Chapter 2 Vocab Test Flashcards
Sent to the states for ratification in 1777, these were the first attempt at a new American government
Articles pf Confederation
A political system in which the powers of the government are restricted to prevent tyranny by protecting property and individual rights
Limited government
An uprising of about 4000 men in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787 to protest oppressive laws and gain payment of war debts
Shay’s rebellion
A form of government in which power is held by a single person
Monarchy
belief that a form of government in which the interests of the people are represented through elected leaders is the best form of government
Republicanism
The idea that the government gains its legitimacy through regular elections in which the people living under that government participate to elect their leaders
Consent of the governed
Also knows as “unalienable right” , the Declaration of Independence defines them as “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”
Natural Rights
Those at the Constitutional Convention who favored a strong national government
Federalists
Those at the Constitutional Convention who favored strong state governments and feared that a strong national government would be a threat to individual right
Anti-federalists
The idea that having a variety of parties and interests within a government will strengthen the system
Pluralism
A plan proposed by the larger states during the Constitutional Convention that based representation in the national legislature on population
Virginia Plan
A compromise between the large and small states, proposed by Connecticut
Great Compromise
A system of government in which legislative and executive power are closely joined
Parliamentary System
As defined in the Tenth Amendment, powers that are not given to the national government
Reserved Powers
Stating that the Constitution and the laws and treaties of the United States are the “Supreme Law of the Land”
National Supremacy Clause
The States’ decision during the Constitutional Convention to count each slave as 3/5s of a person in a state’s population for the purposes of determining the number of House members and the distribution of taxes
Three-fifths Compromise
The first 10 Amendments
Bill of Rights
Of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to pass all laws related to its expressed powers
Necessary and Proper Clause
A negative or checking power over the other branches that allows congress to remove the president
impeachment
of the Constitution that states: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America”
Executive Power Clause
The Constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money
Power of the Purse
of the Constitution that gives Congress “the power to regulate Commerce… among the several States”
Commerce Clause
Powers explicitly granted to Congress, the president, or the Supreme Court
Enumerated Powers
Powers supported by the Constitution that are not expressly stated in it
Implied Powers
The Supreme Court’s power to strike down a law or an executive branch action that it finds unconstitutional.
Judicial Review
A plan that was in response to the Virginia Plan, in which smaller states at the Constitutional Convention proposed that each state should receive equal representation in the national legislature, regardless of size.
New Jersey Plan
