Public Speaking Terms Chapters 1 and 2

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution

colonial charters and constitutions

gave colonists experience with limited self-government

congressional powers under the articles of confederation

It included no national court system, no president or king, and a unicameral, or single-chamber, legislature. Each state could send between two and seven delegates to Congress, but each state's delegates had to vote as a unit. Therefore, each state had one vote in Congress, no matter what its population.

Connecticut Compromise

Compromise agreement by states at the Constitutional Convention for a bicameral legislature with a lower house in which representation would be based on population and an upper house in which each state would have two senators.

English Bill of Rights

document that gave England a government based on a system of laws and a freely elected parliament

Federal system of government

a system in which power is shared among state and national authorities

First Continental Congress

Delegates from all colonies except Georgia met to discuss problems with Britain and to promote independence

First Continental Congress's embargo on Britain

an agreement prohibiting trade, in Britain and agreed to boycott (not to buy) British goods.

Fourteenth Amendment

A constitutional amendment giving full rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States, except for American Indians.

Inalienable rights

rights that cannot be taken away

Rousseau's concept of freedom of religion

Rousseau believed that property rights and other basic rights such as freedom of speech and religion came from people living together in a community.

limited government

government structure in which government actions are limited by law

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

representative government

system of government in which public policies are made by officials selected by the voters and held accountable in periodic elections

Shay's Rebellion

Rebellion by farmers who believed the government wasn't helpful enough and that the taxes were too high

The 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.

Thomas Hobbes

English materialist and political philosopher who advocated absolute sovereignty as the only kind of government that could resolve problems caused by the selfishness of human beings (1588-1679)

unicameral legislature

A legislature with only one legislative chamber, as opposed to a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature, such as the U.S. Congress. Today, Nebraska is the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature.