Chapter 2 Flashcards
rule of law
a system in which all people in a society, including government officials, are subject to legal codes that are applied without bias by independent courts.
“Social Contract Theory”
Jefferson believed this
The idea that by entering into a society ruled by a popularly elected government, people were obliged to obey the rules determined by the majority.
Articles of Confederation
The constitution drafted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777 and ratified by the states in 1781. It set up a weak central government consisting of a congress with limited legislative power and virtually no authority over the execution of its laws.
Virginia Plan (Constitutional Debates)
A plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention by Edmund Randolph of Virginia outlining a stronger national government with an independent executive and bicameral legislature whose membership in both houses would be apportioned according to state population.
New Jersey Plan (Constitutional Debates)
A plan proposed at the Constitutional Convention by William Paterson of New Jersey to amend, rather than replace, the standing articles of Confederation. The plan called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation among the states, along with a plural (multi-person) executive appointed by the legislature.
Connecticut Compromise
An agreement reached at the Constitutional Convention to establish a bicameral legislature with an upper house (the Senate) composed of equal representation from each state and a lower house (the House of Representatives) composed of representation from each state in proportion to its population.
electoral college
The electors appointed by each state to vote for the president.
bicameral legislature
a legislature consisting of two chambers or houses.
expressed powers (enumerated powers)
those powers specifically described in the Constitution.
elastic clause (necessary and proper clause)
The provision in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution stating that Congress can make whatever laws are “necessary and proper” to provide the means to carry out its enumerated powers.
Separation of Powers
An arrangement in which specific governmental powers are divided among distinct branches of government; typically, this means having an executive who is chosen independently of the legislature, and thus executive power and legislative power are separated.
Checks and Balances
An arrangement in which no one branch of government can conduct its core business without the approval, tacit or expressed, of the other branches.
Supremacy Clause
The section of Article VI of the Constitution stating that the Constitution and the subsequent laws of the United States are to be the “supreme law of the land” meaning that they supersede any state and local laws.
Reserved Powers
Those powers not granted to the national government by the Constitution, and therefore reserved to the states.
Federalists
Those who favored adopting the Constitution as written because they believed that a strong national government was needed to solve the collective dilemmas facing the states.
