that requires each of the three branches of government, executive, legislative, judicial, to be relatively independent of the others so that one can't control the others. Power is shared among the three. | 12 | |
| 5075325444 | Checks and Balances | Features of the constitution that limit government's power by requiring that power be balanced among the different governmental institutions. They continually constrain each other. | 13 | |
| 5075325445 | Republic | A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws. | 14 | |
| 5075325446 | Federalists | Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. | 15 | |
| 5075325447 | Anti-Federalists | Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. | 16 | |
| 5075325448 | 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 | |
| 5075325449 | Bill of Rights | The first ten amendments to the U.S. constitution, drafted in response to some of the anti-federalist concerns. | 18 | |
| 5075325450 | Marbury vs. Madison | The 1803 case in which the Supreme Court asserted its right to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the court's power of judicial review over acts of congress. | 19 | |
| 5075325451 | Judicial Review | The power of the courts to determine whether acts of congress and, by implication, the executive are in accord with the U.S. Constitution. This was established by Marbury v. Madison. | 20 | |
| 5075325452 | unequal division of property | according to Madison this is the "most common and durable source of factions" | 21 | |
| 5075325453 | Congress | was given chief economic policymaking power | 22 | |
| 5075325454 | 3/5ths Compromise | said slaves would be counted as 3/5ths of a person for congressional representation and taxation | 23 | |
| 5075325455 | John Locke | author of Two Treatises of Civil Government | 24 |
