US midterm review vocab
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Created by:
guitarHERObeast3 on January 21, 2012
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70 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Democracy | government by the people for the people |
| Republic | government in which political leaders receive their authority and make laws from the citizens |
| Virginia House of Burgesses | first example of an established government by the people |
| Mayflower Compact | an agreement between men on the Mayflower established a self-governing colony based on the majority rule of the male church members |
| Mercantilism | economic policy under which a nation accumulates wealth by exporting more goods than it imports, a nation's power is a product of wealth (gold and silver) |
| Common Sense | a very popular book written to express the feelings of independence in the American colonies. written by Thomas Paine |
| Declaration of Independence | influenced by enlightenment writers John Locke and Montesque, establishes natural rights and is a statement of people saying "this is what we want!" |
| Articles of Confederation | original federal constitution drafted by the continental congress; created an alliance of states, each state gains independence |
| Shay's Rebellion | farmers take arms and demand a greater voice in politics, caused by depression and inflation, protested against high taxes |
| Constitutional Convention | well- educated merchants and lawyers came together in Philadelphia to draft and ratify the constitution |
| Great Compromise | granted a two- house legislature, one with equal representation and one with representation based on government |
| Three-Fifths Compromise | agreement that 3/5's of the slave population would be counted in determining state population for representation |
| Slave Trade Compromise | Congress forbids blocking the importation of slaves until the year 1808 |
| Consent of the Governed | the idea that government derives its authority by the sanction of the people |
| Commerce Compromise | allowed government to tax imports but not exports |
| Presidential Compromise | decision that a president has a four year term, but an unlimited reelection, and aristocrats serve for life |
| Federalists | advocated a strong central government that would ensure a stable currency, protect property rights, and provide security against unrest |
| Anti-Federalists | opposed ratification of the constitution because they believed in the states' rights, thought the new system of government resembled a monarchy |
| The Federalist Papers | a series of 85 pseudonymous essays in support of ratification |
| US Constitution | established popular sovereignty, a limited government, a separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, and federalism |
| Preamble | describes the purpose of the government as set up by the Constitution. States that americans expect their government to defend justice and liberty and provide peace and safety from foreign enemies |
| Limited Government | the government has as much power as the people do. therefore, the government must be restricted. |
| Representative Government | instead of creating a direct democracy in which all citizens vote on every matter, the writers of the constitution decided to create and indirect democracy in which voters elect representatives to govern. |
| Federalism | division of powers between a strong central government and the state governments |
| Delegated Powers | powers of the national government, which include declaring war, maintaining armed forces, and establish foreign policy |
| Reserved Powers | powers of the state governments, which include maintaining schools, establishing local governments, and providing public safety |
| Concurrent Powers | powers shared between national and state governments, which include providing for public welfare, administering criminal justice, and levying and collecting taxes |
| Forbidden powers | powers denied by both state and national governments |
| Checks and Balances | each branch of government has the power to limit the actions of the other two |
| Flexibility | the ability to change in order to fulfill the needs of society without a revolution |
| Amendment | A change to the Constitution |
| Elastic Clause | stretches the power of the central government |
| Implied Powers | powers that are granted by the Elastic Clause |
| Judicial Review | power of the Supreme Court to decide whether the acts of a president or laws passed by Congress are constitutional |
| Unwritten Constitution | Political practices that are followed, but are not part of the actual Constitution. Examples include political parties, judicial review, and the Presidential Cabinet. |
| House of Representatives | makes up congress, starts impeachment proceedings, and elect president if the electoral college can't |
| Senate | makes up congress, holds the impeachment proceedings, elects the vice president, approves all treaties, and approves all presidential appointments |
| Filibuster | a tactic to keep from voting on a bill |
| Standing committees | any permanent committee in the House or the Senate |
| Conference Committee | when the House of Representatives and the Senate pass different versions of the same bill |
| Lobbying | when special groups present good information that will persuade Congress to pass the bill. |
| electoral college | party that directly elects the president and vice president. |
| 12th amendment | each elector will choose one candidate for president and one candidate for vice president. if no candidate receives a majority, the house of representatives will choose the president. |
| 22nd amendment | no president can serve more than two terms in office |
| 25th amendment | if the president dies or resigns, the vice president will become president. |
| presidential cabinet | group of federal leaders who headed the major departments of the executive branch and advised the president |
| veto | vote against |
| impeachment | a formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office |
| supreme court | judicial branch, has power to make policies, interpret the constitution or law, and to extend the reach of existing law |
| john marshall | became chief justice of the supreme court. a strong federalist, who practiced judicial review, federal laws were superior to state laws, loose construction of the constitution, and "sanctity contracts" |
| Marbury v. Madison | Jefferson rejects John Adams' appointment of midnight justices. court had to decide whether Marbury could keep his job. the court ruled that it conflicted with the constitution, so judicial review was established |
| Brown v. Board of Education | African american children could not go to school for white children. the court decided that they were deprived of a proper education and that the separate but equal policy was bad. |
| Bill of Rights | first 10 amendments to the Constitution; written list of freedoms guaranteed to citizens by the government |
| 1st amendment | guarantees the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition |
| 5th amendment | guarantees due process for accused persons |
| 6th amendment | guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial in the state where the offense was committed |
| neutrality | not taking sides in a dispute |
| national bank | founded by hamilton, regulated state banks, kept an eye on business, and could make loans |
| federalist party | led by hamilton, supported a loose construction of constitution, favored strong central government, wanted industry based economy |
| loose construction | broad interpretation of constitution, relies on "implied" powers to enact laws for "general welfare" |
| strict construction | limiting the federal government to powers explicitly granted by the Constitution |
| democratic-republican party | led by Jefferson, supported a strict construction of the Constitution, thought states should have more power, wanted farming based economy |
| Louisiana Purchase | obtained a vast portion of the country, Jefferson admits that this act was beyond the constitution. it was only 15 million $$ |
| Monroe Doctrine | foreign policy document that discouraged European intervention in the Western Hemisphere |
| Market Revolution | during the industrial revolution, inventions were created, the speed of industry increased, and people began buying more merchandise. |
| Transportation Revolution | during the industrial revolution, the steamboat was invented, the roads were improved, and the Erie Canal was built |
| Internal improvements | federal projects, such as canals and roads, to develop the nation's transportation system |
| Manifest destiny | the belief that the U.S. should extend all the way to the pacific ocean |
| sectionalism | loyalty to one's own region of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole |
| -congress could not collect or levy taxes -congress was powerless to regulate interstate commerce and foreign trade -each state only had one vote in congress, regardless of its size -no separate executive brance to enforce acts of Congress | weaknesses of the articles of confederation |
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