AP Government: Chapter 2- The Constitution
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34 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Articles of Confederation | A constitution drafted by the newly independent states in 1777 and ratified in 1781. |
| Beard, Charles A. | historian who argued that the Constitution was designed to protect the economic self-interest of its framers |
| constitution | law determining the fundamental political principles of a government |
| Constitutional Convention | A meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced a totally new constitution still in use today. |
| Declaration of Independence | the document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence. |
| federalism | A political system in which the ultimate authority is shared between a central government and state or |
| Federalist papers | A series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay that were published in New York newspapers in 1787-1788 to convince New Yorkers to adopt newly proposed Constitution. |
| Great Compromise | A compromise at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 that reconciled the interests of small and large states by allowing the former to predominate in the Senate and the latter in the House. |
| Locke, John | (1632-1704) English philosopher and political theorist. He wrote Two Treaties on Government which explained that all men have Natural Rights, which are Life, Liberty, and Property, and that the purpose of government was to protect these rights. |
| James Madison | A co-author of the Federalist Papers, he was an influential delegate of the Constitutional Convention later to be called the Father of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. By writing the Bill of Rights, he secured the faith of those who were not sure about the Constitution. |
| Massachusetts Constitution | A less democratic state constitution, that had a clear separation of powers among the various branches of government, the directly elected governor could veto acts of the legislature, and judges served for life |
| natural rights | the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property |
| New Jersey Plan | Opposite of the Virginia Plan, it proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states. |
| Pennsylvania Constitution | 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 |
| separation of powers | A principle of American government whereby constitutional authority is shared by three separate branches of government--the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. |
| Shay's Rebellion | A rebellion in 1787 led by Daniel Shays and other ex-Revolutionary War soldiers and officers to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest rates and taxes. |
| Virginia Plan | Virginia delegate James Madison's plan of government, in which states got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population |
| amendments(constitutional) | Changes in, or additions to, the U.S. Constitution. Two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress at the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures and ratified by approval of three-fourths of the states. |
| Antifederalists | Opponents of a strong central government who campaigned against ratification of the Constitution in favor of a confederation of largely independent states. |
| bill of attainder | A law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime. |
| Bill of Rights | a list of individual rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press. |
| checks and balances | The power of the legislature, executive and judicial branches of government to block some acts by the other two branches. |
| coalition | An alliance among different interest groups(factions) or parties to achieve some political goal. |
| confederation | A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers that they expressly delegate to a central government. |
| Constitutional Convention | A meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced a totally new constitution still in use today. |
| ex post facto law | Means "after the fact". A law that makes criminal an act that was legal when it was committed, that increase the penalty for a crime after it has been committed or that changes the rules to make the conviction easier. |
| faction | According to James Madison, a group of people who seek to influence public policy in ways contrary to the public good. |
| Federalists | Supporters of a stronger central government who advocated ratification of the Constitution. |
| judicial review | The power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional and hence null and void. |
| line-item veto | The power of an executive to veto some provisions in an appropriations bill while approving others. |
| Madision view of human nature | He saw humans as selfish and how they have a tendency to do things in their favor. |
| republic | A form of democracy in which power is vested in representatives selected by means of popular competitive elections. |
| unalienable rights | Rights based on nature and Providence rather than on the preferences of people. |
| writ of habeas corpus | "You shall have the body." A court order directing a police officer, sheriff, or warden who has a person in custody to bring the prisoner before a judge and show sufficient cause for his or her detention. |
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