 | Term | Definition |
| |
unalienable |
based on nature and Providence rather than on the preferences of the people |
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Articles of Confederation |
a constitution drafted in 1777 and ratified in 1781; weak central govt. that could make laws or regular commerce |
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Constitutional Convention |
meeting of delegates in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, which produced the new U.S. Constitution |
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Shay's Rebellion |
rebellion of 1787 led by Daniel Shay and other ex-Revolutionary War soldiers to prevent foreclosures of farms as a result of high interest and taxes; highlighted weakness of Confederation |
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Great Compromise |
compromise at the Constitutional Cov. in 1787 that reconciled the interest of large and small states |
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republic |
form of democracy in which power is vester in representatives selected by means of popular competitive elections |
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judicial review |
power of the courts to declare acts of the legislature and of the executive to be unconstitutional |
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federalism |
political system in which authority is shared between a central govt. and state |
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checks and balances |
power of the legislature, executive, and judicial branches of govt. to block some acts by the other two branches |
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separation of powers |
a principle of govt. whereby constitutional authority is shared by 3 separate branches of govt. |
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faction |
according to Madison it is a group of people who seek to influence public policy in ways contrary to public good |
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Federalists |
supporters of the stronger central govt. who advocated the ratification of the new constitution |
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Antifederalists |
opponents of a strong central government who campaigned against the ratification of the Constitution in favor of a confederation of independant states |
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Federalist papers |
a series of 85 essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay (using the name "publius") published in NY newspapers and used to convice readers to adopt the new constitution |
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coalition |
alliance among diffrent interest groups or parties to achieve some political goal |
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writ of habeas corpus |
Latin term meaning "you shall have the body" where a police officer or warden who has a person in custody is to bring the prisoner before a judge and show sufficient caused for his or her detention |
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bill of attainder |
law that declares a person, without a trial, to be guilty of a crime; congress forbidden to pass such law |
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ex post facto law |
Latin term meaning "after the fact"; the law makes criminal an act that was legal when it was commited, increases the penalty for a crime after it have been commited |
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amendments |
changes in, or additions to the U.S. Constitution |
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line-item veto |
power of an executive to veto provisions in an approptiations bill while approving others |
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bill of rights |
list of individual rights and liberties that cannot be taken away |
| Add or remove terms from this set |
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