AP United States Constitution (Ch. 2)

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