Chapter 2 Vocab Flashcards
Articles of Confederation
A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War.
Constitutional Convention
A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution.
Shay’s Rebellion
A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes.
Virginia Plan
Proposal to create a strong national government.
New Jersey Plan
Proposal to create a weak national government.
Great Compromise
Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state.
Republic
A government in which elected representatives make the decisions.
Judicial review
The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional.
Federalism
Government authority shared by national and local governments.
Enumerated powers
Powers given to the national government alone.
Reserved powers
Powers given to the state government alone.
Concurrent powers
Powers shared by the national and state governments.
Checks and balances
Authority shared by three branches of government.
Separation of powers
Constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government.
Faction
A group with a distinct political interest.
Federalists
Those who favor a stronger national government.
Antifederalists
Those who favor a weaker national government.
Coalition
An alliance of groups.
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the Constitution.
Habeas corpus
An order to produce an arrested person before a judge.
Bill of attainder
A law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime.
Ex post facto law
A law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed.
Amendments
A new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states.
Line-item veto
An executive’s ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.
Unalienable
A human right based on nature or God.
