Unit 1: chapter 2 vocab Flashcards
a document that sets out the fundamental principles of governance and establishes the instutions of government
constitution
a government ruled by represenatives of the people
republic
a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were surpreme
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual union
one-house legislature
unicameral
a popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts
Shay’s Rebellion
a meeting attended by state delegates in 1787 to fix the Articles Confederation
Consitiutional Convention
the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them
Writ of Habeas Corpus
when the legislature declares someone as guilty without a trial
bills of attainder
laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed
ex post facto laws
a plan of government calling for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature, where more populous states would have more representation in Congress
Virginia Plan
a plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each states
New Jersey Plan
a committe at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on represnetation
Grand Committee
an agreement for a plan of government that drew upon both the Virgina and New Jersey Plans; it settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives apportioned proportionately and a Senate apportioned equally
Great (Connecticut) Compromise
congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808
Compromise on Importation
a two-house legislature
bicameral
an agreement reached by delegates at the Consitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation.
Three-Fifths Compromise
a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own
seperation of powers
a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy
checks and balances
the sharing of power between the national government and the states
federalism
the institution responsible for making laws
legislative
authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution
expressed/enumerated powers
supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government
Federalist
language in Article 1, Section 8, granting Congress the powers necessary to carry out its enumerated powers
necessary and proper (elastic) clause
authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers
implied powers
those opposed to the proposed Constitution, who favored stronger state governments
Anti-Federalist
the institution responsible for carrying out laws passed by the legislative branch
executive branch
the insitution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts
judiciary branch
constitution and all national laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land
supremacy clause
the process by which changes may be made to the Constitution
amendment
an essay in which Madison aruges that seperation of powers and federation will prevent tyranny
Federalist No. 51
a series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution
federalist papers
an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of a faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government
Federalist No. 10
an Antifederalist Paper aruging that the country was too large to be governed as a republic
Brutus No. 1
a group of self-intrested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of other in the process
faction
