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23 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Declaration of Independence
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drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the document that proclaimed the right of the colonies to separate from Great Britain.
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Social contract theory
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the belief that the people agree to set up rulers for certain purposes and thus has the right to resist or remove rulers who act against those purposes.
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Republic
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a government without a monarch; a government rooted in the consent of the governed, whose power is exercised by elected representatives responsible to the governed.
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Confederation
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a loose associated of independence states that agree to cooperate on specified matters.
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Articles of confederation
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the compact among the thirteen original states that established the first government of the United States.
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Virginia plan
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a set of proposals for a new government submitted to the constitutional convention of 1787; included separation of the government into three branches, division of the legislature into two houses, and proportional representation in the legislature.
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Legislative branch
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the law-making branch of government.
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Executive branch
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the law-enforcing branch of government.
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Judicial branch
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the law-interpreting branch of the government.
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New jersey plan
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submitted by the head of the new jersey delegation to the constitutional convention of 1787, a set of nine resolutions that would have, in effect, preserved the Articles of confederation by amending rather than replacing them.
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Great compromise
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submitted by the Connecticut delegation to the constitutional convention of 1787, and thus also known as the Connecticut compromise, a plan calling for a bicameral legislature in which the house of reps would be apportioned according to population and the states would be represented equally in the senate.
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Electoral college
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a body of electors chosen by voters to cast ballots for president and vice president.
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Extraordinary majority
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a majority greater than the minimum of 50% +1.
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Republicanism
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a form of government in which power resides in the people and is exercised by their elected reps.
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Federalism
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the division of power between a central government and regional governments.
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Separation of powers
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the assignment of lawmaking, law-enforcing, and law-interpreting functions to separate branches of government.
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Checks and balances
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a government structure that gives each branch some scrutiny of and control over the other branches.
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Enumerated powers
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the powers explicitly granted to congress by the constitution.
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Necessary and proper clause
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the last clause in section 8 of article 1 of the constitution, which gives congress the means to execute its enumerated powers. This clause is the basis for congress’s implied powers. Also called the elastic clause.
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Implied powers
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those powers that congress needs to execute its enumerated powers.
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Judicial review
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the power to declare congressional (and presidential) acts invalid because they violate the constitution.
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Supremacy clause
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the clause in article VI of the constitution that asserts that national laws take precedence over state and local laws when they conflict.
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Bill of rights
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the first ten amendments to the constitution. They prevent the national government from tampering with fundamental rights and civil liberties, and emphasize the limited character of national power.
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