POLI CH.3

Question 1

Declaration of Independence

Answer 1

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

Question 2

social contract theory

Answer 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

Question 3

republic

Answer 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.

Question 4

confederation

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Articles of Confederation

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Virginia Plan

Answer 6

A set of proposals for a new government, submitted to the Constitutional Convention of 1787; it included separation of the government into three branches, division of the legislature into two houses, and proportional representation in the legislature.

Question 7

legislative branch

Answer 7

The lawmaking branch of government

Question 8

executive branch

Answer 8

The law-enforcing branch of government.

Question 9

judicial branch

Answer 9

The law-interpreting branch of government

Question 10

New Jersey Plan

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Great Compromise

Answer 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.

Question 12

electoral college

Answer 12

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

Question 13

extraordinary majority

Answer 13

A majority greater than the minimum of 50 percent plus one.

Question 14

republicanism

Answer 14

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

Question 15

federalism

Answer 15

The division of power between a central government and regional governments.

Question 16

separation of powers

Answer 16

The assignment of lawmaking, law-enforcing, and law- interpreting functions to separate branches of government.

Question 17

checks and balances

Answer 17

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

Question 18

enumerated powers

Answer 18

The powers explicitly granted to Congress by the Constitution.

Question 19

necessary and proper clause

Answer 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.

Question 20

implied powers

Answer 20

Those powers that Congress needs to execute its enumerated powers.

Question 21

judicial review

Answer 21

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

Question 22

supremacy clause

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Bill of Rights

Answer 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.