constitiution Flashcards
Federalism
A system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments
Separation of Powers
Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law
Checks and balances
A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
New world
The Western Hemisphere of Earth, also called The Americas, which was the unknown to Europe before 1492.
Benjamin Franklin
A brilliant inventor and senior statesman at the constitutional convention who urged colonial unity as early as 1754, twenty-two years before the declaration of independence.
French and Indian war
The American phase of what was called the seven years war fought from 1754 to 1763 between Britain and France with Indian allies.
mercantilism
an economic theory designed to increase nations wealthy through the development of commercial industry and a favori\able balance of trade.
Samuel Adams
cousin of president fohn Adams and an early lead against the British and loyalist oppressors; he played a key role in developing the committees of correspondence and was active in Massachusetts ad colonial politics.
stamp act congress
a gathering of nine colonial representatives in 1765 in new york city where a detailed list of crown violations was drafted; the first official step toward creating a unified nation.
sons and daughters of liberty
loosely organized groups of patriotic American colonist who were early revolutionaries.
Crispus Attucks
An African American and first American to die in \what become known as the Boston massacre in 1770.
First Continental Congress
meeting held in Philadelphia from September 5 to October 26, 17u74 in which fifty-six delegates (from every colony except Georgia) adopted a resolution in opposition to the coercive acts.
Lexington and Concord
the first sites of armed conflict between revolutionaries and British soldiers, remembered for the “shot heard around the world” in 1775.
Second Continental Congress
meeting that convened in Philadelphia n may 10, 1775, at which it was decided that an army should be raised and George Washington of Virginia was named commander and chief.
Thomas Paine
the influential writer of common sense, a pamphlet that advocated for the independence from Great Britain.
Common Sense
A pamphlet was written by Thomas Paine that challenged the authority of the British government to govern the colonies.
Thomas Jefferson
Principle drawer of the declaration of independence; second vice president of the united states; third president of the united states from 1801 to 1809. cofounder of the democratic republican party created to oppose federalist.
Declaration of Independence.
a document drafted largely by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 that proclaimed the right on the American colonies to separate from Great Britain.
social contract theory
The belief that government ts exist based on the consent of the governed.
political culture
Commonly shared attitudes, behaviors, and core values about how government should operate.`
