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A set of principles, either written or unwritten, that makes up the fundamental law of the state
Constitution
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Rights of all human beings that are ordained by God, discoverable in nature and history, and essential to human progress
Natural Rights
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A document written in 1776 declaring the colonists' intention to throw off British rule
Declaration of Independence
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The government charter of the states from 1776 until the Constitution of 1787
Articles of Confederation
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A meeting of delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 charged with drawing up amendments to the Article of Confederation
Constitutional Convention
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Change in, or addition to, the Constitution
Amendment
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A governing document considered to be highly democratic yet with a tendency toward tyranny as the result of concentrating all powers in one set of hands
Pennsylvania Constitution
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A state constitution with clear separation of powers but considered to have produced too weak a government
Massachusetts Constitution
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The first ten amendmentts to the U.S. Constitution
Bill of Rights
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AN armed attempt by Revolutionary War veterans to avoid losing their property by preventing the courts in western Massachusetts from meeting
Shay's Rebellion
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A Britishphilosopher whose ideas on civil government gently influenced the Founders
John Locke
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A series of political tracts that explained many of the ideas of the Founders
Federalist Paper
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A constitutional proposal that the smaller states' representatives feared would give permanent supremacy to the larger statres
Virginia Plan
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A constitutional proposal that would have given each state one vote in a new congress
New Jersey Plan
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The power of an executive to veto some provisions in an appropriations bill while approving others
Line-item Veto
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A constitutional proposal that made membership in one house of Congress proportional to each states' population and membership in the other equal for all states
Great Compromise
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A constitutional principle separating the personnel of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government
Seperation of Powers
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A constitutional principle reserving separate powers to the national and state levels of government
Federalism
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A principal architect of the Constitution who felt that a government powerful enough to encourage virtue in its citizens was too powerful
James Madison
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The power of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government to block some acts by the other two branches
Checks & Balances
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