Vocabulary List 2:

Question 1

Define: the document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence

Answer 1

Declaration of Independence

Question 2

Define: rights inherit in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include life, liberty, and property.

Answer 2

natural rights

Question 3

Define: the idea that government derives its authority from people

Answer 3

consent of the governed

Question 4

Define: the idea that certain restrictions should be placed on the government to protect the natural rights of citizens

Answer 4

limited government

Question 5

Define: the first constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress in 1777 and ratified in 1781

Answer 5

Articles of Confederation

Question 6

Define: a series of attacks on courthouses by a small band of farmers led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shay’s to block foreclosure proceedings

Answer 6

Shays’s Rebellion

Question 7

Define: the document written in 1787 and ratified in 1788 that sets forth the institutional structure of U.S government, that tasks these institutions perform, and the relationships among them

Answer 7

U.S Constitution

Question 8

Define: a nation’s basic law

Answer 8

constitution

Question 9

Define: groups such as parties or interest groups, which according to James Madison arose from the unequal distribution of property or wealth and had the potential to cause instability
in government

Answer 9

factions

Question 10

Define: the proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state’s population

Answer 10

New Jersey Plan

Question 11

Define: the proposal at the Constitutional Convention that called for representation of each state in Congress in proportion to that state’s share of the U.S. population

Answer 11

Virginia Plan

Question 12

Define: the compromise reached at the Constitutional Convention that established two houses of Congress: the
House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state’s share of the U.S. population; and the Senate, in which each state has two representatives

Answer 12

Connecticut Compromise

Question 13

Define: a court order requiring jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody

Answer 13

writ of habeas corpus

Question 14

Define: a feature of the Constitution that requires each of the three branches of government executive, legislative,and judicial to be relatively independent of the others so that one cannot control the others

Answer 14

separation of powers

Question 15

Define: features of the Constitution that limit
government’s power by requiring each branch to obtain the consent of the others for its actions, limiting and balancing power among the branches

Answer 15

check and balances

Question 16

Define: a form of government in which the people select representatives to govern
them and make laws

Answer 16

republic

Question 17

Define: supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption

Answer 17

federalists

Question 18

Define: opponents of the U.S. Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption

Answer 18

anti-federalists

Question 19

Define: a collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name “Publius” to defend the Constitution in detail

Answer 19

federalist papers

Question 20

Define: the first 10 amendments to the U.S.
Constitution, drafted in response to some of the Anti-Federalist concerns

Answer 20

Bill of Rights

Question 21

Define: a constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 stating that
“equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

Answer 21

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Question 22

Define: the 1803 case in which the Supreme Court asserted its right to determine
the meaning of the U.S. Constitution

Answer 22

Marbury v. Madison

Question 23

Define: the power of the courts to determine whether acts of Congress and, by implication, the executive are in accord with the U.S. Constitution

Answer 23

judicial review