| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Constitution | Basically the overall broad rules the U.S. should semi try to follow all the time. It usually divides powers in government and provides some certain guarantees to citizens. |
| Declaration of Independence: | A document written in 1776 that declared the U.S. independent from Brittain. |
| Natural Rights: | Rights that every human should be entitled to: life, liberty, and property. This is all John Locke's theory about government. |
| Consent of the Governed: | The idea of people must agree on who their rulers will be. |
| Limited government: | A clear consensus of what rules can do but at the same time can't abuse. |
| Shays Rebellion: | Attacks by debtors because they thought the government was being to unfair to poor farmers. |
| U.S. Constitution | Replaced the Articles of Confederation and was the institutional structure of U.S. government and the tasks the institutions perform. |
| Factions | Interest Groups arising from the unequal distribution of property or wealth that James Madison attacked in Federalist #10. |
| New Jersey Plan | Proposal that all states will have equal representation in Congress regardless of population. |
| Virginia Plan | Proposal that all states will have different representation in Congress depending on population. |
| Connecticut Compromise | Proposal that Congress has two houses; one based on population, and one where states have equal representation |
| Writ of Habeas Corpus | An order that requires jailers to explain to a judge why they are holding a prisoner in custody. |
| Separation of Power | Three power branches; executive, judicial, and legislative – to be relatively independent to the others so they don't over control others. |
| Checks and Balances | The three branches will have power over the others, but not too much power. |
| Republic | A form of government in which the people select representatives to govern them and make laws. |
| Federalists | Supporters of the U.S. Constitution at the time the states were contemplating its adoption. |
| Anti-Federalists | Opponents of the American Constitution at the time when the states were contemplating its adoption. |
| Federalist Papers | A collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison under the name "Publius" to defend the Constitution in detail. f |
| Bill of Rights | First ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution that protect basic human rights. |
| Equal Rights Amendment | Constitutional amendment passed by Congress in 1972 that basic rights cannot be denied by the U.S. or any state. |
| Marbury v: Madison | The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. |
| Judicial Review | Powers of court that decide whether acts of the Congress are in accord with the U.S. Constitution. This was established by John Marshall in Marbury vs. Madison |
| Articles of Confederation | America's first government. It was weak and ineffective because it gave too much power to the states. |
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