Vocab Module 6 Flashcards
what are amendments?
official changes to a document
who were the federalists?
people who supported the Constitution
what were the federalists papers and who wrote them?
essays supporting the Constitution written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
who were anti federalists?
people who opposed the Constitution
what was the Bill of Rights?
constitutional amendments that protect the rights of citizens
what was the constitutional convention?
meeting held in Philadelphia to create a new constitution
what was the Virginia plan and what states did it favor?
a plan giving supreme power to the central government and creating a bicameral legislature made up of two groups, or houses, of representatives giving favor to the bigger states like NY and VA
what was the New Jersey plan and what states did it favor?
a plan creating a unicameral, or one-house, legislature favoring ALL STATES and giving them all equal representation
what was the Great Compromise?
an agreement that gave each state one vote in the upper house of the legislature and a number of representatives based on its population in the lower house
what was the Three-Fifths Compromise?
only three-fifths of a state’s slaves were counted when deciding representation in Congress
what was popular sovereignty?
the idea that political power belongs to the people
what was the legislative branch made of and what did it do?
a Congress of two houses that proposes and passes laws
what was the executive branch made of and what did it do?
the president and the departments that help run the government
what was the judicial branch made of and what did it do?
a system of all the national courts
what did checks and balances do?
a system that keeps any branch of government from becoming too powerful
