Unit 3 Civics Vocab

Declaration of Independence

the public act by which the Second Continental Congress, on July 4, 1776, declared the Colonies to be free and independent of England.

John Locke

A seventeenth-century English philosopher who believed in natural rights

Montesquieu

French philosophical writer who believed in separation of powers

Adam Smith

Scottish scholar of the eighteenth century whose ideas about economics led to the growth of modern capitalism.

Magna Carta

the document of English liberties, forced from King John by the English barons

Natural Rights

Rights that people supposedly have under natural law

English Bill of Rights

a law passed in 1689 that established the rights of English citizens and limited the power of the monarchy

Ratify

to confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction

New Jersey Plan

a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a single legislative house with equal representation for each state.

Virginia Plan

a plan, unsuccessfully proposed at the Constitutional Convention, providing for a legislature of two houses with proportional representation in each house and executive and judicial branches to be chosen by the legislature.

Great Compromise

an agreement made in 1787 to establish how states would be represented in Congress

⅗ Compromise

an agreement made in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention that stated three-fifths of a state's enslaved people would be counted towards its total population

Constitutionality

the quality of being constitutional

Popular Sovereignty

Principle that government is based on the consent of the people

Judicial Review

Power of the courts to review the legality of the acts made by the legislative and executive branches of government.

Electoral College Compromise

A compromise during the Constitutional Convention that established the Electoral College as the method for electing the U.S. president, balancing power between large and small states

Social Contract

A philosophical concept stating that individuals agree to form societies and governments, sacrificing some freedoms in exchange for protection and order.

Representative Democracy

A system of government where citizens elect officials to make decisions on their behalf

Enlightenment Thinkers

Philosophers from the Enlightenment era whose ideas about government, human rights, and reason influenced modern democracy

Articles of Confederation

The first governing document of the U.S., which created a weak central government and was later replaced by the Constitution

Salutary Neglect

A British policy of loosely enforcing colonial laws, allowing the American colonies to govern themselves for a time

Mayflower Compact

An early agreement among the Pilgrims establishing self-governance in the Plymouth Colony

Federalism

A system of government in which power is divided between a central government and state governments.

Double Jeopardy

A law  that prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime

Eminent Domain

The government's right to take private property for public use, with compensation

Free exercise Clause

Part of the First Amendment that protects individuals’ rights to practice their religion freely

Establishment Clause

A part of the First Amendment that prohibits the government from establishing an official religion

Republic

A form of government in which citizens elect representatives to govern on their behalf

Sons of Liberty

A group of American patriots who protested British taxation and policies before the American Revolution

Stamp Act

A 1765 British law that taxed printed materials in the American colonies, sparking protests

Declaratory Act

A 1766 British law stating that Parliament had the authority to legislate for the colonies in all cases

Albany Plan of Union

A 1754 proposal by Benjamin Franklin to unite the American colonies under a single government

Committees of Correspondence

Colonial networks that shared information and coordinated resistance against British policies

Quartering Act

A British law requiring American colonists to house and supply British troops

Due Process

The legal principle that the government must follow fair procedures before depriving someone of life, liberty, or property