II - Constitution & its Origins Flashcards
Anti-Federalists
Those who did not support ratification of the Constitution
Articles of Confederation
First basis for new nation’s gov’t
Adopted in 1781
Created an alliance of sovereign states held together by weak central gov’t
Bicameral legislature
A legislature with two houses such as US Congress
Bill of Rights
First ten amendments to the US Constitutions
Most were designed to protect fundamental rights & liberties
Checks & balances
A system that allows one branch of gov’t to limit the exercise of power by another branch
Requires the different parts of gov’t to work together
Confederation
A highly decentralized form of gov’t
Sovereign states form a union for purposes such as mutual defense
Declaration of Independence
A document written in 1776 in which the American colonists proclaimed their independence from Great Britain & listed their grievances against the British king
Enumerated powers
Powers given explicitly to federal gov’t by Constitution (Article I, Section 8)
Power to regulate interstate & foreign commerce, raise & support armies, declare war, coin money, & conduct foreign affairs
Federal system
Form of gov’t in which power is divided between state gov’ts and a national gov’t
Federalists
Those who supported ratification of Constitution
Great Compromise
A compromise b’t Virginia Plan & New Jersey Plan that created a two-house Congress
Representation based on population in the House of Representatives and equal representation of states in the Senate
Natural rights
Right to life, liberty, and property
Believed to be given by God
No gov’t may take away
New Jersey Plan
Plan that called for a one-house national legislature
Each state would receive one vote
Republic
Form of gov’t in which political power rests in the hands of people, not a monarch, and is exercise by elected representatives
Reserved powers
Any powers not prohibited by Constitution or delegated to national gov’t
Powers reserved to states & denied to fed. gov’t
Separation of powers
Sharing of powers among three separate branches of gov’t
Social contract
An agreement b/t people & gov’t in which citizens consent to be governed so long as gov’t protects their natural rights
Supremacy clause
Statement in Article VI of Constitution that federal law is superior to laws passed by state legislatures
Federalist Papers
Collection of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in support of ratification of Constitution
3/5 Compromise
A compromise b.t northern & southern states that called for counting of all a state’s free population and 60 percent of its slave population for both federal taxation & representation in Congress
Unicameral legislature
Legislature with only one house, like Confederation Congress or legislature proposed by New Jersey Plan
Veto
Power of president to reject a law proposed by Congress
Virginia Plan
A plan for two-house legislature; representatives would be elected to lower house based on each state’s population
Representatives for upper house would be chosen by lower house
