Chapters 1 + 2 Flashcards
A weak constitution that governed America during the Revolutionary War
Articles of Confederation
A meeting in Philadelphia in 1787 that produced a new constitution
Constitutional Convention
Proposal to create a strong national government
Virginia Plan
Proposal to create a weak national government
New Jersey Plan
Plan to have a popularly elected House based on state population and a state-selected Senate, with two members for each state
Great Compromise
A government in which elected representatives make the decisions
Republic
The power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional
Judicial Review
Government authority shared by national and local governments
Federalism
Powers given to the national government alone
Enumerated Powers
Powers given to the state government alone
Reserved Powers
Powers shared by the national and state governments
Concurrent Powers
Authority shared by three branches of government
Checks and Balances
Constitutional authority is shared by three different branches of government
Separation of Powers
A group with distinct political interest
Faction
Those who favor a stronger national government
Federalists
Those who favor a weaker national government
Antifederalists
A human right based on nature or God
Unalienable
An alliance of groups
Coalition
First ten amendments to the Constitution
Bill of Rights
An order to produce an arrested person before a judge
Habeas Corpus
A law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime
Bill of Attainder
A law that makes an act criminal although the act was legal when it was committed
Ex Post Facto Law
A new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states
Amendments
An executive’s ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature
Line-item Veto
A conflict, real or apparent, between the interests, ideas, or beliefs of different citizens
Issue
The activity by which an issue is agitated or settled
Politics
The ability of one person to get another person to get in accordance with the first person’s intentions
Power
The right to use power
Authority
Political authority conferred by law or by a state or national constitution
Legitimacy
The rule of the many
Democracy
A government in which all or most citizens participate directly
Direct or Participatory Democracy
A government in which leaders make decisions by winning a competitive struggle for the popular vote
Representative Democracy
View that the government is dominated by appointed officials
Bureaucratic View
View that the government is dominated by capitalists
Class View
The rule of many
Democracy
Person who possess a disproportionate share of some valued resource, like money or power.
Elite
The belief that competition among all affected interests shapes public policy
Pluralist View
View that the government is dominated by a few top leaders, most of whom are outside government
Power Elite View
A new provision in the Constitution that has been ratified by the states
Amendment
A 1787 rebellion in which ex-Revolutionary War soldiers attempted to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes
Shay’s Rebellion
