Chapter 3 - The Constitution

Question 1

drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document that proclaimed the right of the colonies to separate from Great Britain

Answer 1

Declaration of Independence

Question 2

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

Answer 2

Social Contract Theory

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Republic

Question 4

a loose association of independent states that agree to cooperate on specified matters

Answer 4

Confederation

Question 5

the compact among the thirteen original states that established the first government of the United States

Answer 5

Articles of Confederation

Question 6

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 representation in the legislature

Answer 6

Virginia Plan

Question 7

the law-making branch of government

Answer 7

Legislative Branch

Question 8

the law-enforcing branch of government

Answer 8

Executive Branch

Question 9

the law-interpreting branch of government

Answer 9

Judicial Branch

Question 10

submitted by the head of New Jersey delegation to the Constitution Convention of 1787, a set of nine resolutions that would have, in effect, preserved the Articles of Confederation by amending rather than replacing them

Answer 10

New Jersey Plan

Question 11

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

Answer 11

Great Compromise

Question 12

a body of electors chosen by voters to cast ballots for president and vice president

Answer 12

Electoral College

Question 13

a majority greater than the minimum of 50 percent plus one

Answer 13

Extraordinary Majority

Question 14

a form of government in which power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected representatives

Answer 14

Republicanism

Question 15

the division of power between a central government and regional governments

Answer 15

Federalism

Question 16

the assignment of lawmaking, law-enforcing, and law-interpreting functions to separated branches of government

Answer 16

Separation of Powers

Question 17

a government structure that gives each branch some scrutiny of and control over the other branches

Answer 17

Checks and Balances

Question 18

the powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Consitution

Answer 18

Enumerated Powers

Question 19

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

Answer 19

Necessary and Proper Clause

Question 20

those powers that Congress needs to execute its enumerated powers

Answer 20

Implied Powers

Question 21

the power to declare congressional (and presidential) acts invalid because they violate the Consitution

Answer 21

Judicial Review

Question 22

the clause in Article VI of the Constitution that asserts that national laws take precedence over state and local laws when they conflict

Answer 22

Supremacy Clause

Question 23

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

Answer 23

Bill of Rights