Government Vocabulary Chapters 1-2

Federalist papers

Series of 85 essays used to urge the ratification of the constitution in NY. Written by Madison, Hamilton, Jay... all anonymous.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution.

delegates

representatives

checks and balances

system of overlapping powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

constitution

the body of fundamental laws setting out the principles, structure and processes of a goverment.

government

the institution through which a society makes and enforces its public policies.

judicial review

the power of a court to determine the constitutionality of a government action.

ex-post facto law

a law applied to act committed before its passage.

bill of attainder

a legislative act that inflicts punishment without a count trial.

representative government

public policies are made by officials selected by voters.

Connecticut compromise

Agreement that Congress should be composed of a Senate, in which states would be equally represented, and a House, based on a state's population.

New Jersey plan

Called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would be equally represented.

informal amendment

Changing the interpretation of the constitution- not the written language. Occurs through everyday acts of government, supreme court decisions, basic legislation, and presidential actions.

constitutional convention

Meeting of delegates in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation.

Virginia plan

Plan presented by delegates from Virginia at the constitutional convention; called for a 3-branch government with bicameral legislature in which each state's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support of the central government.

state

a body of people, living in a defined territory, organized politically, and with the power to make and enforce law without the consent of any higher authority.

amendment

a change in, or addition to, a constitution or law.

writ of habeas corpus

a court order which prevents against arrests and imprisonments.

federalism

a system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments.

three-fifths compromise

agreement to count a slave as 3/5 of a person.

unicameral

an adj. describing a legislature body composed of 1 chamber.

bicameral

an adj. describing a legislature body composed of 2 chambers.

commerce and slave trade compromise

an agreement protecting slave holders; denied congress the power to tax the export of goods from any state, and, for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade.

limited government

basic principle of American government, which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take.

division of powers

basic principle of federalism; the constitutional provisions by which government powers are divided on a geographic basis.

separation of powers

basic principle of the American system of government, that the executive, legislative, and judicial powers are divided among 3 independent and coequal branches of government.

constitutionalism

basic principle that government and those who govern must obey the law; the rule of law.

formal amendment

change or addition that becomes part of the written language of the Constitution itself through one of four methods set forth in the Constitution.

veto

chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature.

rule of law

concept that holds that government and its officials are always subject to the law.

unconstitutional

contrary to constitutional provision and so illegal, null and void, of no force and effect.

ratification

formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, treaty, etc.

federal government

government in which powers are divided between a central government and several local governments.

framers

group of delegates who drafted the U.S. Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

preamble

introduction

articles

numbered sections of a document. The unamended Constitution is divided into 7 articles.

articles of confederation

plan of government adopted by the continental congress after the American Revolution. Established a "firm league of friendship" among the states, but allows few important powers to the central government.

anti-federalists

those who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1787-1788.

federalists

those who supported the ratification of the Constitution in 1787-1788.

sovereign

to have supreme and absolute power within its own territory and can decide its own foreign and domestic policies.

democracy

when the responsibility for the exercise of these powers rests with a majority of the people.