Chapter 2: The Constitution Flashcards
social contract theory
The belief that the people agree to set up rulers for certain purposes and thus have the right to resist or remove rulers who act against those purposes.
Declaration of Independence
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document that proclaimed the right of the colonies to separate from Great Britain.
republic
A government without a monarch; a government rooted in the consent of the governed, whose power is exercised by elected representatives responsible to the governed.
confederation
A loose association of independent states that agree to cooperate on specified matters.
Articles of Confederation
The compact among the thirteen original states that established the first government of the United States.
Virginia Plan
A set of proposals for a new government, submitted to the Constitutional Convention of 1787; included separation of the government into three branches, division of the legislature into two houses, and proportional representa- tion in the legislature.
legislative branch
The lawmaking branch of government.
executive branch
The law-enforcing branch of government.
judicial branch
The law-interpreting branch of government
New Jersey Plan
Submitted by the head of the New Jersey delegation to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a set of nine resolutions that would have, in effect, preserved the Articles of Confederation by amending rather than replacing them.
Great Compromise
Submitted by the Connecticut delegation to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and thus also known as the Connecticut Compromise, a plan calling for a bicameral legislature in which the House of Representatives would be apportioned according to population and the states would be represented equally in the Senate.
republicanism
A form of government in which power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected representatives.
federalism
The division of power between a central government and regional governments.
separation of powers
The assignment of lawmaking, law-enforcing, and law- interpreting functions to separate branches of government.
checks and balances
A government structure that gives each branch some scrutiny of and control over the other branches.
extraordinary majority
Majority greater than that required by majority rule, that is, greater than 50 percent plus one.
Congress can over-ride a president’s veto by an extraordinary majority, two-thirds of each chamber.
enumerated powers
The powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution
necessary and proper clause
The last clause in Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, which gives Congress the means to execute its enumerated powers. This clause is the basis for Congress’s implied powers. Also called the elastic clause.
implied powers
Those powers that Congress requires in order to execute its enumerated powers.
judicial review
The power to declare government acts invalid because they violate the Constitution.
supremacy clause
The clause of Article VI of the Constitution that asserts that national laws take precedence over state and local laws when they conflict.
Bill of Rights
The first ten amendments to the Constitution. They prevent the national government from tampering with fundamental rights and civil liberties and emphasize the limited character of national power.
