Unit 1B Vocab Flashcards
Constitution
A document that sets out the fundamental principles of government and establishes the institutions of government
Republic
A government ruled by representatives of the people
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the U.S that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the national government, were supreme. It was drafted in 1777, ratified in 1781 and replaced by the Constitution in 1789
Unicameral
A one-house legislature
Shay’s Rebellion
A popular uprising against the government of Massachusetts. It highlighted the need for a strong national government just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out
Constitutional Convention
A meeting attended by state delegates in Philadelphia , May 25 to September 17, 1787, to fix the Articles of Confederation
Virginia Plan
A plan of government calling for three-branch government with bicameral legislature, when more populous states would have more representation in Congress
New Jersey Plan
A plan of government that provided for a unicameral legislature with equal votes for each state
Grand Committee
Committee organized at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation in the national legislature
Connecticut (Great) Compromise
Compromise that settled issues of state representation by calling for a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives (lower house) apportioned by population and a Senate (upper house) apportioned equally (in which each state would have two Senators)
Bicameralism
The principle of a two-house legislature
Three-fifths Compromise
Compromise between northern and southern states at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation and determining taxation
Slave Trade Compromise
Congress could not restrict the slave trade until 1808
Separation of Powers
A design of government that distributes powers across institution (legislative, executive, and judicial branches) in order to avoid making one branch too power on its own
Checks and Balances
A design of government in which each branch has power that can prevent the other branches from making policy and therefore ensure that no one branch can dominate
Federalism
The sharing of power between the national (aka central or federal or U.S) government and the states
Legislative Branch
The institution responsible for making laws
Executive Branch
The institution responsible for carry out laws passed by the Legislative branch
Judicial Branch
The institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts
Amendment
Process by which change may be made to the Constitution (laid out out in Article V)
Federalists
Supporters of ratification of the Constitution and of a strong central government
Anti-Federalists
Opponents of ratification of the Constitution, who favored stronger state government
The Federalist Papers
A series of 85 essays promoting ratification of the Constitution, published anonymously by Alexander Hamilton, John Lay, and James Madison in 1787 and 1788
Federalist No. 51
An essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny
