Federal Government Chapter 2

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Declaration of Independence

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A document declaring the US to be independent of the British Crown, signed on July 4, 1776, by the congressional representatives of the Thirteen Colonies.

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State Constitution

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In the United States, each state has its own constitution.

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Articles of Confederation

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A written agreement ratified in 1781 by the thirteen original states; it provided a legal symbol of their union by giving the central government no coercive power over the states or their citizens.

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Constitution of the United States

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The constitution written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 and subsequently ratified by the original thirteen states. It unites the states under one government.

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Laws of Nature

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God-given principles that the colonists thought provided a basis for their rights.

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Nature's God

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A general term that refers to the creator, whether or not the creator is a God, or just nature.

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Creator

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A person or thing that brings something into existence.

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Unalienable Rights

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Rights that we are born with, given to us by God. They may not be taken away by government

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Federalists

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Proponents of a system based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between national and provincial/state governments, creating what is often called a federation.

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Anti-federalists

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A group opposing adoption of Constitution; they preferred stronger state governments and more popular participation.

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Samuel Adams

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American Revolutionary leader and patriot; an organizer of the Boston Tea Party and signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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Paul Revere

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American silversmith remembered for his midnight ride to warn the colonists in Lexington and Concord that British troops were coming.

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John Hancock

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American revolutionary patriot who was president of the Continental Congress; was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.

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Committee of Correspondence

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The committees of correspondence were bodies organized by the local governments of the Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution for the purposes of coordinating written communication outside of the colonies. Made up of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock.

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1st Continental Congress

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The First Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from twelve of the thirteen North American colonies that met on September 5, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, early in the American Revolution. It was a failure.

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2nd Continental Congress

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The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun which produced the Declaration of Independence.

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Common Sense

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Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution that called for the United States to declare independence from Britain immediately.

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Thomas Jefferson

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3rd President of the United States; chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence; made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore it.

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Bill of Rights

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A statement of the rights of a class of people. Each state had their own bill of rights.

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Bill of Rights

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The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, ratified in 1791 and guaranteeing such rights as the freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship.

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2nd Constitutional Convention

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Took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to address problems in governing the United States of America, which had been operating under the Articles of Confederation following independence from Great Britain.

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1st Constitutional Convention

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The convention met at Annapolis, with delegates from five States, on September II, 1786. It was a failure.

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Virgina Plan

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The Virginia Plan (also known as the Randolph Plan, after its sponsor, or the Large-State Plan) was a proposal by Virginia delegates, drafted by James Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

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New Jersey Plan

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The New Jersey Plan (also known as the Small State or Paterson Plan) was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government proposed by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787.

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Connecticut Plan

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The Connecticut Compromise (also known as the Great Compromise of 1787 or Sherman's Compromise) was an agreement between large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

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State Sovereignty

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A sovereign state is a state with a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states.

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National Sovereignty

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National sovereignty is the doctrine that sovereignty belongs to and derives from the nation, an abstract entity normally linked to a physical territory and its past, present, and future citizens.

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Dual Sovereignty

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A concept in American constitutional that both the state governments and the federal governments are sovereign; when the powers if two governments overlap.

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Preamble

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The introductory part of a statute or deed, stating its purpose, aims, and justification. Introduction to the Constitution.

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Legislative Branch

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A legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws.

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Executive Branch

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The branch of the United States government that is responsible for carrying out the laws.

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Judicial Branch

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The branch of the United States government responsible for the administration of justice.

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Separation of Powers

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The split between the three branches of government, namely the legislature (that creates the law), the executive (that implements the law) and the judiciary (that enforces the law).

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Checks and Balances

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Counterbalancing influences by which an organization or system is regulated, typically those ensuring that political power is not concentrated in the hands of individuals or groups.

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Three-Fifths Compromise

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A compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives.

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Enumerated Powers

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Those federal authorities specified in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which sets forth the Legislative capacity.

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The Reserved Powers of Doctrine

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Those powers which under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution are reserved to the states or the people.

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Full Faith and Credit Clause

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Refers to Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings" of other states.

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Supremacy Clause

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Establishes the U.S. Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. Treaties as "the supreme law of the land."

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Due Process Clause

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Due process is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law.

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Judicial Review

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Review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.

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Electoral College

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A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

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Establishment Clause

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The clause in the First Amendment of the US Constitution that prohibits the establishment of a national religion by Congress.

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Ratification

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Making something valid by formally consenting or confirming it.

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Amendment Process

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The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution.