deck_762295 Flashcards
Those that appose the adoption of the Constitution
Anti-federalist
an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution
Articles of Confederation
one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politicians
Authoritarian regimes
a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country
Bill of Rights
a government’s legitimacy and moral right to use state power is only justified and legal when derived from the people or society over which that political power is exercised.
consent of the governed
a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives
democracy
a form of democracy in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives
direct democracy
argues that the structure of the Constitution of the United States was motivated primarily by the personal financial interests of the Founding Fathers
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution
a theory of the state which seeks to describe and explain the power relationships in contemporary society.
elite theory
a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office.
electoral college
a cultural movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries, which began first in Europe and later in the American colonies.
European Enlightment
essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution
Federalist Papers
an essay written by James Madison and the tenth of the Federalist Papers, a series arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution.addresses the question of how to guard against “factions”, or groups of citizens, with interests contrary to the rights of others or the interests of the whole community.
Federalist #10
essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution
Federalists
was an agreement that large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States Constitution
The great Compromise
the courts in England and Wales supervise the exercise of public power on the application of an individual
judicial review
an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory.
John Locke
a traditional political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language, social class or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society.
majoritarism
Natural rights are rights not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable.
natural rights
a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787
New Jersey Plan
existence of multiple legal systems within one geographic area.
pluralism
a principal’s approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal.
ratification
a variety of democracy founded on the principle of elected people representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy
representative democracy
a form of government in which the country is considered a “public matter” (Latin: res publica), not the private concern or property of the rulers, and where offices of state are subsequently directly or indirectly elected or appointed rather than inherited.
republic
a work of political philosophy published anonymously in 1689 by John Locke. The First Treatise attacks patriarchalism in the form of sentence-by-sentence refutation of Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha and the Second Treatise outlines his ideas for a more civilized society based on natural rights and contract theory.
Second Treatise of Government
an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787.
Shay’s Rebellion
a theory or model, originating during the Age of Enlightenment, that typically addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual
Social contract
a term in political philosophy used in social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition that preceded governments.
“State of Nature”
a compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives
Three-fifths compromise
a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch.
Virginia Plan
