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Define Amendments.
Modifications or additions to the United States Constitution passed in accordance with the amendment procedures laid out in Article V.
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Define Anti-Federalists.
Those who opposed ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States.
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Define Articles of Confederation.
The document creating a league of friendship governing the 13 states during and immediately after the war for independence; hampered by the limited power they vest in the legislature to collect revenue or regulate commerce, the Articles eventually proved unworkable for the new nation.
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Define Bill of Rights.
The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which protect various rights of the people against the new federal government.
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Define Checks and Balances.
A system of limits imposed by the Constitution which gives each branch of government the limited right to change or cancel the acts of other branches.
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Define Constitutional Convention.
Meeting of delegates from 12 states in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787, which drew up an entirely new system of government to govern the United States.
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Define Declaration of Independence.
Formal document listing colonists' grievances and articulating the colonists' intention to seek independence; formally adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.
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Define Enumerated Powers.
Express powers explicitly granted by the Constitution such as the taxing power specifically granted to Congress.
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Define Federalist Papers.
A series of articles authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, which argued in favor of ratifying the proposed Constitution of the United States; The Federalist Papers outlined the philosophy and motivation of the document.
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Define Federalists.
Those who supported ratification of the proposed Constitution of the United States between 1787 and 1789.
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Define Great Compromise.
A proposal also known as the Connecticut Compromise, which provided for a bicameral legislature featuring an upper house based on equal representation among the states, and a lower house whose membership was based on each state's population; approved by a 5-4 vote of the state delegations.
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Define Loose Construction.
Constitutional interpretation which gives constitutional provisions broad and open-ended meanings.
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Define New Jersey Plan.
A proposal known also as the small states plan, which would have retained the Articles of Confederation principle of a legislature where states enjoyed equal representation.
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Define Popular Sovereignty.
The doctrine which holds that the government is created by and subject to the will of the people, who are the source of all political power.
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Define Separation of Powers.
the principle that each branch of government enjoys separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility.
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Define Shays's Rebellion.
Armed uprising by debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers frustrated with the state government.
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Define Social Contract.
A theoretical agreement between the government and the governed defining and limiting the rights and duties of each.
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Define Strict Construction.
Constitutional interpretation which limits the government to only those powers explicitly stated in the Constitution.
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Define Three-Fifths Compromise.
A compromise proposal in which five slaves would be counted as the equivalent of three free persons for purposes of taxes and representation.
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Define Virginia Plan.
A proposal known also as the large states plan, which empowered three separate branches of government, including a legislature with membership proportional to population.
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