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Chapter 2 Origins of American Government Vocab

Terms in this set (27)

Limited Government
Basic principle of American government which states that government is restricted in what it may do, and each individual has rights that government cannot take away.
Representative Government
System of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections.
Magna Carta
Great Chater forced upon King John of England by his barons in 1215; establsihed that the power of the monarchy was not absolute and guaranteed trial by jury and due process of law to the nobility.
Petition of Right
Document prepared by Parliament and signed by King Charles I of England in 1628; challenged the idea of the divine right of kings and declared that even the monarch was subject to the laws of the land.
English Bill of Rights
Document written by Parliament and agreed on by William and Mary of England in 1689, designed to prevent abuse of power by the English monarchs; forms the basis for much in American government and politics today.
charter
(A city's basic law, its constitution); a written grant of authority from the king
bicameral
An adjective describing a legislative body composed of two chambers. (two-house legislature)
proprietary
organized by a proprietor (a person to whom the king had made a grant of land).
unicameral
An adjective describing a legislative body with one chamber.
(one-house body)
confederation
A joining of several groups for a common purpose.
Albany Plan of Union
Plan proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1754 that aimed to unite the 13 colonies for trade, military, and other purposes; the plan was turned down by the colonies and the Crown.
delegate
representative
boycott
Refusal to buy or sell certain products or services
repeal
Recall; withdraw or cancel
popular sovereignty
Basic principle of the American system of government which asserts that the people are the source of any and all governmental power, and government can exist only with the consent of the governed.
Articles of Confederation
Plan of government adopted by the Continental Congress after the American Revolution; established "a firm league of friendship" among the States, but allowed few important powers of the central government.
ratification
formal approval, final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty.
presiding officer
Chair
framers
Group of delegates who drafted the United States Constitution at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. (group of delegates who attended the Philadelphia Convention)
Virginia Plan
Plan presented by delegates form Virginia at the Constitutional Convention; called for a three-branch government with a bicameral legislature in which each State's membership would be determined by its population or its financial support of the central government
New Jersey Plan
Plan presented as an alternative to the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional convention; called for a unicameral legislature in which each state would be equally represented.
Connecticut Compromise
Agreement during the Constitutional Convention that Congress should be composed of a Senate, in which States would be represented equally, and a House, in which representation would be based on a State's population.
Three-Fifths Compromise
An agreement at the Constitutional Convention to count a slave as three-fifths of a person when determining the population of a State.
Commerce and Slave Trade Compromise
An agreement during the Constitutional Convention protecting slave holders; denied Congress the power to tax the export of goods from any State, and, for 20 years, the power to act on the slave trade.
Federalist
Those persons who supported the ratification of the Constitution in 1787-1788.
Anti-Federalist
Those persons who opposed the ratification of the Constitution in 1787-1788.
quorum
Least number of members who must be present for a legislative body to conduct business; majority.
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...