Flashcards: Snip Dec & Constitution
All 26 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 declaration of independence | document that claimed Britain broke the social contract and violated our national rights |
| rule of law | a society governed by laws that are applied equally to all people. (imp. feature of democracies) |
| federalism | Government that shares power between a national government and state or regional governments |
| veto | a presidential refusal to approve a law |
| ratify | to approve formally; this was a difficult process for the constitution |
| bicameral | Made of two legislature units or houses; the constitution sets up this style of gov't |
| limited gov't | Government power is restricted by a Constitution (gov't is put in a "box") |
| popular sovereignty | Political idea that says citizens or "the people" hold government authority |
| enumerated | Powers granted to government that are expressly written in the Constitution. |
| checks and balances | giving each Branch of gov't powers that can restrict the other 2 branches powers (example: congress needs a presidential signature for a bill to pass) |
| constitution | A set of basic principles that determines the powers and duties of American government |
| articles of confederation | the original framework for american gov't; was very WEAK, states had majority of powers |
| supremacy doctrine | no law can violate the constitution; the constitution is the supreme law of the land |
| john locke | The U.S. government principles were founded on the social contract theory written by this English guy |
| bill of rights | the 1st 10 amendments to the constitution;written in 1791 by James Madison; were added to satisfy critics of the const. |
| shays rebellion | this revolt/protest in Mass. showed the articles of confederation were very weak because they could not stop armed citizens from shutting down courts |
| taxation without representation | colonists were angry that they did not have representatives in the English Parliament; major cause for declaring independence |
| voters | power in a democracy ultimately comes from this group of citizens |
| necessary and proper clause | allows congress to do things that are unwritten in the constitution as long as relate to their enumerated powers (ex. tax powers) |
| virginia plan | plan where votes in congress would be based on population (big states rule) |
| new jersey plan | plan where all states get equal power or votes in congress (small states have more power) |
| great compromise | combining the VA & NJ plans to create a bicameral legislature (house & senate) |
| 3/5 compromise | slaves count 60% (3/5) toward a states representation in the House |
| separation of powers | dividing up gov't powers between the 3 branches; ensures they will have to cooperate |
| amendment | formal change to constitution |
| taxation without representation | colonist argument that British laws were unfair because americans could NOT vote for the rep's in parliament that created those laws |
Completed “Learn” mode
kendralatrice, milandu, kr1993, katieliebel, emilyao, barkodrew, ndetar, JBrennan11, hcsnowmobiler712, Schau, MorganMcKeel, prenshaw23, ras5993, juliebrooks